The development of evolution

Evolution is not what it used to be. A lot has changed since Darwin's day. In the first half of the 20th century, evolutionary theory was integrated with an emerging understanding of genetics. Late in the 20th century, biologists started taking seriously the idea that organisms don't just adapt to their environments, they change them. Recently, researchers have started to acknowledge the role of culture in evolutionary processes. And so slowly our understanding of evolution has been reconsidered, updated, expanded. And more updates are underway. But it's not just our understanding of evolution that has changed over time. Evolution itself has changed, too.

My guest today is Dr. Kevin Lala. Kevin is an evolutionary biologist at the University of St Andrews in Scotland. Over his long career, Kevin has been at the forefront of key debates about—and updates to—evolutionary theory. He's known, for instance, for his pioneering work on niche construction as well as for his work on gene-culture co-evolution. In a new book titled Evolution Evolving, Kevin and his four co-authors present a new synthesis of evolution, one that places developmental processes front and center.

Here, Kevin and I sketch the notion of a "developmental bias" and why it's central to this new understanding of evolution. We talk about the orthodox gene-centric way of thinking about development—and what it gets wrong. We discuss so-called exploratory processes in development. We dig into the increasingly popular, but much debated construct of "evolvability." And we consider what this newest update to evolutionary theory might tell us about the origins of human cognition. Along the way, Kevin and I talk about floppy ears in mammals and fragmented faces in fish; symbionts and soft inheritance; Mary Jane West-Eberhard, Richard Lewontin, and August Weismann; development as an artist and evolution as curator; maps; plants; manual dexterity; brain size; and why evolution is a bit like walking on a trampoline.

A final reminder about the 2025 Diverse Intelligences Summer Institute, or DISI. DISI is a three-week long summer institute held in St Andrews, Scotland; it's a place for the wide-ranging, transdisciplinary exploration of ideas about mind, cognition, and intelligence. It's a place where early career scholars get to hobnob with thinkers like Kevin Lala, who was a faculty member with us in 2019. There's still time to apply, but do act fast—review of applications begins March 1st.

Alright friends, on to my conversation with Dr. Kevin Lala. Enjoy!

A transcript of this episode is available here.

Notes and links

4:00 – A paper describing so-called domestication syndrome. For more on domestication (and self-domestication), see our earlier episode with Dr. Brian Hare.

11:00 – A paper describing cavefish as a new model organism in the study of evolution and development.

15:00 – An influential 2015 paper, led by Dr. Lala, describing the "extended evolutionary synthesis."

22:00 – A 2016 overview of niche construction theory, led by Dr. Lala.

27:00 – An early report on "lobtail feeding" in humpback whales.

33:00 – A paper describing "gaping behavior" in cichlid fishes.

35:00 – A review of "soft inheritance." The study showing that mice pass on learned associations to offspring.

41:00 – A study on the gut microbes that allow woodrats to digest toxic creosote.

44:00 – See our earlier episode with Dr. Eric Turkheimer.

50:00 – See Winther's book, When Maps Become the World.

56:00 – A paper reviewing the idea of "exploratory mechanisms" in development, as well as other ideas associated with the concept of "plasticity-led evolution."

1:05:00 – A classic paper on the notion of "evolvability."

1:13:00 – For one example of a "major transitions" framework, see our earlier episode with Dr. Andrew Barron.

1:17:00 – A news article about how dogs developed the ability to digest starch, initially by acquiring symbionts.

1:20:00 – For discussion of the evolution of human brain size, see our earlier episode 'Fermentation, fire, and our big brains.'

1:28:00 – A recent review of the idea that humans are "self-domesticated."

Recommendations

Developmental Plasticity and Evolution, by Mary Jane West-Eberhard

Many Minds is a project of the Diverse Intelligences Summer Institute, which is made possible by a generous grant from the John Templeton Foundation to Indiana University. The show is hosted and produced by Kensy Cooperrider, with help from Assistant Producer Urte Laukaityte and with creative support from DISI Directors Erica Cartmill and Jacob Foster. Our artwork is by Ben Oldroyd. Our transcripts are created by Sarah Dopierala.

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