{"product_id":"mutation-randomness-and-evolution","title":"Mutation, Randomness, and Evolution","description":"\u003cp\u003eWhat 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\n\u003cbr\u003eblind 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\n\u003cbr\u003ebiases can and do 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\n\u003cbr\u003eas to researchers and advanced students of evolution focused on molecules, microbes, evo-devo, and population genetics.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Oxford University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44056597528814,"sku":"9780198844457","price":179.8,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0630\/9612\/7726\/files\/9780198844457.jpg?v=1706234684","url":"https:\/\/bookland.com.au\/products\/mutation-randomness-and-evolution","provider":"Book Land AU","version":"1.0","type":"link"}