The Silliman Lectures at Yale University have been responsible for
many books which have greatly influenced the progress of scientific
work in the twentieth century. One of the foremost scientists of
our time, Theodosius Dobzhansky, recipient of the Elliot and
Kimbler prizes, and Da Costa Professor of Zoology at Columbia
University, delivered the Silliman Lectures given in honor of the
Centennial of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species. Based upon
these lectures, Mr. Dobzhansky's latest book, Mankind Evolving, now
takes its place beside his other great works. With a profound
knowledge of the biological theory of evolution and modern
genetics, Mr. Dobzhansky explores the possibilities of
understanding mankind as a product of evolution and as an evolving
whole. Human evolution, contends Mr. Dobzhansky, cannot be
understood as a purely biological process, nor can it be adequately
described as a history of culture; rather, it is the interaction
between the two components of evolution-the biological, or organic,
and the cultural, or superorganic. The interdependence of these two
components is brought out most clearly if we consider that they
both serve the same function-the adaptation to and control of man's
environment. Drawing upon evidence from human biology, and the
study of fossil ancestors of now-living mankind, Mr. Dobzhansky
explains how the biological process led to the inception and
advancement of culture as an instrument of adaptation. In producing
the genetic basis of culture, biological evolution has transcended
itself: it has produced the superorganic. The superorganic, Mr.
Dobzhansky points out, has not annulled the organic; and human
welfare, both in individuals and in societies, is predicated upon
the health of the genetic endowment of human population. Man has
not only evolved but is evolving, and Mr. Dobzhansky expounds the
thesis that the genetic basis of culture should be improved, or at
the very least should not be allowed to deteriorate. Mankind
Evolving is of vital importance not only for scientists but for all
who are concerned with the health of future generations. Winner of
the Anisfield-Wolf Award and the Pierre Lecomte Du Nuoy Prize. "The
most interesting . . . the most judicious scientific treatise that
has ever been written on the nature of man . . . displays
tremendous erudition over an even broader range of knowledge than
is found in its author's previous works. . . . No one who is
concerned with his own nature and that of mankind-and this included
poets, philosophers, and theologians-can afford to miss this
book."-George Gaylord Simpson.
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