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Developmental Dynamics in Humans and Other Primates
Discovering Evolutionary Principles through Comparative Morphology
Jos Verhulst
ISBN: 0932776299
Book (Paperback)
Adonis Press
$24.95
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“A tour de force: a refreshingly original, profound and thought-provoking synthesis rooted in impressive scholarship.... A welcome antidote to too many evolutionary doctrines grown stale, trivial and materialistic. Creative science at its best.” —Martin Lockley, Professor of Paleontology, University of Colorado, Denver and author of The Eternal Trail: A Tracker Looks at Evolution
“Verhulst incorporates a spiritual perspective into his scientific exploration of the evolutionary process. Though some readers may not agree with his conclusions, all will find the rich content of his book extremely thought-provoking.” —Wolfgang Schad, Professor of Morphology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Witten, Germany, and author of Man and Mammals: Toward a Biology of Form
“Verhulst’s penetrating grasp of human development leads to a refreshing view of human origins. In a perceptive, lucid and lively account, he argues convincingly that there is more to evolution than just Darwinian natural selection. Following in the footsteps of Goethe and Bolk, Verhulst champions the view that evolution was guided by an intrinsic drive that has culminated in the human gestalt, and that the harmonious form of the human body is a reflection of what he calls our synergistic composition.” —Kenneth McNamara, Senior Curator, Invertebrate Paleontology, W.A. Museum, Perth, Australia, and author of Shapes of Time: the Evolution of Growth and Development Belgian scientist Jos Verhulst presents the most thorough research to date elaborating an evolutionary theory first set forth by Dutch anatomist Louis Bolk in the early twentieth century. This theory is based on the proposition that dynamic principles inherent in the development of individual organisms are also at work in animal evolution as a whole. A chimpanzee fetus, for example, is strikingly similar to its human counterpart: its cranium is rounded, its face flat, and its hair is restricted to its head. As it develops, however, the chimp diverges from its original, humanlike form, assuming specialized apelike features.
In this detailed comparative study of numerous organs, Verhulst shows that, unlike the other primates, humans retain their original juvenile form. Standing Darwin on his head, he concludes that humans did not descend from apes; rather, apes evolved by diverging from a humanlike prototype. He also shows that our human tendency to retain our fetal form (fetalization, or retardation) is complemented by further development (hypermorphosis) of such organs as the legs, heels, forebrain, and larynx through which we attain our eminently human capacities of upright posture, thinking, and speech.
In the last chapter, Verhulst sketches a broad view of how retardation and hypermorphosis have worked together in animal evolution. He speculates, for example, that vertebrates evolved from invertebrates when ancient sea squirts (a form of tunicate, a marine invertebrate) retained their larval characteristics and developed them further as they evolved into fish. Sea squirt larvae are free-swimming and resemble tadpoles. Their brain includes a light-sensitive eyespot, and they have a rudimentary spinal cord. In their adult stage, however, they are sessile filter-feeders with neither nerve cord nor eyes. Verhulst postulates that primitive tunicates like the sea squirt retained their larval characteristics (through retardation) and evolved (through hypermorphosis) into fish, the first vertebrates. Following in a tradition as old as Darwinism, he proposes that, from the very beginning of animal evolution, these dynamics have led progressively toward the emergence of the human form. In this view, the gradually emerging human prototype is seen as the driving force and central trunk of the evolutionary tree, as the wellspring from which the animal world has sprung.
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