Meckel the Younger and his epistemology of organic form: Morphology in the pre-Gegenbaurian age

Summary The goal of our paper is to investigate Meckel’s epistemology of organic form, based on study of his original publications. Johann Friedrich Meckel the Younger (1781–1833) was one of the leading figures of German morphology in the early 19th century. Historiographic studies on morphology in this time period show, that biological research was largely preoccupied with questions about the relationship between form and function. Investigations into Meckel’s epistemology of organic form can contribute to our understanding of the development of morphology in the pre-Gegenbaurian age.