It has been said that new discoveries and developments in the human, social, and natural sciences hang "in the air" (Bowler, 1983; 2008) prior to their consummation. While neo-Darwinist biology has been powerfully served by its mechanistic metaphysic and a reductionist methodology in which living organisms are considered machines, many of the chapters in this volume place this paradigm into question. Pairing scientists and philosophers together, this volume explores what might be termed "the New Frontiers" of biology, namely contemporary areas of research that appear to call an updating, a supplementation, or a relaxation of some of the main tenets of the Modern Synthesis. Such areas of investigation include: Emergence Theory, Systems Biology, Biosemiotics, Homeostasis, Symbiogenesis, Niche Construction, the Theory of Organic Selection (also known as "the Baldwin Effect"), Self-Organization and Teleodynamics, as well as Epigenetics. Most of the chapters in this book offer critical reflections on the neo-Darwinist outlook and work to promote a novel synthesis that is open to a greater degree of inclusivity as well as to a more holistic orientation in the biological sciences.
Foreword: Evolution Beyond Newton, Darwin, and Entailing Law Introduction: On a "Life-Blind Spot" in Neo-Darwainism's Mechanistic Metaphysical Lens Section 1: Complexity, Systems Theory, and Emergence Chapter 1: Complex Systems Dynamics in Evolution and Emergence Processes Chapter 2: Why Emergence Matters Chapter 3: On the Incompatibility of the Neo-Darwinian Hypothesis With Systems-Theoretical Explanations of Biological Development Chapter 4: Process-First Ontology Chapter 5: Ordinal Pluralism as Metaphysics for Biology Section 2: Biosemiotics Chapter 6: Why Do We Need a Semiotic Understanding of Life? Chapter 7: The Irreducibility of Life to Mentality: Biosemiotics or Emergence? Section 3: Homeostasis, Thermodynamics, and Symbiogenesis Chapter 8: Biology's Second Law: Homeostasis, Purpose and Desire Chapter 9: "Wind at Life's Back" -Toward a Naturalistic, Whiteheadian Teleology: Symbiogenesis and the Second Law Chapter 10: Of Termites and Men: On the Ontology of Collective Individuals Section 4: The Baldwin Effect, Behavior, and Evolution Chapter 11: The Baldwin Effect in an Extended Evolutionary Synthesis Chapter 12: On the Ramifications of the Theory of Organic Selection for Environmental and Evolutionary Ethics Section 5: Autogen, Teleology, and Teleodynamics Chapter 13: Teleology Versus Mechanism in Biology: Beyond Self-Organization Chapter 14: Teleodynamics: A Neo-Naturalistic Conception of Organismic Teleology Section 6: Epigenetics Chapter 15: Epigenetics: Toward An Inclusive Concept of Evolution Chapter 16: Epigenetics, Soft Inheritance, Mechanistic Metaphysics, and Bioethics Section 7: Organism and Mechanism Chapter 17: From Organicism to Mechanism-and Half-Way Back? Chapter 18: Machines and Organisms: The Rise and Fall of a Conflict About the Contributors
