Revista Chilena de Historia Natural 80 (1): 109-116, 2007
COMMENTARY
Within selection
The synthetic theory of evolution proposes that biotic variations generated by mutation are
mostly fixed, lost or maintained polymorphic by natural selection, with a marginal effect due to genetic drift. Based on the theory of
autopoiesis some authors have proposed that selection is unable to explain most evolutionary changes, and natural or phenotype drift
and epigenesis are the mechanisms that explain most of evolution. This view misunderstands basic evolutionary notions. Selection is a
natural process that occurs with or without evolution; it does not explain evolution, it is a factor of the evolutionary process. The
concept of autopoiesis implies an invariant condition of living beings, thus, it cannot explain and even less produce evolution conceived
as ontogeny and phylogeny (highly variable processes). Natural drift does not solve this conceptual insufficiency; random drift is not a
directional process; its expected evolutionary effect is zero.
Key words:
autopoiesis, evolution,
natural drift, neutral evolution, selection, synthetic theory
