Jablonka & Lamb/Evolution in Four Dimensions: BBS Multiple Book Review

Dear Dr. Qwerty, Below is a link to the forthcoming precis of a book accepted for Multiple Book Review in Behavioral and Brain Sciences (BBS). PRECIS OF: Evolution in Four Dimensions by Eva Jablonka & Marion J. Lamb Behavioral and Brain Sciences (BBS), is an international, interdisciplinary journal providing Open Peer Commentary on important and controversial current research in the biobehavioral and cognitive sciences. Please note that it is the *BOOK*, not the precis, that is to be reviewed. Reviewers must be BBS Associates or nominated by a BBS Associate. To be considered as a reviewer for this book, to suggest other appropriate reviewers, or for information about how to become a BBS Associate, please reply to this call no later than December 28, 2006: calls(a)bbsonline.org The Calls are sent to 10,000 BBS Associates, so there is no expectation (indeed, it would be calamitous) that each recipient should comment on every occasion! Hence there is no need to reply except if you wish to comment, or to nominate someone to comment. If you are not a BBS Associate, please approach a current BBS Associate (there are currently over 10,000 worldwide) who is familiar with your work to nominate you. All past BBS authors, referees and commentators are eligible to become BBS Associates. A full electronic list of current BBS Associates is available at this location to help you select a name: http://www.bbsonline.org/Instructions/assoclist.html If no current BBS Associate knows your work, please send us your Curriculum Vitae and BBS will circulate it to appropriate Associates to ask whether they would be prepared to nominate you. (In the meantime, your name, address and email address will be entered into our database as an unaffiliated investigator.) To help you decide whether you would be an appropriate reviewer for this book, an electronic draft of the precis (only) is retrievable at the URL that follows the abstract below. ================================================================== *** IMPORTANT INSTRUCTIONS *** ================================================================== Please do not prepare a review unless you are formally invited. To help us put together a balanced list of reviewers, it would be most helpful if you would send us as specific as possible an indication of the relevant expertise you would bring to bear on the subject, and what aspect of the book you would anticipate commenting upon. We will then let you know whether it was possible to include your name on the final formal list of invitees. As noted earlier, it is the *BOOK*, not the precis, that is to be reviewed. So please indicate whether you already have the book or would require a review copy to be sent to you if invited. (Note: Please do not simply indicate that we have your expertise information in our records. We request this information in order to simplify and thus, speed up the selection process.) ======================================================================= _______________________________________________________________________ PRECIS OF: Evolution in Four Dimensions AUTHORS: Eva Jablonka* & Marion J. Lamb *Cohn Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Ideas ABSTRACT: Abstract: In his theory of evolution, Darwin recognized that the conditions of life play a role in the generation of hereditary variations, as well as in their selection. However, as evolutionary theory was developed further, heredity became identified with genetics and variation was seen in terms of combinations of randomly generated gene mutations. We argue that this view is now changing, because it is clear that a notion of hereditary variation that is based solely on randomly varying genes that are unaffected by developmental conditions is an inadequate basis for evolutionary theories. Such a view not only fails to provide satisfying explanations of many evolutionary phenomena, it also makes assumptions that are not consistent with the data that are emerging from disciplines ranging from molecular biology to cultural studies. These data show that the genome is far more responsive to the environment than previously thought, and that not all transmissible variation is underlain by genetic differences. In Evolution in Four Dimensions we identify four types of inheritance (genetic, epigenetic, behavioural, and symbol-based), each of which can provide variations on which natural selection will act. Some of these variations arise in response to developmental conditions, so there are Lamarckian aspects to evolution. We argue that a better insight into evolutionary processes will result from recognizing that transmitted variations that are not based on DNA differences have played a role. This is particularly true for understanding the evolution of human behaviour, where all four dimensions of heredity have been important. KEYWORDS: cultural evolution, Darwinism, directed mutations, epigenetic inheritance, evolutionary psychology, information transmission, Lamarckism, language evolution, memes, social learning FULL TEXT: http://www.bbsonline.org/Preprints/Jablonka-10132006/Referees/ ** Please reply to this call no later than December 28, 2006 ** ====================================================================== *** SUPPLEMENTARY ANNOUNCEMENT *** (1) Call for Book Nominations for BBS Multiple Book Review In the past, Behavioral and Brain Sciences (BBS) had only been able to do 1-2 BBS multiple book treatments per year, because of our limited annual page quota. BBS's new expanded page quota will make it possible for us to increase the number of books we treat per year, so this is an excellent time for BBS Associates and biobehavioral/cognitive scientists in general to nominate books you would like to see accorded BBS multiple book review. (Authors may self-nominate, but books can only be selected on the basis of multiple nominations.) It would be very helpful if you indicated in what way a BBS Multiple Book Review of the book(s) you nominate would be useful to the field (and of course a rich list of potential reviewers would be the best evidence of its potential impact!). *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* Please note: Your email address has been added to our user database for Calls for Commentators, the reason you received this email. If you do not wish to receive further Calls, please feel free to change your mailshot status through your User Login link on the BBSPrints homepage, using your username and password. Or, email a response with the word "remove" in the subject line. *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* Ralph BBS ------------------------------------------------------------------- Ralph DeMarco Editorial Coordinator Behavioral and Brain Sciences Journals Department Cambridge University Press 32 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY 10013 UNITED STATES bbs(a)bbsonline.org http://www.bbsonline.org Tel: +001 212 337-5016 Fax: +001 212 337-5959 -------------------------------------------------------------------