Evolution in Four Dimensions

The traditional neo-Darwinian view of evolution understands inheritance in genetic terms, as the transmission of DNA from parents to offspring. Jablonka and Lamb argue convincingly that in addition to genetic inheritance, there exist three other inheritance systems in nature – epigenetic, symbolic, and behavioural – all of which play an important role in evolution. The book is not a work of philosophy in the strict sense, but rather a fascinating and conceptually-rich synthesis of a diverse body of empirical findings which, the authors argue, can only be accommodated by going beyond a purely geno-centric view of evolution.

In a highly influential volume, Jablonka and Lamb divided the process of evolution into four dimensions: genetic, epigenetic, behavioral, and symbolic. These dimensions are useful analytic tools that help us understand more of how to predict and influence behavior. By thinking of evolution in multidimensional terms, we can better appreciate its systemic and interactive nature. Especially the epigenetic dimension is rapidly coming to be widely known. Epigenetics refers to biological processes other than the sequence of DNA nucleotides, that regulate gene activity, expression, transcription, and function. Almost every day an important new study appears showing that experience alters genetic expression,… show more.