During the Spring semester of 2026 I will continue to host an NJU DIY course: Reading Natural History Books/Papers. Like most book clubs this one is organized around a particular book or article. All participants read one book/article at a time and then gather weekly (every two weeks) meetings to listen to a presentation of the work and participate in a discussion of its contents. The current book/paper we’re reading is …
Uller, T., and K. N. Laland. 2019: Evolutionary causation: biological and philosophical reflections. in Vienna Series in Theoretical Biology. the MIT press, Cambridge (Mass.), 360 p.
… which is a comprehensive treatment of the concept of causation in evolutionary biology that makes clear its central role in both historical and contemporary debates. This book is a core resource for understanding contemporary debates concerning the status of contemporary theory and the proposed need for a fundamental conceptualization of the natural processes that contribute to evolutionary change (see Leland et al., 2014). Already, book club participants (including myself) have had their understanding of contemporary controversies in evolutionary biology updates, and in some respects, shaken, by the arguments made in this review, which touches on topics such as the extended evolutionary synthesis (EES), the role of development of evolutionary theory, developmental plasticity, niche construction, and extended inheritance (see Williams, 2020).
Future book-club books will be decided by vote among book-club participants. So, if you’re interested in any aspect of natural history, want to improve your understanding of that topic through discussion with like-minded colleagues, and have a few hours every two weeks to spare, please consider joining us.
The bookclub meets every other Wednesday evening at 18:30 (China time) in room A351 of the Zhu Gongshan Building, Nanjing University. Online participaNTS Are welcome in case you don’t happen to be in Nanjing for the meeting. For the NJU Autumn semester the NH Book Club will commence on 10 September. We hope to see you there.
With kind regards.
Norman MacLeod
Organizer: NJU Natural History Book Club
Professor, School of Earth Sciences and Engineering
Zhu Gongshan Building, Room 464
Nanjing University
163 Xianlin Avenue
Nanjing, Jiangsu 210023
China
Phone: +86 198 5280 0990
E-Mail: NMacLeod@nju.edu.cn
Previous books we’ve read:
Vermeij, G. J. 2024: The evolution of power: a new understanding of the history of life. Princeton University Press, Princeton, USA, 264 p.
Lieberman, B. S. 1999: Paleobiogeography. in Topics in Geobiology. Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, New York, 208 p.
MacLeod NJU Courses Site 