Beyond Neo-Darwinism to Neo-Lamarckism: A Look at the Modern Synthesis and the Extended Evolutionary Synthesis
The study of evolution, the cornerstone of modern biology, has been shaped by various historical narratives and theoretical frameworks. While the Modern Synthesis (MS) stands as the dominant paradigm, recent years have witnessed growing calls for an " Extended Evolutionary Synthesis " (EES) to better encompass the complexity of evolutionary processes. Understanding these narratives and the tensions between MS and EES is crucial for appreciating the dynamism and multifaceted nature of evolutionary theory. One key point of contention involves the historical portrayal of the MS. Often called " Neo-Darwinism ," it's essential to recognize the MS as a confluence of ideas, not a rigidly defined ideology. It integrated gene-centered Darwinism with population genetics, paleontology, and developmental biology, forging a powerful understanding of evolution driven by natural selection acting on heritable variation. However, critics argue that MS narratives oft...