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Biological Complexity and Punctuated Equilibria

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Stephen J. Gould: The Scientific Legacy

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Abstract

The theory of punctuated equilibrium proposed by Gould and Eldredge has been considered “heretic” isolated from the main currents of scientific thought for a long time. This paper challenges this view showing that, contrary to this position, acceleration of evolution and criticality are processes very well known in physics and in general in the field of complex systems. This thesis is supported by a vast number of examples of acceleration in living systems deriving from their state of extended criticality (Bailly and Longo) and new equilibria can be reached through the utilization of four categories of variation (genetic, epigenetic, behavioural, cultural) the last one being used by humans, the constructors of cultural punctuated processes. All these concepts, finally, are documented with a vast number of recent experimental data fully confirming the paleontological observations by Gould and Eldredge.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento di Biologia Animale e Genetica, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Florence, Italy

    Marcello Buiatti

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  1. Marcello Buiatti
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Correspondence to Marcello Buiatti .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Ist. Veneto di Scienze, Lettere e Arti, Campo Santo Stefano 2945, Venezia, 30124, Venezia, Italy

    Gian Antonio Danieli

  2. Scienze, Lettere ed Arti, University of Padua and Istituto Veneto, Padua 2945, Venice, 30124, Venezia, Italy

    Alessandro Minelli

  3. , Department of Biology, University of Padua, Italy, Via U. Bassi 58/B, Padova, 35131, Padova, Italy

    Telmo Pievani

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Buiatti, M. (2013). Biological Complexity and Punctuated Equilibria. In: Danieli, G., Minelli, A., Pievani, T. (eds) Stephen J. Gould: The Scientific Legacy. Springer, Milano. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-88-470-5424-0_7

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