{"product_id":"9780198844457","title":"Mutation, Randomness, and Evolution","description":"What does it mean to say that mutation is random? How does mutation influence evolution? Are mutations merely the raw material for selection to shape adaptations? The author draws on a detailed knowledge of mutational mechanisms to argue that the randomness doctrine is best understood, not as a fact-based conclusion, but as the premise of a neo-Darwinian research program focused on selection.  The successes of this research program created a blind spot - in mathematical models and verbal theories of causation - that has stymied efforts to re-think the role of variation. However, recent theoretical and empirical work shows that mutational biases can anddo influence the course of evolution, including adaptive evolution, through a first come, first served mechanism.This thought-provoking book cuts through the conceptual tangle at the intersection of mutation, randomness, and evolution, offering a fresh, far-reaching, and testable view of the role of variation as a dispositional evolutionary factor.  The arguments will be accessible to philosophers and historians with a serious interest in evolution, as well as to researchers and advanced students of evolution focused on molecules, microbes, evo-devo, and population genetics.","brand":"Arlin Stoltzfus","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45743624716606,"sku":"9780198844457","price":4834.0,"currency_code":"ZAR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4357\/7662\/products\/9780198844457_b47d79f6-b617-45a2-b9ac-5db6d8815adf.jpg?v=1707223279","url":"https:\/\/exclusivebooks.co.za\/products\/9780198844457","provider":"Exclusive Books Online","version":"1.0","type":"link"}