Paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould has argued that many biological traits are not the products of natural selection, favored due to their enhancement of reproduction or survival, but that they are simply random by-products of other evolutionary developments.
个人觉得楼主的解释挺充分的,有个are在but后面整个句子很清晰。至于 “PDF版本的笔记内特别提到说 be not...but be结构就是对的。。。。。 不理解阿!!!!!怎么不是 not be....but.be ...?” 我看这是系动词的特点,比较:如果是正常的动词,你加not时就一定要加do之类的词,e.g. do not have.....but have....,但系动词前面不会有别的助动词了,所以就只好把系动词放在not前去做平行结构了。个人观点,只供参考。