The Spandrels of San Marco and the Panglossian Paradigm¶
Gould, S. J., & Lewontin, R. C. (1979). The Spandrels of San Marco and the Panglossian Paradigm: A Critique of the Adaptationist Programme. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B, 205(1161), 581-598.
Cited by¶
4 citations across 4 artifacts.
Each citation links to the sentence it supports in the citing article.
Primes¶
- Adaptation
This sourceCanonical critique of pan-adaptationism; argues that many features are architectural by-products (spandrels) of structural constraints rather than direct adaptations, separating what can adapt from what is fixed by substrate.
- Exaptation
- Crucially, the structural logic also covers traits that arose for no function at all: Gould and Lewontin's (1979) spandrels — by-products of other design choices — are prime candidates for later co-option precisely because they were never optimized for anything and so carry uncommitted capacity.
This sourceCanonical critique of pan-adaptationism; argues that many features are architectural by-products (spandrels) of structural constraints rather than direct adaptations, which dissolves the demand for an adaptive just-so story for every useful trait.
- Crucially, the structural logic also covers traits that arose for no function at all: Gould and Lewontin's (1979) spandrels — by-products of other design choices — are prime candidates for later co-option precisely because they were never optimized for anything and so carry uncommitted capacity.
- Observable Surface Becomes Contract
- In biology, evolutionary spandrels — features incidental to original adaptive pressure — become load-bearing through downstream co-option, with observability creating the surface for co-option.
This sourceIntroduces spandrels — incidental byproducts of other adaptations that become available for later co-option.
- In biology, evolutionary spandrels — features incidental to original adaptive pressure — become load-bearing through downstream co-option, with observability creating the surface for co-option.
Domain-specific¶
- Beneficial acclimation hypothesis
- Conceptual biological hypothesis only; no organism manipulation or experimental protocol.
This sourceRoy. Soc. London B 205. pp. 581-598.
- Conceptual biological hypothesis only; no organism manipulation or experimental protocol.
Verification¶
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