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1 Making room for maladaptation
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Published:June 2024
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Abstract
The chapter introduces the proposed concept maladaptation, and the argument of the book about the possibility, reality, and importance of maladaptation to the design of organisms. Evolution by natural selection is presented as the scientific explanation of organism design. Hereditary diseases are discussed as a potential outlier to this explanation, clarifying the separation of evolutionary pressures from chance and necessity, which broadly resolves the explanation of their evolution. Some harmful traits are identified to pose a more persistent problem that the book seeks to explain. The meaning of adaptation is established, and it is asked whether these problematic traits represent maladaptations. Multiple definitions of maladaptation are discussed, concluding that its current usage conflates different evolutionary pressures, owing to it being a neglected concept. Setting aside nonadaptation, a stricter definition is offered that presents maladaptation as the result of natural selection, with symmetry to the concept of adaptation. The implications and potential controversies of this definition are unpacked. Finally, the argument of the book is summarised, along with the key conceptual influences that have shaped it.
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