Summary |
There are two claims that define Process
Structuralism. First is that development has a strong influence on the kinds of
phenotypes available for selection, bringing developmental phenomena to bear on
evolutionary theory. Developmental processes are fundamentally developmental constraints
explaining biological phenomena, such as the conservation of traits across
phylogeny, in terms of developmental processes biasing the variation in phenotypic
forms available for selection. Distinctive is the second claim, the ontological
assertion that biological kinds can be individuated in terms of the kinds of
structures that emerge from the dynamic process of cellular and physiological development,
rather than in terms of historically contingent common descent. The dynamical
process of development generate stable archetypal organismic structures, these
constitute what was called a bauplan. |