Is Evo-Devo the Answer to Evolutionary Woes?

Scott Gilbert's Developmental Biology is a standard textbook used in college courses everywhere. A beautiful book with great illustrations and clear synopses of classic experiments, it provides an overall summary of what is known about how organisms develop. Yet Gilbert says on page 46 of the eighth edition:

The life cycle can be considered a central unit in biology. The adult form need not be paramount. In a sense, the life cycle is the organism. [Emphasis added.]

It's true that the life cy...