ONTOLOGY OF EVOLUTION AND METHODOLOGY OF TAXONOMY

Abstract

The theoretical basis of evolutionary biology is presented and discussed to introduce the reader to problems of evolutionary theory and particularly to the problem of paradigm selection. Advantages of the epigenetic hypothesis over the synthetic one are demonstrated, and a wide array of inferences is analyzed including the hypothesis of adaptive trade-off, which considers the organism as a finely tuned comprehensive whole that is restricted in modification unless under more or less serious destabilization. The basic premises of phylogenetics, taxonomy, and taxonomic nomenclature are also analyzed; this results in the inference that the phyletic (refined traditional, Linnean) methodology has advantages over the cladistic one. The nature of the biological taxon and the problems of taxonomy of taxonomically imperfect material (paleontological, parasitological, etc.) are discussed. © Pleiades Publishing, Inc. 2006.