Biology promises to be the leading science in this century. As in all other sciences, progress in biology depends on interactions between empirical research, theory building, and modeling. But whereas the techniques and methods of descriptive and experimental biology have dramatically evolved in recent years, generating a flood of highly detailed empirical data, the integration of these results into useful theoretical frameworks has lagged behind. Driven largely by pragmatic and technical considerations, research in biology continues to be less guided by theory than it is in other fundamental sciences. By promoting the discussion and formulation of new theoretical concepts in the biosciences, this series intends to help fill conceptual gaps in our understanding of some of the major open questions of biology, such as the origin and organization of organismal form, the relationship between development and evolution, or the biological bases of cognition and mind.
The series, whose name reflects the location of its initiating meetings and commemorates the seminal work of the aforementioned scientists, grew out of the yearly "Altenberg Workshops in Theoretical Biology" held near Vienna, at the Konrad Lorenz Institute for Evolution and Cognition Research (KLI), a private, non-profit institution closely associated with the University of Vienna. KLI fosters research projects, seminars, workshops, and symposia on all aspects of theoretical biology, with an emphasis on the developmental, evolutionary, and cognitive sciences. The workshops, each organized by leading experts in their fields, concentrate on new conceptual advances originating in these disciplines, and are meant to facilitate the formulation of integrative, cross-disciplinary models. Volumes on emerging topics of crucial theoretical importance not directly related to any of the workshops will also be included in the series. The series editors welcome suggestions for book projects on theoretical advances in the biosciences.
For information on the submission of proposals and manuscripts, please contact any of the series editors above or the publisher, Robert Prior (prior@mit.edu).
Publications 1 - 14 of 14
Biological Emergences Evolution by Natural Experiment Robert G. B. Reid
A critique of selectionism and the proposal of an alternate theory of emergent evolution that is causally sufficient for evolutionary biology. Cloth / March 2007 OUT OF PRINT
Biological Emergences Evolution by Natural Experiment Robert G. B. Reid
A critique of selectionism and the proposal of an alternate theory of emergent evolution that is causally sufficient for evolutionary biology. Paper / September 2009 Price $20.00 | ADD TO CART
Cognitive Biology Evolutionary and Developmental Perspectives on Mind, Brain, and Behavior
Edited by Luca Tommasi, Mary A. Peterson and Lynn Nadel
An overview of current research at the intersection of psychology and biology, integrating evolutionary and developmental data and explanations. Cloth / July 2009 Price $50.00 | ADD TO CART
Compositional Evolution The Impact of Sex, Symbiosis, and Modularity on the Gradualist Framework of Evolution Richard A. Watson
A study of evolutionary processes that involve the combination of systems of semi-independently preadapted genetic material rather than the linear or sequential accumulation of slight modifications; with computational models that illustrate these mechanisms. Cloth / February 2006 Price $50.00 | ADD TO CART
The Evolution of Cognition Edited by Cecilia Heyes and Ludwig Huber
This book encompasses the behavior and mentality of nonhuman as well as human animals and a full range of evolutionary approaches. Rather than a collection by and for the like-minded, it is a debate about how evolutionary processes have shaped cognition. Cloth / August 2000 Price $58.00 | ADD TO CART
Evolution of Communication Systems A Comparative Approach
Edited by D. Kimbrough Oller and Ulrike Griebel
Laying foundations for an interdisciplinary approach to the study of evolution in communication systems with tools from evolutionary biology, linguistics, animal behavior, developmental psychology, philosophy, cognitive sciences, robotics, and neural network modeling. Cloth / September 2004 Price $45.00 | ADD TO CART
Evolution of Communicative Flexibility Complexity, Creativity, and Adaptability in Human and Animal Communication
Edited by D. Kimbrough Oller and Ulrike Griebel
Experts investigate communicative flexibility (in both form and usage of signals) as the foundation of the evolution of complex communication systems, including human language. Cloth / September 2008 Price $50.00 | ADD TO CART
Modeling Biology Structures, Behaviors, Evolution
Edited by Manfred D. Laubichler and Gerd B. Müller
Experts examine new modeling strategies for the interpretation of biological data and their integration into the conceptual framework of theoretical biology, detailing approaches that focus on morphology, development, behavior, or evolution. Cloth / October 2007 Price $50.00 | ADD TO CART
Modularity Understanding the Development and Evolution of Natural Complex Systems
Edited by Werner Callebaut and Diego Rasskin-Gutman; Foreword by Herbert A. Simon
Experts from diverse fields, including artificial life, cognitive science, economics, developmental and evolutionary biology, and the arts, discuss modularity. Cloth / June 2005 Price $57.00 | ADD TO CART
Modularity Understanding the Development and Evolution of Natural Complex Systems
Edited by Werner Callebaut and Diego Rasskin-Gutman; Foreword by Herbert A. Simon
Experts from diverse fields, including artificial life, cognitive science, economics, developmental and evolutionary biology, and the arts, discuss modularity. Paper / September 2009 Price $29.00 | ADD TO CART
Origination of Organismal Form Beyond the Gene in Developmental and Evolutionary Biology
Edited by Gerd B. Müller and Stuart A. Newman
A more comprehensive version of evolutionary theory that focuses as much on the origin of biological form as on its diversification. Cloth / February 2003 Price $48.00 | ADD TO CART
