Product Description: Communication, one of the most important functions of life, occurs at any spatial scale from the molecular one up to that of populations and ecosystems, and any time scale from that of fast chemical reactions up to that of geological ages...read more

In the past century, nearly all of the biological sciences have been directly affected by discoveries and developments in genetics, a fast-evolving subject with important theoretical dimensions. In this rich and accessible book, Paul Griffiths and Karola Stotz show how the concept of the gene has evolved and diversified across the many fields that make up modern biology. By examining the molecular biology of the 'environment', they situate genetics in the developmental biology of whole organisms, and reveal how the molecular biosciences have undermined the nature/nurture distinction. Their discussion gives full weight to the revolutionary impacts of molecular biology, while rejecting 'genocentrism' and 'reductionism', and brings the topic right up to date with the philosophical implications of the most recent developments in genetics. Their book will be invaluable for those studying the philosophy of biology, genetics and other life sciences.

Product Description: Profits techniques et usages des métaphores.Prométhée inventeur du génie génétique ? Prométhée héros fondateur des biotechnologies ? Prométhée champion des manipulations du génome humain ? Dans la tragédie d'Eschyle, Prométhée se vante d'avoir transmis aux hommes une longue série de techniques...read more

Product Description: The essays in this collection examine developments in three fundamental biological disciplines--embryology, evolutionary biology, and genetics--in conflict with each other for much of the twentieth century. They consider key methodological problems and the difficulty of overcoming them...read more (view table of contents, read Amazon.com's description)

What are the agents of life? Central to our conception of the biological world is the idea that it contains various kinds of individuals, including genes, organisms, and species. How we conceive of these agents of life is central to our understanding of the relationship between life and mind, the place of hierarchical thinking in the biological sciences, and pluralistic views of biological agency. Genes and the Agents of Life rethinks the place of the individual in the biological sciences, drawing parallels with the cognitive and social sciences. Genes, organisms, and species are all agents of life, but how are each of these conceptualized within genetics, developmental biology, evolutionary biology, and systematics? The book includes highly accessible discussions of genetic encoding, species and natural kinds, and pluralism above the levels of selection, drawing on work from across the biological sciences. A companion to Boundaries of the Mind, (Cambridge, 2004) where the focus is on the cognitive sciences, this volume will appeal to professionals and students in philosophy, biology, and the history of science. Robert A. Wilson is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Alberta. He is the author of Cartesian Psychology and Physical Minds (Cambridge, 1995).

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Product Description: The major, basic models of genetic theories are for the first time reconstructed in a precise and perspicuous way. The book aims at foundational clarification. It shows how the different branches of genetics are systematically related, how they differ from each other, and how they can be compared with each other...read more (view table of contents, read Amazon.com's description)

Product Description: Here is a provocative work that challenges our common assumptions about nature and science. It is a book for all those who want to question and more deeply understand the biological revolution of the late twentieth century. Clearly written, well-illustrated, and without unnecessary technical jargon, Holdrege employs fascinating examples to show how living organisms develop and exist within the context of their environment...read more

Product Description: St. Louis 1977 Warren H. Green. 8vo., 498pp., illustrations, hardcover. Fine, no DJ.