1. Convergence, contingency & morphospace.
- Author
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Currie, Adrian
- Subjects
- *
CONVERGENT evolution , *CONTINGENCY (Philosophy) , *BIOLOGICAL evolution , *CONSTRAINT satisfaction , *MORPHOLOGY (Grammar) , *PUBLICATIONS - Abstract
George McGhee's book 'Convergent Evolution: limited forms most beautiful' provides an extensive survey of biological convergence. This paper has two main aims. First, it examines the theoretical claims McGhee makes about convergent evolution-specifically criticizing his use of a total morphospace to understand contingency and his assumption that functional constraints are non-contingent. Second, it sketches a group of important conceptual challenges facing researchers interested in convergence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2012
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