Ancestors in Evolutionary Biology

Exploration of the history and current practice of phylogenetics as a storytelling discipline that provides explanations for character evolution.
Phylogenetics emerged in the second half of the nineteenth century as a
speculative storytelling discipline dedicated to providing narrative
explanations for the evolution of taxa and their traits. It coincided
with lineage thinking, a process that mentally traces character
evolution along lineages of hypothetical ancestors. Ancestors in
Evolutionary Biology traces the history of narrative phylogenetics and
lineage thinking to the present day, drawing on perspectives from the
history of science, philosophy of science, and contemporary scientific
debates. It shows how the power of phylogenetic hypotheses to explain
evolution resides in the precursor traits of hypothetical ancestors.
This book provides a comprehensive exploration of the topic of
ancestors, which is central to modern biology, and is therefore of
interest to graduate students, researchers, and academics in
evolutionary biology, palaeontology, philosophy of science, and the
history of science.