Ooh, cool! 23 Apr 2009 “Few topics have engaged biologists and philosophers more than the concept of species, and arguably no idea is more important for evolutionary science. John S. Wilkins’ book combines meticulous historical and philosophical analysis and thus provides new insights on the development of this most enduring of subjects.”—Joel Cracraft, American Museum of Natural History “This is not the potted history that one usually finds in texts and review articles. It is a fresh look at the history of a field central to biology, but one whose centrality has changed in scope over the centuries. Wilkins’ book will be a standard source for all kinds of people working in systematics. There is not another book on the subject, amazingly enough, and his perspective is so comprehensive and well-taught that it will replace any standard review articles and older histories.”—Kevin Padian, University of California, Berkeley From here… due 9 August! Administrative Book Species and systematics
Evolution Some hominid evolution items 19 Aug 2009 Two items worth reading: Mailund notes that the 2006 claim of complex speciation, involving gene exchange for some time after the chimp and hominid lineages split, has been argued against on the grounds that high rates of sperm production in humans and chimps could generate the effect. Pleiotropy discusses the… Read More
Book Darwin as a historiographer 9 Nov 200818 Sep 2017 I was very pleased to receive today my copy of this book: A Companion to the Philosophy of History and Historiography, edited by A. Tucker. Chichester UK: Wiley-Blackwell. I got it because on pp 405-415 is my essay “Darwin”, which I am rather proud of. I have long thought that… Read More
Evolution Species concepts really matter 17 Dec 200718 Sep 2017 Sorry I haven’t blogged for a bit – I’ve been on the road, err, sky for a while. So it turns out that Texas, which seems to be the source of much antiscience reaction these days, has yet another problem, and it turns on what a species is. Texas named… Read More
I look forward to getting it and hopefully having a book that talks about the species concepts and I don’t want to use it to start fires…
Wow! Cracking reviews! Hopefully, this is where all that hard work and sacrifice finally pays off. What next? A TV series along the lines of The Ascent Of Man?
Wow! Cracking reviews! Hopefully, this is where all that hard work and sacrifice finally pays off. What next? A TV series along the lines of The Ascent Of Man?
Am really looking forward to this book. I don’t know if this is normal behaviour, but back as an undergrad my mate and I used to spend hours at the pub debating species concepts.. Of course, beer always won.
Am really looking forward to this book. I don’t know if this is normal behaviour, but back as an undergrad my mate and I used to spend hours at the pub debating species concepts.. Of course, beer always won.
Looking great! Of course, the world being like it is, maybe there are people who only want the potted history and are adamantly opposed to new insights; now they’ll all avoid reading you….
How much do you have to pay for a review like that? Posted by: Susan Silberstein | April 24, 2009 5:25 PM John, you have a collection of mean, sneaky, vindictive, iniquitous and despicable commentators on your blog and I am really pissed off with Ms Silberstein for having got there first! I wanted to say that ;(
Congrats! A positive selection indeed, with excellent reviews (now I know why I never read any fashionable critiques of the NCSE here).
Congratulations John! Have a deep fried Sardine and a really strong Portuguese espresso from me. Having seen you pour your heart and soul into that book, doggedly pursing it in the face of adversity, I can say that review is well earned. Congratulations again!
Congratulations John! Have a deep fried Sardine and a really strong Portuguese espresso from me. Having seen you pour your heart and soul into that book, doggedly pursing it in the face of adversity, I can say that review is well earned. Congratulations again!
Congratulations John! Have a deep fried Sardine and a really strong Portuguese espresso from me. Having seen you pour your heart and soul into that book, doggedly pursing it in the face of adversity, I can say that review is well earned. Congratulations again!