The Strategy of the Genes
Abstract
First published in 1957, this essential classic work bridged the gap between analytical and theoretical biology, thus setting the insights of the former in a context which more sensitively reflects the ambiguities surrounding many of its core concepts and objectives. Specifically, these five essays are concerned with some of the major problems of classical biology: the precise character of biological organisation, the processes which generate it, and the specifics of evolution. With regard to these issues, some thinkers suggest that biological organisms are not merely distinguishable from inanimate ‘things’ in terms of complexity, but are in fact radically different qualitatively: they exemplify some constitutive principle which is not elsewhere manifested. It is the desire to bring such ideas into conformity with our understanding of analytical biology which unifies these essays. They explore the contours of a conceptual framework sufficiently wide to embrace all aspects of living systems.
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Symmetry breaking is partly responsible for the differentiation paths that allow the generation of specialized cell types.
“Symmetry breaking is partly responsible for the differentiation paths that allow the generation of specialized cell types [197], often represented as dynamical paths on a Waddington epigenetic landscape (figure 6c) [211].”
From Fundamental constraints to the logic of living systems (2024) · cites this paper as [211]
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- Authors
- Waddington, C. H.
- Affiliations
- Wellesley College (US)
- Corresponding author
- Waddington, C.H.
- Venue
- Routledge eBooks
- Publisher
- Routledge
- Published
- 2014-04-29
- OpenAlex
- W2331030820
- Cited by
- 2,153
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 32 · 2025: 34 · 2024: 29 · 2023: 30 · 2022: 21 · 2021: 80 · 2020: 60 · 2019: 51 · 2018: 60 · 2017: 50 · 2016: 65 · 2015: 77 · 2014: 64 · 2013: 92 · 2012: 76
- FWCI
- 116.14
- Type
- book
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Routledge eBooks (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › History and Philosophy of Science › Philosophy and History of Science
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Evolution and Genetic Dynamics
- Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Origins and Evolution of Life
- Keywords
- biological organization, evolution, theoretical biology, biological complexity, philosophy of biology
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