03462cam a22003614a 4500 16540451 BD-DhUL 20141114092043.0 101116s2011 enka b 001 0 eng 2010048061 9780521116374 (hardback) 9780521133326 (paperback) DLC DLC DLC BD-DhUL pcc QE721 .T88 2011 560 22 TUP SCI075000 bisacsh Turner, Derek D. (Derek Donald), 1974- Paleontology : a philosophical introduction / Derek Turner. Cambridge ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 2011. xi, 227 p. : ill. ; 25 cm. GBP 20.99 Cambridge introductions to philosophy and biology Includes bibliographical references and index. Machine generated contents note: 1. Paleontology and evolutionary theory; 2. A new way of looking at the fossil record; 3. Punctuated equilibria: provocations and problems; 4. The emergence of a hierarchical evolutionary theory; 5. The case for species selection; 6. Real trends; 7. The dynamics of evolutionary trends; 8. Is evolution contingent?; 9. Diversity and disparity; 10. Are genes the new fossils?. "Imagine a planet almost exactly like ours, but with one crucial difference: it has no fossils. Call this imaginary planet Afossilia. Afossilia and Earth harbor the very same kinds of living things, from ferns to human beings to E. coli bacteria. Both planets have the same surface features and the same types of rocks. And both have experienced exactly the same evolutionary histories, with the same species evolving and going extinct at exactly the same time. We can even suppose that you and I have counterparts living on Afossilia -- that is, that there are people there who are exactly (or almost exactly) like us. Some Biblical literalists hold that God placed fossils in the rocks in order to test our faith in scripture. I invite you to join me now in thinking about a simple inversion of this familiar idea: what if God -- or if not God, then some more sinister spirit -- systematically removed all the fossils from the rocks just before (Afossilian) humans evolved and began to study the world around them. Afossilia has no fossilized footprints, leaf imprints, shells, pollen, teeth, bones, coprolites (fossilized feces), or any of the remains of ancient organisms that we on Earth can see on display in natural history museums. Suppose you had the opportunity to tour a major research university on Afossilia. There you would find physicists, cosmologists, astronomers, chemists, biochemists, and molecular biologists doing exactly the same things that scientists in those fields do here on Earth. But you would find no paleontologists on Afossilia -- no departments of paleontology or professional associations for paleontologists. A world without fossils must also be a world without paleontology ("the study of ancient beings"). "-- Provided by publisher. Paleontology Philosophy. SCIENCE / Philosophy & Social Aspects bisacsh. Cover image http://assets.cambridge.org/97805211/16374/cover/9780521116374.jpg 7 cbc orignew 1 ecip 20 y-gencatlg ddc BK xj10 2010-11-16 xj10 2010-11-16 ONIX to STM xe10 2011-08-04 2 copies rec'd., to CIP ver. 19116 19116 0 0 ddc 0 560_000000000000000_TUP 0 NFIC 36643 DUSL DUSL GEN 2014-05-11 purchased 560 TUP 482394 2014-11-14 4 2014-11-14 BK 0 0 ddc 0 560_000000000000000_TUP 0 NFIC 36644 DUSL DUSL GEN 2014-05-11 purchased 560 TUP 482393 2014-11-14 3 2014-11-14 BK 0 0 ddc 0 560_000000000000000_TUP 0 NFIC 36645 DUSL DUSL GEN 2014-05-11 purchased 560 TUP 482392 2014-11-14 2 2014-11-14 BK 0 0 ddc 0 560_000000000000000_TUP 0 NFIC 36646 DUSL DUSL GEN 2014-05-11 purchased 560 TUP 482391 2014-11-14 1 2014-11-14 BK