Ferracin A, Paoluzi R, Benassi M
Biosystems. 1976 Apr;8(1):10-23. doi: 10.1016/0303-2647(76)90003-4.
A theoretical study on evolution has been carried out, with the aim of disproving some value judgements essentially represented by the idea that the degree of evolution can increase. Our conclusions are based upon the preliminary statement that efficiency of survival is directly related to regulative ability. On this ground our reasoning led us to conclude that: (i) actual fitness measure units derive from an anthropocentric bias, and they mainly evaluate similarity to man rather than some objective parameter; (ii) a complete and meaningful unit is, at present, impossible to achieve in practice; (iii) since the study of evolution is only descriptive, and since the evolutionary process is time dependent, every ecological dominant living today must be considered as the most fitted to its environment; (iv) the view we can have of evolution is simply a transection, so that many generalized phyletic trees are trivial and it is impossible to claim the persistence today of those "ancestor organisms" upon which such trees are constructed. Moreover, a functional definition of the term "organism" is given, following criteria drawn from bioenergetics and from biological hierarchization. The concluding step is the assemblage of a slightly heterodox model for evolution.
开展了一项关于进化的理论研究，目的是反驳一些本质上由进化程度可以提高这一观点所代表的价值判断。我们的结论基于生存效率与调节能力直接相关这一初步论断。基于此，我们的推理得出以下结论：（i）实际的适应性度量单位源于以人类为中心的偏见，它们主要评估与人类的相似性而非某些客观参数；（ii）目前在实践中不可能实现一个完整且有意义的单位；（iii）由于进化研究只是描述性的，且进化过程依赖于时间，当今每一个生态优势物种都必须被视为最适应其环境的物种；（iv）我们对进化的看法仅仅是一个横断面，因此许多广义的系统发育树是无意义的，并且不可能声称构建这些树所依据的那些“祖先生物”如今仍然存在。此外，根据生物能量学和生物层次化得出的标准，给出了“生物体”这一术语的功能定义。最后一步是构建一个略有非正统的进化模型。
