Partner Since
2+ YearsPublisher | Duke University Press |
ISBN 13 | 9780822324669 |
Book Description | The Ontogeny of Information is a critical intervention into the ongoing and perpetually troubling naturenurture debates surrounding human development. Originally published in 1985 this was a foundational text in what is now the substantial field of developmental systems theory. In this revised edition Susan Oyama argues compellingly that nature and nurture are not alternative influences on human development but rather developmental products and the developmental processes that produce them. Information says Oyama is thought to reside in molecules cells tissues and the environment. When something wondrous occurs in the world we tend to question whether the information guiding the transformation was preencoded in the organism or installed through experience or instruction. Oyama looks beyond this eitheror question to focus on the history of such developments. She shows that what developmental information does depends on what is already in place and what alternatives are available. She terms this process constructive interactionism whereby each combination of genes and environmental influences simultaneously interacts to produce a unique result. Ontogeny then is the result of dynamic and complex interactions in multileveled developmental systems. The Ontogeny of Information challenges specialists in the fields of developmental biology philosophy of biology psychology and sociology and even nonspecialists to reexamine the existing naturenurture dichotomy as it relates to the history and formation of organisms. |
Language | English |
Author | SusanOyama |
Edition Number | 1 |
Number of Pages | 296 |
The Ontogeny of Information paperback english