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1.
Frank J. Sulloway 《Journal of biosciences》2009,34(2):173-183
As a Cambridge University undergraduate Charles Darwin was fascinated and convinced by the argument for intelligent design,
as set forth in William Paley’s 1802 classic, Natural Theology. Subsequently, during his five-year voyage on HMS Beagle (1831–1836), Darwin interpreted his biological findings through a creationist lens, including the thought-provoking evidence
he encountered during his historic visit to the Galápagos Islands in September and October 1835. After his return to England
in 1836 and his subsequent conversion to the idea of organic evolution in March 1837, Darwin searched for a theory that would
explain both the fact of evolution and the widespread appearance of intelligent design. His insight into the process of natural
selection, which occurred in September 1838, provided this alternative explanation. Darwin’s Origin of Species (1859) exemplifies his skillful deployment of the hypothetico-deductive method in testing and refuting the arguments for
intelligent design that he had once so ardently admired. 相似文献
2.
During 2009, while we were celebrating Charles Darwin and his The origin of species, sadly, little was said about the critical contribution of Alfred Russel Wallace (1823–1913) to the development of the theory
of evolution. Like Darwin, he was a truly remarkable nineteenth century intellect and polymath and, according to a recent
book by Roy Davies (The Darwin conspiracy: origins of a scientific crime), he has a stronger claim to the Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection than has Darwin. Here we present a critical comparison
between the contributions of the two scientists. Sometimes referred to as ‘The other beetle-hunter’ and largely neglected
for many decades, Wallace had a far greater experience of collecting and investigating animals and plants from their native
habitats than had Darwin. He was furthermore much more than a pioneer biogeographer and evolutionary theorist, and also made
contributions to anthropology, ethnography, geology, land reform and social issues. However, being a more modest, self-deprecating
man than Darwin, and lacking the latter’s establishment connections, Wallace’s contribution to the theory of evolution was
not given the recognition it deserved and he was undoubtedly shabbily treated at the time. It is time that Wallace’s relationship
with Darwin is reconsidered in preparation for 2013, the centenary of Wallace’s death, and he should be recognized as at least
an equal in the Wallace-Darwin theory of evolution. 相似文献
3.
Frank J. Sulloway 《Journal of the history of biology》2009,42(1):3-31
During his historic Galápagos visit in 1835, Darwin spent nine days making scientific observations and collecting specimens
on Santiago (James Island). In the course of this visit, Darwin ascended twice to the Santiago highlands. There, near springs
located close to the island’s summit, he conducted his most detailed observations of Galápagos tortoises. The precise location
of these springs, which has not previously been established, is here identified using Darwin’s own writings, satellite maps,
and GPS technology. Photographic evidence from excursions to the areas where Darwin climbed, including repeat photography
over a period of four decades, offers striking evidence of the deleterious impact of feral mammals introduced after Darwin’s
visit. Exploring the impact that Darwin’s Santiago visit had on his thinking – especially focusing on his activities in the
highlands – raises intriguing questions about the depth of his understanding of the evolutionary evidence he encountered while
in the Galápagos. These questions and related insights provide further evidence concerning the timing of Darwin’s conversion
to the theory of evolution, which, despite recent claims to the contrary, occurred only after his return to England. 相似文献
4.
Niles Eldredge 《Evolution》2009,2(1):35-54
Detailed analysis of Darwin’s scientific notes and other writings from the Beagle voyage reveals a focus on endemism and replacement of allied taxa in time and in space that began early in the journey. Though
it is impossible to determine exactly when Darwin became a transmutationist, the evidence suggests that he was conversant
with the transmutational ideas of Lamarck and others and testing (“experimenting” with) them—before he received a copy of
Lyell’s Principles of Geology, vol. 2, in November 1832, in which Lyell describes and disputes Lamarck’s theory. To the two rhea species of Patagonia and
the four mockingbird species of the Galapagos, we can now add the living Patagonian cavy (rodent) species, and its extinct
putatively related species that Darwin collected at Monte Hermoso (Bahia Blanca) in the Fall of 1832, as a replacement pattern
absolutely critical to the development of Darwin’s transmutational thinking. Darwin developed his first transmutational theory
by adopting “Brocchi’s analogy” (Rudwick 2008)—i.e. that births and deaths of species are analogous to the births and deaths
of individuals. Births and deaths of species, as of individuals, are thus explicable in terms of natural causes. Darwin explored
these themes and the replacement of the extinct cavy by the modern species explicitly in his February 1835 essay (Darwin 1835a).
相似文献
Niles EldredgeEmail: |
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6.
Stephane Schmitt 《Journal of the history of biology》2010,43(3):429-457
Lacepède was a key figure in the French intellectual world from the Old Regime to the Restoration, sinc e he was not only
a scientist, but also a musician, a writer, and a politician. His brilliant career is a good example of the progress of the
social status of scientists in France around 1800. In the life sciences, he was considered the heir to Buffon and continued
the latter’s Histoire naturelle, but he also borrowed ideas from anti-Buffonian (e.g. Linnaean) scientists. He broached many important subjects such as the
nature of man, the classification of animals, the concept of species, and the history of the Earth. All these topics led to
tensions in the French sciences, but Lacepède dealt with them in a consensual, indeed even ambiguous way. For example, he
held transformist views, but his concept of evolution was far less precise and daring than Lamarck’s contemporaneous attempts.
His somewhat confused eclecticism allowed him to be accepted by opposing camps of the French scientific community at that
time and makes his case interesting for historians, since the opinions of such an opportunistic figure can illuminate the
figure of the French intellectual better than more original works could do. In turn, Lacepède’s important social and scientific
position gave his views a significant visibility. In this sense, his contributions probably exerted an influence, in particular
with regard to the emergence of transformist theories. 相似文献
7.
Friederich Wilhelm Benedikt Hofmeister (1824-1877) stands as one of the true giants in the history of biology and belongs in the same pantheon as Darwin and Mendel. Yet by comparison, he is virtually unknown. If he is known at all, it is for his early work on flowering plant embryology and his ground-breaking discovery of the alternation of generations in plants, which he published at age 27 in 1851. Remarkable as the latter study was, it was but a prelude to the more fundamental contributions he was to make in the study of plant growth and development expressed in his books on plant cell biology (Die Lehre von der Pfanzenzelle, 1867) and plant morphology (Allgemeine Morphologie der Gewächse, 1868). In this article we review his remarkable life and career, highlighting the fact that his scientific accomplishments were based largely on self-education in all areas of biology, physics, and chemistry. We describe his research accomplishments, including his early embryological studies and their influence on Mendel's genetic studies as well as his elucidation of the alternation of generations, and we review in detail his cell biology and morphology books. It is in the latter two works that Hofmeister the experimentalist and biophysicist is most manifest. Not only did Hofmeister explore the mechanisms of cytoplasmic streaming, plant morphogenesis, and the effects of gravity and light on their development, but in each instance he developed a biophysical model to integrate and interpret his wealth of observational and experimental data. Because of the lack of attention to the cell and morphology books, Hofmeister's true genius has not been recognized. After studying several evaluations of Hofmeister by contemporary and later workers, we conclude that his reputation became eclipsed because he was so far ahead of his contemporaries that no one could understand or appreciate his work. In addition, his basically organismic framework was out of step with the more reductionistic cytogenetic work that later came in vogue. We suggest that the translation of the cell and morphology books in English would help re-establish him as one of the most notable scientists in the history of plant biology. 相似文献
8.
Alter SG 《Journal of the history of biology》2007,40(2):231-258
This essay traces the interlinked origins of two concepts found in Charles Darwin’s writings: “unconscious selection,” and
sexual selection as applied to humanity’s anatomical race distinctions. Unconscious selection constituted a significant elaboration
of Darwin’s artificial selection analogy. As originally conceived in his theoretical notebooks, that analogy had focused exclusively
on what Darwin later would call “methodical selection,” the calculated production of desired changes in domestic breeds. By
contrast, unconscious selection produced its results unintentionally and at a much slower pace. Inspiration for this concept
likely came from Darwin’s early reading of works on both animal breeding and physical ethnology. Texts in these fields described
the slow and unplanned divergence of anatomical types, whether animal or human, under the guidance of contrasting ideals of
physical perfection. These readings, it is argued, also led Darwin to his theory of sexual selection as applied to race, a
theme he discussed mainly in his book The Descent of Man (1871). There Darwin described how the racial version of sexual selection operated on the same principle as unconscious selection.
He thereby effectively reunited these kindred concepts. 相似文献
9.
Theunissen B 《Journal of the history of biology》2012,45(2):179-212
The analogy between artificial selection of domestic varieties and natural selection in nature was a vital element of Darwin’s
argument in his Origin of Species. Ever since, the image of breeders creating new varieties by artificial selection has served as a convincing illustration
of how the theory works. In this paper I argue that we need to reconsider our understanding of Darwin’s analogy. Contrary
to what is often assumed, nineteenth-century animal breeding practices constituted a highly controversial field that was fraught
with difficulties. It was only with considerable effort that Darwin forged his analogy, and he only succeeded by downplaying
the importance of two other breeding techniques – crossing of varieties and inbreeding – that many breeders deemed essential
to obtain new varieties. Part of the explanation for Darwin’s gloss on breeding practices, I shall argue, was that the methods
of his main informants, the breeders of fancy pigeons, were not representative of what went on in the breeding world at large.
Darwin seems to have been eager to take the pigeon fanciers at their word, however, as it was only their methods that provided
him with the perfect analogy with natural selection. Thus while his studies of domestic varieties were important for the development
of the concept of natural selection, the reverse was also true: Darwin’s comprehension of breeding practices was moulded by
his understanding of the working of natural selection in nature. Historical studies of domestic breeding practices in the
eighteenth and nineteenth century confirm that, besides selection, the techniques of inbreeding and crossing were much more
important than Darwin’s interpretation allowed for. And they still are today. This calls for a reconsideration of the pedagogic
use of Darwin’s analogy too. 相似文献
10.
Melinda Gormley 《Journal of the history of biology》2009,42(1):33-72
During the 1920s and 1930s geneticist L.C. Dunn of Columbia University cautioned Americans against endorsing eugenic policies
and called attention to eugenicists’ less than rigorous practices. Then, from the mid-1940s to early 1950s he attacked scientific
racism and Nazi Rassenhygiene by co-authoring Heredity, Race and Society with Theodosius Dobzhansky and collaborating with members of UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural
Organization) on their international campaign against racism. Even though shaking the foundations of scientific discrimination
was Dunn’s primary concern during the interwar and post-World War II years, his campaigns had ancillary consequences for the
discipline. He contributed to the professionalization of genetics during the 1920s and 1930s and sought respectability for
human genetics in the 1940s and 1950s. My article aims to elucidate the activist scientist’s role in undermining scientific
discrimination by exploring aspects of Dunn’s scientific work and political activism from the 1920s to 1950s. Definitions
are provided for scientific discrimination and activist scientist. 相似文献
11.
Hyung Wook Park 《Journal of the history of biology》2008,41(3):529-572
The Canadian–American biologist Edmund Vincent Cowdry played an important role in the birth and development of the science
of aging, gerontology. In particular, he contributed to the growth of gerontology as a multidisciplinary scientific field
in the United States during the 1930s and 1940s. With the support of the Josiah Macy, Jr. Foundation, he organized the first
scientific conference on aging at Woods Hole, Massachusetts, where scientists from various fields gathered to discuss aging
as a scientific research topic. He also edited Problems of Ageing (1939), the first handbook on the current state of aging research, to which specialists from diverse disciplines contributed.
The authors of this book eventually formed the Gerontological Society in 1945 as a multidisciplinary scientific organization,
and some of its members, under Cowdry’s leadership, formed the International Association of Gerontology in 1950. This article
historically traces this development by focusing on Cowdry’s ideas and activities. I argue that the social and economic turmoil
during the Great Depression along with Cowdry’s training and experience as a biologist – cytologist in particular – and as
a textbook editor became an important basis of his efforts to construct gerontology in this direction. 相似文献
12.
Adam M. Goldstein 《Evolution》2009,2(2):326-333
I review George Levine’s provocative and highly original book Darwin Loves You. Levine, whose “home discipline” is English Literature, offers a compelling interpretation of Darwin’s works, evaluating
their content and Darwin’s prose style to identify a distinctly Darwinian attitude toward nature as a source of meaning and
value. Levine believes that Darwin exemplifies the capacity to feel “enchantment” about the natural world, suggesting that,
if Darwin’s example were followed, a “Darwinian re-enchantment of the world” would be brought about. This would offer a secular,
non-supernatural basis for purpose, meaning, and value. I conclude with a few critical remarks about the scope and cogency
of Levine’s proposal. 相似文献
13.
Eliza Slavet 《Journal of the history of biology》2008,41(1):37-80
This article re-contextualizes Sigmund Freud’s interest in the idea of the inheritance of acquired characteristics in terms
of the socio-political connotations of Lamarckism and Darwinism in the 1930s and 1950s. Many scholars have speculated as to
why Freud continued to insist on a supposedly outmoded theory of evolution in the 1930s even as he was aware that it was no
longer tenable. While Freud’s initial interest in the inheritance of phylogenetic memory was not necessarily politically motivated,
his refusal to abandon this theory in the 1930s must be understood in terms of wider debates, especially regarding the position
of the Jewish people in Germany and Austria. Freud became uneasy about the inheritance of memory not because it was scientifically
disproven, but because it had become politically charged and suspiciously regarded by the Nazis as Bolshevik and Jewish. Where
Freud seemed to use the idea of inherited memory as a way of universalizing his theory beyond the individual cultural milieu
of his mostly Jewish patients, such a notion of universal science itself became politically charged and identified as particularly
Jewish. The vexed and speculative interpretations of Freud’s Lamarckism are situated as part of a larger post-War cultural
reaction against Communism on the one hand (particularly in the 1950s when Lamarckism was associated with the failures of
Lysenko), and on the other hand, against any scientific concepts of race in the wake of World War II. 相似文献
14.
Benjamin Sylvester Bradley 《Journal of the history of biology》2011,44(2):205-232
Recent Darwin scholarship has provided grounds for recognising the Origin as a literary as well as a scientific achievement. While Darwin was an acute observer, a gifted experimentalist and indefatigable
theorist, this essay argues that it was also crucial to his impact that the Origin transcended the putative divide between the scientific and the literary. Analysis of Darwin’s development as a writer between
his journal-keeping on HMS Beagle and his construction of the Origin argues the latter draws on the pattern of the Romantic or Kantian sublime. The Origin repeatedly uses strategies which challenge the natural-theological appeal to the imagination in conceiving nature. Darwin’s
sublime coaches the Origin’s readers into a position from which to envision nature that reduces and contains its otherwise overwhelming complexity.
As such, it was Darwin’s literary achievement that enabled him to fashion a new ‘habit of looking at things in a given way’
that is the centrepiece of the scientific revolution bearing his name. 相似文献
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Jeremy Vetter 《Journal of the history of biology》2006,39(1):89-123
This paper examines how the 19th-century British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace used biogeographical mapping practices to
draw a boundary line between Malay and Papuan groups in the colonial East Indies in the 1850s. Instead of looking for a continuous
gradient of variation between Malays and Papuans, Wallace chose to look for a sharp discontinuity between them. While Wallace’s
“human biogeography” paralleled his similar project to map plant and animal distributions in the same region, he invoked distinctive
“mental and moral” features as more decisive than physical ones. By following Wallace in the field, we can see his field mapping
practices in action – how he conquered the problem of local particularity in the case of human variation. His experiences
on the periphery of expanding European empires, far from metropolitan centers, shaped Wallace’s observations in the field.
Taking his cues from colonial racial categories and his experiences collaborating with local people in the field, Wallace
constructed the boundary line between the Malay and Papuan races during several years of work in the field criss-crossing
the archipelago as a scientific collector. This effort to map a boundary line in the field was a bold example of using the
practices of survey science to raise the status of field work by combining fact gathering with higher-level generalizing,
although the response back in the metropole was less than enthusiastic. Upon his return to Britain in the 1860s, Wallace found
that appreciation for observational facts he had gathered in the field was not accompanied by agreement with his theoretical
interpretations and methods for doing human biogeography. 相似文献
17.
Gliboff S 《Journal of the history of biology》2007,40(2):259-294
The German paleontologist H. G. Bronn is best remembered for his 1860 translation and critique of Darwin’s Origin of Species, and for supposedly twisting Darwinian evolution into conformity with German idealistic morphology. This analysis of Bronn’s
writings shows, however, that far from being mired in an outmoded idealism that confined organic change to predetermined developmental
pathways, Bronn had worked throughout the 1840s and 1850s on a new, historical approach to life. He had been moving from the
study of plant and animal forms in the abstract towards placing them into geological and biogeographical context, analyzing
patterns of progress and adaptation, explaining species diversity and individual variation, and applying biological insights
to practical problems such as artificial breeding. Even though Bronn never fully accepted the idea of species transformation,
he saw Darwin’s theory as a bold new move toward his own goal of establishing a comprehensive, historical science of life,
and he presented it as such in his translation and commentary. Thus Darwin’s ideas gained a quick and generally favorable
hearing in Germany not because of their easy assimilability into an older tradition, but because of their appeal to the innovative
Bronn. 相似文献
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