Extended Evolutionary Synthesis: A Philosophical Appraisal

Extended evolutionary synthesis is a theory that has been proposed to increase the explanatory power of evolutionary synthesis theory in the face of evolutionary complexities on the one hand and the ability to provide explanations for new discoveries in evolutionary biology on the other. This theory is presented in two parts, in the first part, the need to review and the need to extend within the conceptual frameworks governing this theory. The revision of conceptual frameworks includes the omission of the principle of central dogma and the modification of the formulation of gene-centered theory. In the second part, the necessity of extension in two dominant types of thinking in the foundations of evolutionary synthesis theory is discussed: the extension of evolution-oriented thinking to evolution-devolution-oriented thinking and acceptance of reciprocal causality instead of one-way causation. By examining the most important assumptions and claims of this new theory, some of its important metaphors, analogies and interpretations can be introduced to explain this theory. The extent to which this new theory can be accepted depends on what its founders defined as “Extensibility” and where they found it most necessary in the components of evolutionary synthesis theory.