Evolution: Much More than Genetics. The Need for a Holistic View

ABSTRACT

Since Darwin’s time we have known that natural selection, acting upon variations, is the key to understanding biological evolution. After passing through the filter of natural selection, these changes generate new life-forms. Such lines of thought are still widely advocated today in science, but many non-scientists continue to accept creationism, Lamarckism and other ideas not supported by evidence. Even though many books and papers are published yearly to explain Darwinian evolution, and many documentary films are shown on TV, resistance to Darwinian evolution does not decrease. In fact, it is on the increase, not only in the USA but recently also in Europe. Perhaps those of us who write and lecture on Darwinian evolution are doing something wrong. For example, many books on the subject emphasize genetic mechanisms, although it is obvious that the evolution of the genome alone cannot suffice to explain the evolution of life on Earth in all its manifestations. In this paper we present an all-embracing vision of the evolution of life -- a coevolutionary process that is not strictly biological but also environmental, social and cultural, and which takes into account the important role played by incorporations and interactions in networks. We believe that it is only by emphasizing the continuity between matter on the one hand and biological, social and cultural evolution on the other that the gap between micro- and macro-evolution can be filled in an understandable way for non-scientists in need of a comprehensive view.