Reflections on Ernst Mayr's This is Biology

In this essay I argue that Ernst Mayr's idea that the emergence of evolutionary biology in Western thought was delayed by the pernicious influence of the false ideologies of Platonism, Christianity, and physicalism is ahistorical and anti-evolutionary, that similar ideas, especially his antipathy to physicalism, prejudice his account of the transformation of natural history and medical science into biology, that his organicist resolution of the perennial conflict between mechanism and vitalism is an unstable compound of semi-holism and semi-mechanism, that his conception of biology as the true bridge between the sciences and the humanities, ethics, and social theory is open to question (especially as to the adequacy of the theory of natural selection to account for every aspect of human nature), and that his depiction of science as the sovereign key to understanding everything known to exist or happen in this universe cannot be justified at the bar of reason.     

Ernst Mayr as community architect: Launching the society for the study of evolution and the journalEvolution

Ernst Mayr's contributions to 20th century biology extend far beyond his defense of certain elements in evolutionary theory. At the center of mid-century efforts in American evolutionary studies to build large research communities, Mayr spearheaded campaigns to create a Society for the Study of Evolution and a dedicated journal,Evolution, in 1946. Begun to offset the prominence ofDrosophila biology and evolutionary genetics, these campaigns changed course repeatedly, as impediments appeared, tactics shifted, and compromises built a growing coalition of support. Preserved, however, were designs to balance the community and journal with careful equation of status and explicit partitioning of responsibilities within the working coalition. Choice terms such as cooperation and unity carried a strong political message. Mayr's editorship ofEvolution provides a superb example of these balancing efforts. The mid-century infrastructural activities described herein also represented aggressive attempts to leverage control across several layers of community. Leaders of these campaigns sought: (1) to promote evolutionary studies as a modernized research discipline and place it at the center of American biology, (2) to promote evolutionary studies within existing disciplines — e.g. systematics, genetics, and paleontology, (3) to foster certain research styles within evolutionary studies, and (4) to emphasize certain solutions to prominent research questions. Throughout, Mayr interjected his priorities, tactics and energy.     

Evidence of β-carotene 7,8(7′,8′) oxygenase (β-cyclocitral,crocetindial generating) in Microcystis

A -carotene oxygenase is described which occurs in the Cyanobacterium Microcystis. It cleaves -carotene and zeaxanthin specifically at the positions 7,8 and 7,8, while echinenone and myxoxanthophyll are not affected. The oxidative cleavage of -carotene leads to the formation of -cyclocitral and crocetindial and that of zeaxanthin to hydroxy--cyclocitral and crocetindial in nearly stoichiometric amounts. Oxidant is dioxygen as has been demonstrated by high incroporation (86%) of ¹⁸O₂ into -cyclocitral. -Carotene oxygenase is membrane bound, sensitive to sulfhydryl reagents, antioxidants and chelating agents. Iron seems to be an essential part of the enzyme activity. Cofactors necessary for the reaction could not be detected.Abbreviations TLC thin layer-chromatography - PIPES piperazine-N,N-bis-(2-ethanesulfonate) Na - TES 2{[tris-(hydroxymethyl)-methyl]-amino} ethanesulfonic acid Dedicated to Professor G. Drews on occasion of his 60th birthday     

Zur Frage des Zeipunktes einer Pr?gung auf die Heimatregion beim Halsbandschn?pper(Ficedula albicollis)

Zusammenfassung Junge Halsbandschnäpper wurden handaufgezogen, flogen im Flugkäfig aus und wurden dort selbständig. Darauf wurden sie 90 km nach Süden verfrachtet und in einem von dieser Art unbewohnten Gebiet freigelassen. Im nächsten Frühjahr siedelten sich mindestens 9 dort an, was 19% Rückkehrern entspricht, wenn die Hälfte der Vögel waren. kehrten in geringerer Zahl zurück und wurden nicht restlos erfaßt.Eine weitere Gruppe wurde erst vor Ende der Jugendmauser verfrachtet. Auch davon kehrten 18-19% der zurück. Ein Zeitraum von rund 2 Wochen vor dem Wegzug reichte also zur Prägung auf ein Gebiet als Heimat aus.Von einer dritten Gruppe von insgesamt 68 Schnäppern (= ca. 34 ), die erst nach Ende der Jugendmauser zur Wegzugzeit aufgelassen wurde, konnte später keiner nachgewiesen werden, auch nicht am Aufzuchtsort. Letzteres könnte an der Ungunst der örtlichen Verhältnisse liegen.Mit Unterstützung der Deutschen Forschungsgemeinschaft.     

Factors shaping Ernst Mayr's concepts in the history of biology

Conclusion As frequently pointed out in this discussion, one of the most characteristic features of Mayr's approach to the history of biology stems from the fact that he is dealing to a considerable degree with his own professional history. Furthermore, his main criterion for the selection of historical episodes is their relevance for modern biological theory. As W. F. Bynum and others have noted, the general impression of his reviewers is that one of the towering figures of evolutionary biology has now written a towering history of his discipline.¹³⁸ Bynum is here referring to The Growth of Biological Thought, but this observation holds equally true for Mayr's other historical writings: One must surely read this book [One Long Argument] not only for its content in itself, but for what it tells of its author. And certainly as one does so, one comes away full-handed. Many, if not all, of the disputes and controversies that have driven Mayr through his long intellectual life reappear, stated as forcefully and elegantly as ever.¹³⁹ Up to this point, most reviewers agree; the bone of contention is, rather, how to evaluate Mayr's historical work, considering this observation. The two related characteristics of his work-I will call them subjectivity and presentism-stand in opposition to a widespread approach in the history of science exemplified by Kuhn's suggestion that insofar as possible..., the historian should set aside the science that he knows. His science should be learned from the textbooks and journals of the period he studies.¹⁴⁰ There are, however, historians who consider the close connection between Mayr and the subject matter of his historical studies to be an advantage.¹⁴¹ On the other hand, it is assumed that the connection between past and present must result in a distortion of the historical truth and lead to a historiographical fallacy, commonly referred to as Whig history. Herbert Butterfield, who in 1931 gave the term its now generally accepted meaning, believed that real historical understanding is not achieved by the subordination of the past to the present, but rather by our making the past our present and attempting to see life with the eyes of another century than our own¹⁴². Unfortunately, Butterfield's definition of what he considers Whig history remains somewhat vague, and modern authors have emphasized what they consider most important. Butterfield's subordination of the past to the present is referred to in respect to the selection of subjects (there are more biographies of Charles Darwin than of, let's say, Louis Agassiz),¹⁴³ to the evaluation of historical authors,¹⁴⁴ or, more generally, to all kinds of histories with one eye, so to speak, upon the present.¹⁴⁵ The underlying tendency of Whig historians is to produce a historical account told from the viewpoint of those in power,¹⁴⁶ leading to a glorification of the present.¹⁴⁷ It is obvious that Mayr's strongly presentist approach to the history of biology can be called Whiggish, if we apply the criteria of selection or reference. However, it might be worth mentioning that the program of writing a strictly historicist account of the history of science is challenged by various authors.¹⁴⁸ For Mayr, it is not only legitimate but necessary to compare the present situation with the past. Whiggish is only the evaluation of an author in terms of our time.¹⁴⁹ I cannot discuss the Whit/anti-Whig controversy in any detail here, apart from saying that Mayr has defended himself rather extensively against the charges of being Whiggish.¹⁵⁰ Nevertheless, it may be useful to touch on some of the criticisms that are predominant in reviews of his writings. First, we encounter the notion that historians can write a true and convincing historical account only if they have no personal interest or interpretation of their own; Mayr, on the other hand, because he has such strong interpretations of his own, ... cannot possibly convince everyone that he is right about everything.¹⁵¹ It makes one wonder, what historian has ever been able to convince everyone that he or she is right about everything? But apart from this peculiar idea, it unquestionably poses certain dangers if the subject matter of historical scrutiny and the author are identical. At the same time, this identity brings certain advantages with it, especially firsthand experiences of the period in discussion. Whether these personal memories ultimately result in a distorted picture of the past has to be decided in every particular instance. The notion that a scientific study can be conducted by a completely detached observer from a neutral standpoint has been shown to be impossible in physics, and it is also an illusion in historiography. The question is not whether, but which kind of interest are the underlying motivation for a historian. At this point, Mayr is ahead of his critics when he suggests that our understanding of the past always has a subjective component: The main reason, however, why histories are in constant need of revision is that at any given time they merely reflect the present state of understanding; they depend on how the author interpreted the current zeitgeist of biology and on his own conceptual framework and background. Thus, by necessity the writing of history is subjective and ephemeral.¹⁵² Second, the temporal proximity between the event and the historical analysis makes difficulties inevitable and will finally result in certain false assessments. But this applies to all historians when they discuss recent problems, regardless of whether they are personally involved or not: As long as the battle between Darwinism and Lamarckism was raging, it was quite impossible to undertake an unbiased evaluation of Lamarck. ...[The] definite refutation of Lamarck's theory of evolutionary causation clears the air. We can now study him without bias and emotion and give him the attention that this major figure in the history of biology clearly deserves.¹⁵³ Third, Mayr is primarily interested in biological problems and not, for instance, historiographical, sociological, or psychological questions. Several authors have remarked that since the beginning of the professionalization of the history of science in the 1960s, a rift between two groups has developed, resulting from the heterogeneous professional backgrounds and interests of the people involved: the authors who were originally biologists and became interested in the history of their discipline only later on, and the authors who were trained as historians.¹⁵⁴ Whereas the first group, the biologists, tend to be laymen in history proper, the historians are in most cases laymen in biology. Different professional backgrounds obviously shape the historical perspective in both groups, but neither approach is necessarily superior. The great number of important books in the history of biology written by biologist documents how valuable this point of view can be. On the other hand, it cannot be denied that the writings of biologists in the history of science tend to have a strong internalist tendency and often neglect the professional, cultural, and political context of science. Mayr's approach is that of a biologist; it is internalist, and typical for scientists who turn to the history of their discipline.I want to conclude my analysis with a quotation from a review by Douglas J. Futuyma, which gives a perceptive glimpse of Mayr's personality and style: One cannot help standing in awe of the germanic capacity for vast, allembracing synthesis: consider the lifelong devotion of Goethe to Faust, or Wagner's integration of the arts into a Gesamtkunstwerk in which all of human history and experience is wrought into epic myth. It is perhaps in this tradition that Ernst Mayr's The Growth of Biological Thought stands: a history of all of biology, a Ring des Nibelungen complete with leitmotivs such as the failures of reductionism, the struggle of biology for independence from physics, and the liberation of population thinking from the bounds of essentialism.¹⁵⁵ Within this style of thinking Mayr has to offer...nothing less than a vision of biology that places neodarwinian evolutionary theory firmly at the centre.¹⁵⁶ There may be other visions of biology, but few of them have as indefatigable and able representatives as Darwinism has in Ernst Mayr.     

Evolutionary epistemology as an overlapping,interlevel theory

I examine the branch of evolutionary epistemology which tries to account for the character of cognitive mechanisms in animals and humans by extending the biological theory of evolution to the neurophysiological substrates of cognition. Like Plotkin, I construe this branch as a struggling science, and attempt to characterize the sort of theory one might expect to find this truly interdisciplinary endeavor, an endeavor which encompasses not only evolutionary biology, cognitive psychology, and developmental neuroscience, but also and especially, the computational modeling of artificial life programming; I suggest that extending Schaffner's notion of interlevel theories to include both horizontal and vertical levels of abstraction best fits the theories currently being developed in cognitive science. Finally, I support this claim with examples drawn from computational modeling data using the genetic algorithm.     

“It Ain’t Over ‘til it’s Over”: Rethinking the Darwinian Revolution

This paper attempts a critical examination of scholarly understanding of the historical event referred to as the Darwinian Revolution. In particular, it concentrates on some of the major scholarly works that have appeared since the publication in 1979 of Michael Ruses The Darwinian Revolution: Nature Red in Tooth and Claw. The paper closes by arguing that fruitful critical perspectives on what counts as this event can be gained by locating it in a range of historiographic and disciplinary contexts that include the emergence of the discipline of evolutionary biology (following the evolutionary synthesis), the 1959 Darwin centenary, and the maturation of the discipline of the history of science. Broader perspectives on something called the Darwinian Revolution are called for that include recognizing that it does not map a one-to-one correspondence with the history of evolution, broadly construed.     

Effects of lead and cadmium on chemical composition and total water content of the pupal parasitoid, Pimpla turionellae

The parasitoid Pimpla turionellae L. (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae) was fed on Cd, Pb and Cd+Pb-contaminated food (33g Cd, 82g Pb and 33g Cd+82g Pb per gram food fresh weight, respectively). Significant decrease in the total lipid and protein content was found along with an increase in the water content particularly in Cd-contaminated parasitoids.     

The Units of Selection Revisited: The Modules of Selection

Richard Lewontin's (1970) early work on the units of selection initiated the conceptual and theoretical investigations that have led to the hierarchical perspective on selection that has reached near consensus status today. This paper explores other aspects of his work, work on what he termed continuity and quasi-independence, that connect to contemporary explorations of modularity in development and evolution. I characterize such modules and argue that they are the true units of selection in that they are what evolution by natural selection individuates, selects among, and transforms.     

Survival of the fittest: Law of evolution or law of probability?

In a recent issue of Biology and Philosophy, Kenneth Waters argues that the principle of survival of the fittest should be eliminated from the theory of natural selection, because it is an untestable law of probability, and as such, has no place in evolutionary theory. His argument is impressive, but it does not do justice to the practice of biology. The principle of survival of the fittest should not be eliminated from the theory of natural selection because it is important to biological practice: it plays an essential role in explanation and discovery, and in unffying the theory of natural selection.I am grateful to John Beatty, Robert Brandon, Susan Mills (Susan Finsen), William Lycan, Michael Resnik, Mary Williams, and Brad Wilson, and an anonymous reviewer for Biology and Philosophy for their helpful comments snd criticism.     

Observations on the fine structure of the cercaria of Notocotylus attenuatus and formation of the cyst wall of the metacercaria

Summary The dorsal tegument of the mature cercaria of Notocotylus attenuatus is a syncytial, cytoplasmic layer, containing two types of secretory granule which are identifiable ultrastructurally. The type 1 secretory bodies are electron lucid, whereas most type 2 granules have a banded appearance. The ventral tegument contains granules which are secreted from the type 3 cells; the type 3 granules are membrane bound, electron dense, and consist of both an amorphous and a finely striated zone. The type 4 cells mainly contain cigar-shaped granules consisting of an amorphous core surrounded by concentric striations. The granules exhibit structural variability in shape and content. The type 4 cells undergo a cellular migration to the tegument during encystment. The structure of the posterior-lateral glands and mode of secretion of the granules are described. Possible functions of microtubules are discussed for each cell type. Details of some secretory processes involved in the formation of the hemispherical cyst wall are described. The layers of the cyst wall may be related to the granular contents of the various parenchymal cells of the cercaria. The tegument of the metacercaria originates primarily from the cytoplasm of the type 1, type 2, type 3 and type 4 cells.     

The new problem of genetics: A response to Gifford

Recently, Fred Gifford attempted to explicate the meaning of the term genetic as applied to phenotypic traits. He takes as his primary goal the explication of how the term is used and tries to avoid conclusions about how it should be used. He proposes two independent criteria (DF and PI) which together capture much of what biologists mean when they describe traits as genetic. Although Gifford's approach is extremely insightful in many ways, I argue that his analysis is not sufficiently critical concerning the adequacy of common usage.In particular, while DF is a perfectly legitimate and useful measure of heritability in populations, it is not necessarily a genetic one and should not be labeled as such. PI on the other hand, although very intuitive, depends on an extremely problematic distinction between causes and mere conditions (e.g., genes and epigenetic factors). Both criteria will be highly relative and both, via what I term the new problem of genetics, will inspire contradictory analyses based on the same data.Fortunately, as Gifford recognizes, it is not necessary to make sense of genetic at all in order to do biology. Quantitative genetics can do the kind of (heritability) analysis that DF embodies without making questionable claims about genes. Causal-mechanical or bottom-up biology can proceed perfectly well without postulating the priveleged role for genetic causes that PI entails. In short, talk of genetic traits, under either criteria, is unnecessary and misleading.     

Interchange-trisomics in barley

Observations on morphology, sterility and cytology of some interchangetrisomics obtained from the progeny of radiation induced interchangeheterozygotes in a 6-rowed barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) var. K₁₂ are described. The different interchange trisomics show distinct phenotypic expression and have been classified as bushy, slender, robust, semi-erect and pseudonormal on the basis of their gross morphology, leaf characteristics, awn and spike lengths. All interchange trisomics show pollen and ovule sterility which varies between plants. Meiotic behaviour is described. The five different interchange trisomics appear to have different extra chromosomes.     

An elongated segment of DNA observed between two human α globin genes

Summary Detailed restriction enzyme analysis of the DNA from a Chinese female showed that one of her chromosomes had a >17.5 kb deletion of DNA, including the , 2, and 1 globin genes, which is present in many Southeast Asians with an -thalassemia-1 chromosome. Her normal chromosome had the expected cluster of -like globin genes (5----2-1-3), but the segment of DNA between the two globin genes was elongated by some 0.5–0.7 kb. Analyses of various restriction sites suggested that this normal variant of the human globin gene complex is due to a crossover between a normal chromosome with () and a chromosome with an -thalassemia-2 (–^3.7) and an -21-hybrid gene.     

Transmembrane electron transport and the neutral theory of evolution

Based on the concept of pairs of basic functional states the evolution of the first chemiosmotic mechanism of energy conversion is discussed in terms of point mutations, gene duplications and of the neutral theory of evolution. A model for estimating the overall probability of the evolutionary step in question is presented, both for the selectionist and neutralist position. It is concluded that, concerning the present stage of knowledge, the evolution of transmembrane electron transport is an unsolved problem in evolutionary biology.     

Composition of poly-β-hydroxyalkanoate from Syntrophomonas wolfei grown on unsaturated fatty acid substrates

Poly--hydroxyalkanoate (PHA) from crotonate-grown cultures of Syntrophomonas wolfei contained only the d-isomer of -hydroxybutyrate. The PHA from cultures grown with trans-2-pentenoate or one of several hexenoates as the substrate also contained small amounts (5%) of -hydroxypentanoate or -hydroxyhexanoate, respectively. Thus, some PHA was synthesized without cleavage of the carbon skeleton of the substrate, but the predominant route for PHA synthesis was by the condensation and subsequent reduction of acetyl-coenzyme A (CoA). The ratio of the -hydroxypentanoate to the -hydroxybutyrate in PHA in pentenoate-grown cultures increased immediately after inoculation and then decreased as the amount of the -hydroxybutyrate in PHA increased. The amount of -hydroxypentanoate in the PHA did not markedly change throughout the remainder of growth. These data indicated that the unbroken carbon-chain was used for polymer production only in the early stages of growth and, later, polymer synthesis occurred by the condensation and reduction of acetyl-CoA molecules.     

Radical functionalism: The life and work of Karl Polanyi

Conclusion In concluding, let us restate the main theoretical arguments concerning Austria-Hungary and Malinowski-Polanyi. There are many more aspects of this latter contrast which I have not dwelt on, including those of temper and personality. My concern was to show that it is not enough to trace ideas back to their origin in an undifferentiated Central Europe, for we need to be quite clear about the context in which those ideas were initially taken on board. Mach was an appropriate philosopher for the ordered bureaucracy of Austria, and he embodies the individual-centered and fundamentally conservative message, which I see articulated later in very different (and non-positivist) styles by Popper, Hayek, Schumpeter, etc. This was the message accepted in its fundamentals by Malinowski in Cracow. The Hungarian half of the Empire had quite different traditions, and one might even say that political dilemmas in this half of the Empire were so pressing that they had no time for philosophy. By the time Polanyi was growing up in Budapest, nationalist fervor was at its height, and a nineteenth century heritage of liberal, even radical thought, was under pressure from the extreme right. Polanyi's Jewish family background probably pushed him towards the Left in his early years, though it in no way interfered with this Hungarian patriotism. When he read Mach, he accepted the individualist and positivist aspects of the message, but he could never endorse the conservative respect for tradition that underpinned Malinowski's functionalism. This is what makes his position so interesting, and he maintained it throughout his career.In this light, Polanyi's economic anthropology is an authentic cultural product of Central Europe. Malinowski, to the extent that he took on board the basic social theory of Austrian liberal conservatism, sold out to the West, and to an ideological tradition which has an alternative home in another country on the periphery of industrial capitalism: Enlightenment Scotland. Austria-Hungary also produced intellectuals who sold out in the other direction, and abandoned all notion of intellectual autonomy for the individual by capitulating to the total discipline of the revolutionary Party. This tradition is that of Russia and Lenin, and the best known Central European intellectual recruit was Lukács, perhaps because he studied idealists in Germany rather than the positivists in Vienna. Karl Polanyi was unable to give unswerving loyalty either to the capitalist ideology of the West, or to the ideology of the new tributary mode of production in the East. The middle position, which I believe he occupied throughout his life, is one that will never satisfy ideologues, and it is hard to infuse it with the same intellectual elegance. Still, just as his historical researches showed the real possibilities for combining modes of economic integration, and his life experiences showed the folly of concentration on only one, so Hungarians have learned from history that they are best off with the sort of mixed economy they have today. His popularity in Hungary is therefore unsurprising, and one may hope that the practical message of his anthropology will not be permanently forgotten in the West.Christopher H. Hann is a Professor of Social Anthropology, University of Kent, Canterbury.     

Theory structure,reduction, and disciplinary integration in biology

This paper examines the nature of theory structure in biology and considers the implications of those theoretical structures for theory reduction. An account of biological theories as interlevel prototypes embodying causal sequences, and related to each other by strong analogies, is presented, and examples from the neurosciences are provided to illustrate these middle-range theories. I then go on to discuss several modifications of Nagel's classical model of theory reduction, and indicate at what stages in the development of reductions these models might best apply. Finally I consider several implications of these analyses of theory structure and reduction for disciplinary integration in biology.     

Molecular screening and fetal diagnosis of β-thalassemia in the Italian population

Summary This paper reports our experience of molecular screening and fetal diagnosis of -thalassemia in 457 at risk couples of Italian descent. Molecular screening was carried out by dot blot analysis on amplified DNA with oligonucleotide probes complementary to the eight most common mutations in Italians [39 (CT); 6 (-A); ⁺-87 (CG); ⁺ IVSI nt 110 (GA); IVSI nt 1 (GA); ⁺ IVSI nt 6 (TC); IVSII nt 1 (GA); ⁺ IVSII nt 745 (CG)]. By using this approach, we have been able to define the mutation in 92.8% of cases. The rest (all but four) were defined by direct sequencing and this led to the detection of nine rare mutations [76 (-C); ⁺ IVSI nt 5 (GA); ⁺ IVSI nt 5 (GC); ⁺ IVSI -1 (cod 30) (GC); ⁺-87 (CT), -290 bp del.; ⁺-101 (CT)], and to the characterization of a novel mutation consisting of the deletion of the G at the invariant AG of the IVSII splice acceptor site of the -globin gene ( IVSII nt 850-1 bp). In the remaining four cases, the -globin gene showed entirely normal sequences and the -globin gene cluster was intact, as indicated by Southern blot analysis. Fetal diagnosis was carried out by dot blot analysis with the oligonucleotide probes defined in the parents. The procedure is simple and reliable, and the results can be obtained within 1 week of sampling. No misdiagnosis has so far occurred. The results indicate that fetal diagnosis of -thalassemia by DNA analysis may be obtained in practically all cases (even in a population showing marked heterogeneity of -thalassemia) by the combination of dot blot analysis for detecting common mutations, and direct sequencing for defining those that are uncommon.     

Structure of the parathyroid glands,as revealed by different methods of fixation

Summary Stereology and semi-automatic image analysis were used with the aim of comparing the structure of parathyroid glands from untreated adult Mongolian gerbils fixed by immersion with those fixed by perfusion. Subclassification of the chief cells based upon the staining affinity or electron density of the cytoplasm was readily performed only in glands fixed by immersion, and so-called atrophic cells were observed only in these glands. The atrophic cells were often surrounded by light chief cells. In glands fixed by perfusion, light chief cells were only rarely encountered. A significant difference between glands fixed by immersion and those fixed by perfusion was found only with regard to the form of cells and nuclei, those fixed by perfusion being more spherical. When comparing individual cells within glands fixed by immersion, light chief cells were more spherical and had a significantly larger nuclear and cellular size, and a lower mitochondrial volume density than the intermediate/dark chief cells. Otherwise there were no significant differences in any of the parameters investigated. These data indicate that occurrence of socalled light chief cells and atrophic cells is a result of improper fixation. The results of this study do not favour the concept of a functional cycle with a simultaneous occurrence of active and inactive cells within parathyroid glands.