The Causes Of Life's History

A Complete Theory Of Evolution Must Acknowledge A Balance Between "external" Forces Of Environment Imposing Selection For Local Adaptation And "internal" Forces Representing Constraints Of Inheritance And Development. Vavilov Placed Too Much Emphasis On Internal Constraints And Downgraded The Power Of Selection. But Western Darwinians Have Erred Equally In Practically Ignoring (while Acknowledging In Theory) The Limits Placed On Selection By Structure And Development What Vavilov And The Older Biologists Would Have Called "laws Of Form.

For Dawkins, Evolution Is A Battle Among Genes, Each Seeking To Make More Copies Of Itself. Bodies Are Merely The Places Where Genes Aggregate For A Time.

In Science, 'fact' Can Only Mean 'confirmed To Such A Degree That It Would Be Perverse To Withhold Provisional Assent.' I Suppose That Apples Might Start To Rise Tomorrow, But The Possibility Does Not Merit Equal Time In Physics Classrooms.

Everything Comes To Us In Fifteen-second Sound Bites And Photo Opportunities. All Possibility For Ambiguity - The Most Precious Trait Of Any Adequate Analysis - Is Erased.

Nothing Is More Dangerous Than A Dogmatic Worldview.