Evolution in Four Dimensions: Genetic, Epigenetic, Behavioral, and Symbolic Variation in the History of Life

Publisher: A Bradford Book; revised edition edition (March 28, 2014), 576 pages.Eva Jablonka and Marion Lamb's pioneering argument proposes that there is more to heredity than genes. They describe four "dimensions" in heredity - four inheritance systems that play a role in evolution: genetic, epigenetic (or non-DNA cellular transmission of traits), behavioral, and symbolic (transmission through language and other forms of symbolic communication). These systems, they argue, can all provide variations on which natural selection can act. Jablonka and Lamb present a richer, more complex view of evolution than that offered by the gene-based Modern Synthesis, arguing that induced and acquired changes also play a role. Their lucid and accessible text is accompanied by artist-physician Anna Zeligowski's lively drawings, which humorously and effectively illustrate the authors' points.Contents
The First Dimension
The Transformations of Darwinism
From Genes to Characters
Genetic Variation: Blind, Directed, Interpretive?
Three More Dimensions
The Epigenetic Inheritance Systems
The Behavioral Inheritance Systems
The Symbolic Inheritance System
Between the Acts: An Interim Summary
Putting Humpty Dumpty Together Again
Interacting Dimensions—Genes and Epigenetic Systems
Genes and Behavior, Genes and Language
Lamarckism Evolving: The Evolution of the Educated Guess
A Last Dialogue