For most biologists, however, evolution is far more complicated. Taken to its most extreme, species themselves become almost incidental to the genetic warfare that rages within them. Rose, a biochemist, specializes in how memory works, and his book includes some fascinating information about the influence of chemistry in the development of our bodies. Text Excerpt Read the first chapter of this title. Unfortunately, the vigor of his polemic is not matched by the clarity of his analysis.
Readers hoping to be tutored in the nuances of the debate are likely to go away disappointed.
In Lifelines, biologist Steven Rose offers a powerful alternative to the ultradarwinist claims of such notable science writers as Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, and other advocates of reductionism, arguing that there need to be a specific focus on the organism in question and, in particular, on the organism's lifeline. Rose argues against an extreme reductionist approach that would make the gene the key to understanding human nature, in favor of a more complex and richer vision of life. Our personal lifeline, Rose points out, is unique - even identical twins, with identical genes at birth, will differ over time. The organism is both the weaver and the pattern it weaves. Lifeline will be a rallying point for all who seek an alternative to the currently fashionable, deeply determinist accounts which dominate popular science writing and, in fact, crowd the pages of some of the major scientific journals.