Darwinian heresies

Abigail Lustig, Robert J. Richards, Michael Ruse0521815169, 9780521815161, 9780511216961

Including some of today’s leading historians and philosophers of science, this collection demonstrates that not all is precisely as it is too often assumed. Thus, the contributors to this volume suggest that Darwin’s true roots lie in Germany, not his native England, that Russian evolutionism is more significant than many are prepared to allow, and that the true influence on twentieth century evolutionary biology was not Charles Darwin at all, but his often-despised contemporary, Herbert Spencer.

---

Table of contents :
Cover……Page 1
Half-title……Page 3
Title……Page 5
Copyright……Page 6
Contents……Page 7
Contributors……Page 9
chapter one Introduction……Page 11
chapter two Russian Theoretical Biology between Heresy and Orthodoxy……Page 24
russian evolutionary biology, 1930s–1950s……Page 26
georgii shaposhnikov’s experiments with plant lice and the shift to theoretical biology……Page 33
theoretical biology in russia, 1960s–1980s……Page 39
shaposhnikov between zoology and theoretical biology……Page 41
different interpretations of shaposhnikov’s experiments……Page 45
the discussion of rapid speciation……Page 46
the discussion of lamarckism……Page 49
the discussion of epigenetic evolution……Page 52
conclusion……Page 53
chapter three The Specter of Darwinism……Page 58
the changing meaning of “darwinism”……Page 62
the specter of dogmatic darwinism……Page 64
the “new” natural theology……Page 70
chapter four Natural Atheology……Page 79
chapter five Ironic Heresy……Page 94
chapter six If This Be Heresy……Page 111
early student years……Page 113
Medical School at Wurzburg……Page 114
The Aesthetic Science of Humboldt and Goethe……Page 116
The Research Ideal……Page 117
habilitation and engagement……Page 120
love and research in italy……Page 123
friendship with allmers and temptations of the bohemian life……Page 125
radiolaria……Page 127
conclusion……Page 138
chapter seven Adaptive Landscapes and Dynamic Equilibrium……Page 141
comparing darwin and spencer……Page 143
social darwinism……Page 147
the shifting balance theory and its discontents……Page 150
natural selection or dynamic equilibrium?……Page 154
sources……Page 157
conclusion……Page 160
introduction……Page 161
i. darwin and the lamarckian “problem” of ants……Page 162
ii. structure and function……Page 166
iii. biology versus history……Page 172
iv. the eugenic imperative……Page 176
v. conclusion……Page 181
chapter nine Contemporary Darwinism and Religion……Page 183
i. darwinian restrictionists……Page 184
ii. darwinian expansionists……Page 187
iii. three science/religion views……Page 189
iv. the epistemic norms of science and religion……Page 191
v. areas of inquiry in science and religion……Page 197
Index……Page 203