Constructional Morphology
Constructional morphology is an attempt to explain the factors that influence the observed similarity among structures in different organisms.
There are three primary influences:
The "Adaptationist Program".
A complex debate emerged in the 1970's concerning evidence for the functional significance of specific structures. At the core of this debate lay the tendency of some authors to (implicitly or explicitly) prefer to explain observations as adaptations.
http://pubs.acs.org/cgi-bin/abstract.cgi/bichaw/2002/41/i03/abs/bi011839+.html
Cubo, J. 2004. Pattern and process in constructional morphology. Evolution & Development 6:131-133.
Gould, S.J., and Lewontin, R.C. 1979. The spandrels of San Marco and & the panglossian paradigm - a critique of the adaptationist program. Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B 205:581-598.
Seilacher, A. 1970. Arbeitskonzept zur Konstruktions-Morphologie. Lethaia 3: 393-396.