Experimental Evolution. Concepts, methods, and applications o selection experiments, Theodore Garland, Michael Rose (Eds.), University of California Press, 2009, (752 pp.), ISBN: 9780520261808

摘要

Garland and Rose's book is an excellent introduction to experimental evolution written by a distinguished selection of authors. By presenting such a solid review of the field, the book dispels two common misconceptions about evolutionary biology. First, it dismisses the misconception that evolutionary biology is exclusively a historical science, a concept taken for granted by people from other fields. There is also a general perception that historical sciences are inferior when compared with experimental sciences, even though there is no definitive philosophical justification for this judgment. Nevertheless, no scientist would disagree on the power of experiments that allow Popperian falsification of hypotheses, and the strength of replication and controls. The book leaves no doubt about the power of experiments in understanding the mechanisms of evolution. And in so doing, it clearly breaks this misconception.