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A root-and-branch rethinking of how history has shaped the science
of genetics. In 1900, almost no one had heard of Gregor Mendel. Ten
years later, he was famous as the father of a new science of
heredity—genetics. Even today, Mendelian ideas serve as a
standard point of entry for learning about genes. The message
students receive is plain: the twenty-first century owes an
enlightened understanding of how biological inheritance really
works to the persistence of an intellectual inheritance that traces
back to Mendel’s garden. Disputed Inheritance turns that
message on its head. As Gregory Radick shows, Mendelian ideas
became foundational not because they match reality—little in
nature behaves like Mendel’s peas—but because, in England in
the early years of the twentieth century, a ferocious debate ended
as it did. On one side was the Cambridge biologist William Bateson,
who, in Mendel’s name, wanted biology and society reorganized
around the recognition that heredity is destiny. On the other side
was the Oxford biologist W. F. R. Weldon, who, admiring Mendel's
discoveries in a limited way, thought Bateson's "Mendelism"
represented a backward step, since it pushed growing knowledge of
the modifying role of environments, internal and external, to the
margins. Weldon's untimely death in 1906, before he could finish a
book setting out his alternative vision, is, Radick suggests, what
sealed the Mendelian victory. Bringing together extensive archival
research with searching analyses of the nature of science and
history, Disputed Inheritance challenges the way we think about
genetics and its possibilities, past, present, and future.
A root-and-branch rethinking of how history has shaped the science
of genetics. In 1900, almost no one had heard of Gregor Mendel. Ten
years later, he was famous as the father of a new science of
heredity—genetics. Even today, Mendelian ideas serve as a
standard point of entry for learning about genes. The message
students receive is plain: the twenty-first century owes an
enlightened understanding of how biological inheritance really
works to the persistence of an intellectual inheritance that traces
back to Mendel’s garden. Disputed Inheritance turns that
message on its head. As Gregory Radick shows, Mendelian ideas
became foundational not because they match reality—little in
nature behaves like Mendel’s peas—but because, in England in
the early years of the twentieth century, a ferocious debate ended
as it did. On one side was the Cambridge biologist William Bateson,
who, in Mendel’s name, wanted biology and society reorganized
around the recognition that heredity is destiny. On the other side
was the Oxford biologist W. F. R. Weldon, who, admiring Mendel's
discoveries in a limited way, thought Bateson's "Mendelism"
represented a backward step, since it pushed growing knowledge of
the modifying role of environments, internal and external, to the
margins. Weldon's untimely death in 1906, before he could finish a
book setting out his alternative vision, is, Radick suggests, what
sealed the Mendelian victory. Bringing together extensive archival
research with searching analyses of the nature of science and
history, Disputed Inheritance challenges the way we think about
genetics and its possibilities, past, present, and future.
In On the Origin of Species (1859), Charles Darwin put forward his
theory of natural selection. Conventionally, Darwin's argument for
this theory has been understood as based on an analogy with
artificial selection. But there has been no consensus on how,
exactly, this analogical argument is supposed to work – and some
suspicion too that analogical arguments on the whole are
embarrassingly weak. Drawing on new insights into the history of
analogical argumentation from the ancient Greeks onward, as well as
on in-depth studies of Darwin's public and private writings, this
book offers an original perspective on Darwin's argument, restoring
to view the intellectual traditions which Darwin took for granted
in arguing as he did. From this perspective come new appreciations
not only of Darwin's argument but of the metaphors based on it, the
range of wider traditions the argument touched upon, and its
legacies for science after the Origin.
In On the Origin of Species (1859), Charles Darwin put forward his
theory of natural selection. Conventionally, Darwin's argument for
this theory has been understood as based on an analogy with
artificial selection. But there has been no consensus on how,
exactly, this analogical argument is supposed to work - and some
suspicion too that analogical arguments on the whole are
embarrassingly weak. Drawing on new insights into the history of
analogical argumentation from the ancient Greeks onward, as well as
on in-depth studies of Darwin's public and private writings, this
book offers an original perspective on Darwin's argument, restoring
to view the intellectual traditions which Darwin took for granted
in arguing as he did. From this perspective come new appreciations
not only of Darwin's argument but of the metaphors based on it, the
range of wider traditions the argument touched upon, and its
legacies for science after the Origin.
When the Origins of Species was published on 24 November 1859, its
author, Charles Darwin, was near the end of a nine-week stay in the
remote Yorkshire village of Ilkley. He had come for the 'water
cure' - a regime of cold baths and wet sheets - and for relaxation.
But he used his time in Ilkley to shore up support, through
extensive correspondence, for the extraordinary theory that the
Origin would put before the world: evolution by natural selection.
In Darwin in Ilkley, Mike Dixon and Gregory Radick bring to life
Victorian Ilkley and the dramas of body and mind that marked
Darwin's visit.
The naturalist and geologist Charles Darwin (1809-82) ranks as one
of the most influential scientific thinkers of all time. In the
nineteenth century his ideas about the history and diversity of
life - including the evolutionary origin of humankind - contributed
to major changes in the sciences, philosophy, social thought and
religious belief. The Cambridge Companion to Darwin has established
itself as an indispensable resource for anyone teaching or
researching Darwin's theories and their historical and
philosophical interpretations. Its distinguished team of
contributors examines Darwin's main scientific ideas and their
development; Darwin's science in the context of its times; the
influence of Darwinian thought in recent philosophical, social and
religious debate; and the importance of Darwinian thought for the
future of naturalist philosophy. For this second edition, coverage
has been expanded to include two new chapters: on Darwin, Hume and
human nature, and on Darwin's theories in the intellectual long
run, from the pre-Socratics to the present.
The naturalist and geologist Charles Darwin (1809-82) ranks as one
of the most influential scientific thinkers of all time. In the
nineteenth century his ideas about the history and diversity of
life - including the evolutionary origin of humankind - contributed
to major changes in the sciences, philosophy, social thought and
religious belief. The Cambridge Companion to Darwin has established
itself as an indispensable resource for anyone teaching or
researching Darwin's theories and their historical and
philosophical interpretations. Its distinguished team of
contributors examines Darwin's main scientific ideas and their
development; Darwin's science in the context of its times; the
influence of Darwinian thought in recent philosophical, social and
religious debate; and the importance of Darwinian thought for the
future of naturalist philosophy. For this second edition, coverage
has been expanded to include two new chapters: on Darwin, Hume and
human nature, and on Darwin's theories in the intellectual long
run, from the pre-Socratics to the present.
This collection of essays explores different perceptions of space, taking the reader on a journey from the inner space of the mind to the vacuum beyond Earth. Eight leading researchers span a broad range of fields, from the arts and humanities to the natural sciences. They consider topics ranging from human consciousness to virtual reality, architecture and politics. The essays are written in an accessible style for a general audience.
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