Dickins, T.E. and Rahman, Q. (2012) The extended evolutionary synthesis and the role of soft inheritance in evolution. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 279 (1740). pp. 1-10.

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Abstract

In recent years, a number of researchers have advocated extending the modern synthesis in evolutionary biology. One of the core arguments made in favour of an extension comes from work on soft inheritance systems, including transgenerational epigenetic effects, cultural transmission and niche construction. In this study, we outline this claim and then take issue with it. We argue that the focus on soft inheritance has led to a conflation of proximate and ultimate causation, which has in turn obscured key questions about biological organization and calibration across the life span to maximize average lifetime inclusive f itness. We illustrate this by presenting hypotheses that we believe incorporate the core phenomena of soft inheritance and will aid in understanding them.

Item Type:	Article
Identifier:	10.1098/rspb.2012.0273
Keywords:	soft inheritance; extended evolutionary synthesis; epigenetic inheritance; proximate and ultimate causation
Depositing User:	Tom Dickins
Date Deposited:	16 May 2025 09:36
Last Modified:	16 May 2025 09:45
URI:	https://repository.uwl.ac.uk/id/eprint/13670

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