TY - JOUR
AU - Smith, J M
AB -  In recent years there has been a growing attempt to use mathematical methods borrowed from engineering and economics in interpreting the diversity of life. It is assumed that evolution has occurred by natural selection, and hence that complex structures and behaviors are to be interpreted in terms of the contribution they make to the survival and reproduction of their possessors-that is, to Darwinian fitness. There is nothing particularly new in this logic, which is also the basis of functional anatomy, and indeed of much physiology and molecular biology. It was followed by Darwin himself in his studies of climbing and insectivorous plants, of fertilization mechanisms and devices to ensure cross-pollination. What is new is the use of mathematical techniques such as control theory, dynamic programming, and the theory of games to generate a priori hypotheses, and the application of the method to behaviors and life history strategies. This change in method has led to the criticism (e.g. 54, 55) that the basic hypothesis of adaptation is untestable and therefore unscientific, and that the whole program of functional explanation through optimization has become a test of ingenuity rather than an enquiry into truth. Related to this is the criticism 
TI - Optimization Theory in Evolution
JF - Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics
DO - 10.1146/annurev.es.09.110178.000335
DA - 1978-11-01
UR - https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/annual-reviews/optimization-theory-in-evolution-EgvraBD187
SP - 31
EP - 56
VL - 9
IS - 1
DP - DeepDyve
ER -