History and Philosophy of the Relations between Evolutionary and Developmental Biology

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Project AbstractSES Proposal 0135451History and Philosophy of the Relations between Evolutionary andDevelopmental BiologyRonald Amundson, University of HawaiiEvolutionary developmental biology is a fast growing new field, stimulated by the rapid advances in molecular developmental genetics during the 1990s. Professional excitement is evident in the appearance of new professional organizations, journals, textbooks, granting programs, and even a new nickname, Evo Devo. But the relations between evolutionary and developmental biology are anything but new. They began in the 1860s with Darwin's earliest followers in evolutionary morphology. Their scientific program ran into difficulties, and was abandoned during the 1890s. Evolutionary biology itself was in a period of flux and controversy until the Evolutionary Synthesis of the 1930s and 1940s. The Evolutionary Synthesis unified many areas of biology, but did not include development as a relevant factor for evolutionary understanding. A lively debate about the importance of development arose again around 1980 with equally fierce arguments from both defenders of the Synthesis and iconoclastic advocates of development. The current scientific excitement about Evo Devo comes not from the resolution of the methodological issues but from the promise of increasingly rich progress in developmental genetics. In this project, Dr. Amundson examines the history of the debates about the relevance of development to evolution. He compares points of contention and the ways in which scientific disputes are settled. Among the key questions are these: In what ways are today's issues about development in biology similar to those of past debates in the 19th or mid-20th centuries? To what extent do the debates depend on empirical discoveries, and to what extent on differences in scientific method? Will the methodological differences that still persist between Evo Devo and the mainstream evolutionary theory be a barrier to an integrated theory of evolution? The project suggests the importance of philosophy and methodology in scientific debate and the significance of history in understanding contemporary science.