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Books > Science & Mathematics > Biology, life sciences > Zoology & animal sciences > General
The dictionary contains approx. 40,000 entries covering all fields
of biology, from cytology and molecular biology to genetics and
behavior, with special reference to zoology. Attention is focused
on applied fields too, such as pathology, veterinary science,
biological aspects of medicine, phytopathology, agriculture,
forestry, biotechnology, nature conservation, etc., as well as
descriptive terms commonly used in biological literature. The
dictionary will be useful to translators and scientists dealing
with various fields of fundamental and applied biology.
French zoologist and naturalist Georges Cuvier (1769-1832), one of
the most eminent scientific figures of the early nineteenth
century, is best known for laying the foundations of comparative
anatomy and palaeontology. He spent his lifetime studying the
anatomy of animals, and broke new ground by comparing living and
fossil specimens - many he uncovered himself. However, Cuvier
always opposed evolutionary theories and was during his day the
foremost proponent of catastrophism, a doctrine contending that
geological changes were caused by sudden cataclysms. He received
universal acclaim when he published his monumental Le regne animal,
which made significant advances over the Linnaean taxonomic system
of classification and arranged animals into four large groups. The
sixteen-volume English translation and expansion, The Animal
Kingdom (1827-35), is also reissued in the Cambridge Library
Collection. First published in 1817, Volume 1 of the original
version covers mammals and birds.
French zoologist and naturalist Georges Cuvier (1769-1832), one of
the most eminent scientific figures of the early nineteenth
century, is best known for laying the foundations of comparative
anatomy and palaeontology. He spent his lifetime studying the
anatomy of animals, and broke new ground by comparing living and
fossil specimens - many he uncovered himself. However, Cuvier
always opposed evolutionary theories and was during his day the
foremost proponent of catastrophism, a doctrine contending that
geological changes were caused by sudden cataclysms. He received
universal acclaim when he published his monumental Le regne animal,
which made significant advances over the Linnaean taxonomic system
of classification and arranged animals into four large groups. The
sixteen-volume English translation and expansion, The Animal
Kingdom (1827-35), is also reissued in the Cambridge Library
Collection. First published in 1817, Volume 2 of the original
version covers reptiles and fish.
An exploration of the various ways animals and their relations to
humans have been depicted throughout the ages. This volume delves
into the realm between representative images and real animals. It
is a historical inquiry into human interaction with the animals we
eat, pamper, experiment on, and imagine, as they have been
variously domesticated, slaughtered, loved, studied, and made into
icons of human invention. Common assumptions and experiences with
animals have entered into the functioning and conceptualizing of
life, yet these are historically and culturally contingent. The
essays in this volume unveil the ways in which human-animal
relationships reveal the interhuman structures of the cultures in
which they are formed. By using animals as a lens, they refocus our
awareness of the ways in which humans have allotted resources,
gathered knowledge, and structured families. The treatment of
animals is often a guide to the treatment of people within a
society, while the perceived 'stewardship' of humans over animals
has helped shape the broader environment that both human and
nonhuman animals share. The authors tackle their subject from a
variety of levels -- popular, scientific, and economic. The essays
explore the vast borderland between human ideas and physical nature
regarding animal representation. Contributors include Richard W.
Burkhardt, Jr., Jonathan Burt, Ken C. Erickson, Katherine C. Grier,
Richard C. Hoffmann, Andrew C. Isenberg, JacquelineMilliet, John
Solomon Otto, Karen A. Rader, Harriet Ritvo, Nigel Rothfels,
Kenneth J. Shapiro, and Edward I. Steinhart. Mary Henninger-Voss is
an Associate of the Shelby Cullom Davis Center for Historical
Studies, Princeton University.
The great French zoologist Lamarck (1744 1829) was best known for
his theory of evolution, called 'soft inheritance', whereby
organisms pass down acquired characteristics to their offspring.
Originally a soldier, Lamarck later studied medicine and biology,
becoming particularly interested in botany; his distinguished
career included admission to the French Academy of Sciences (1779),
and appointments as Royal Botanist (1781) and as professor of
zoology at the Mus e Nationale d'Histoire Naturelle in 1793.
Acknowledged as the premier authority on invertebrate zoology, he
is credited with coining the term 'invertebrates'. This work,
published in Paris in 1801, expands on Linnaeus' classification
system, introducing seven sub-categories, creating finer divisions
along lines of the species' inherent physical traits, and
describing their natural characteristics and organisation. Also
included is Lamarck's museum lecture, delivered in 1800, in which
he first set out his ideas on evolution.
In the wake of the paleobiological revolution of the 1970s and
1980s, paleontologists continue to investigate far-reaching
questions about how evolution works. Many of those questions have a
philosophical dimension. How is macroevolution related to
evolutionary changes within populations? Is evolutionary history
contingent? How much can we know about the causes of evolutionary
trends? How do paleontologists read the patterns in the fossil
record to learn about the underlying evolutionary processes? Derek
Turner explores these and other questions, introducing the reader
to exciting recent work in the philosophy of paleontology and to
theoretical issues including punctuated equilibria and species
selection. He also critically examines some of the major
accomplishments and arguments of paleontologists of the last 40
years.
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