BIBFRAME Work

Title

Plasticity in the life sciences

Type

• Monograph
• Text

Contribution

• Nicoglou, Antonine (author )

Subject

• Phenotypic plasticity (LCSH)
• Genotype-environment interaction (LCSH)
• Variation (Biology) (LCSH)
• Evolutionary genetics (LCSH)

Language

• eng

Illustrative Content

• illustrations

Classification

• LCC: QH438.5 .N53 2024 (Assigner: dlc) (Status: uba)
• DDC: 572.8/38 (Assigner: dlc)

Content

• text

Supplementary content

• bibliography
• index

Summary

"Since the early twentieth century, plasticity has become an important theoretical concept in biology. Some even wondered whether plasticity has acquired in biology the theoretical importance that the concept of the gene enjoyed at the beginning of the last century. In this historical and epistemological analysis, Antonine Nicoglou shows how the recurrence of the general idea of plasticity throughout the history of the life sciences indicates its essential role in the way we think about life processes. She also argues that although plasticity has become a key element in thinking about an "extended synthesis" in evolution, its role for contemporary biology is not so limited. Rather, as mobilized in contemporary biology, the concept of plasticity most often seeks to account for the specificity of living systems. The book is divided into two parts, with the first taking up the history of plasticity from Aristotle to contemporary biology. Then, the second part of the book offers an original way of distinguishing between different phenomena described by 'plasticity.' In the process, she explores what has led some biologists to speak of plasticity as a way of overcoming genetic determinism"-- Provided by publisher.

Table of Contents

Concepts of plasticity in the history of the life sciences. Theories of plasticity in the philosophy of nature ; The plastic embryo ; The emergence of an operational concept of plasticity in genetics ; Plasticity in evolutionary biology: a boundary concept ; Defining plasticity -- Biological plasticity: two ways to explain variation. Biological plasticity, an explanans in developmental process ; Biological plasticity, a synonym for biological regulation? ; Biological plasticity, an explanandum in evolutionary process ; Plasticity in the evolutionary developmental synthesis: toward an integration of explanations? ; Plasticity in the life sciences: resistance or recurrence.

Authorized Access Point

Nicoglou, Antonine. Plasticity in the life sciences

Admin Metadata

• Date: 2026-09-11T20:11:56.704642+00:00
• Agent: cbc
• Status: c
• Derived from: 23717117

Admin Metadata

• Date: 2026-09-11
• Cataloger id: Unknown
• Description level: http://id.loc.gov/ontologies/bibframe-2-6-0/
• Description language: eng
• Description authentication: pcc