The Paradox of the Organism

<p><b>Leading evolutionary theorists and philosophers come together to understand how organisms persist, even as they’re riddled with internal conflict, from cancer cells to selfish genes.</b>

How does a vast menagerie of organs, tissues, cells, and genes coalesce to form a unified organism? For centuries, biologists and philosophers have taken this astonishing feat for granted, treating it as a matter of divine will or evolutionary inevitability. Yet unity is hardly assured. From cancer cells to selfish genes, the body is riven by internal conflicts.

<i>The Paradox of the Organism</i> grapples with this puzzle. As the essays in this collection show, profound questions arise when we pierce the organismal veil and consider the self-replicating elements within. Is an organism really a cohesive agent that adapts to the ecosystem it inhabits? Or is an organism itself an ecosystem, within which individual components are engaged in a continuous arms race?

The answers have immediate implications: for understanding miscarriage, treating cancer, improving psychological health, and preserving biodiversity. Challenging fundamental precepts of evolutionary theory, <i>The Paradox of the Organism</i> offers an incisive account of life’s extraordinary success.</p>