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All that we see could be other than it seems. Indeed, anything we describe could be other than it seems. There is no a priori order of things.
—Ludwig Wittgenstein,
Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus |
(Continued from the previous page)
Section 9 is intended to illustrate how the alternative intellectual perspective provided by stabilization theory can reconceptualize the evolutionary process. The case considered will be the origin of mammals. The typical biology text gives the following account of the origin of the various mammalian orders (usually referred to as the “mammalian radiation”):
Such is the usual account given of the genesis of mammals. But another story can be told, which is, in many ways, more consistent with available data. Section 9 reevaluates the origin of mammals from the standpoint of stabilization theory, and in so doing, reaches some radically different conclusions. Stabilization theory presumes the origin of new forms of life through stabilization processes is a typical, widespread phenomenon. There is therefore no reason to propose or to seek to identify a common ancestor of all mammals. Instead, the basic approach will be to seek similarity sets (see Section 8) of precursor forms that could give rise to each of the various major types of mammals.
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