The Dialectical Biologist

Description

Scientists act within a social context and from a philosophical perspective that is inherently political. Whether they realize it or not, scientists always choose sides. The Dialectical Biologist explores this political nature of scientific inquiry, advancing its argument within the framework of Marxist dialectic. These essays stress the concepts of continual change and codetermination between organism and environment, part and whole, structure and process, science and politics. Throughout, this book questions our accepted definitions and biases, showing the self-reflective nature of scientific activity within society. “The book successfully achieves the authors’ goal of demonstrating by example the power and nature of the dialectical method. Its usefulness, however, extends well beyond this. The articles are intellectually challenging in content as well as method. And by collecting in one place articles on evolution, scientific analysis and the social dimensions of science―the book’s three major divisions―the authors have provided a valuable tool for exploring the complexity and richness of biology… The Dialectical Biologist is certain to be controversial… This book is a rich source of understanding, and it will undoubtedly stimulate important discussion.”―New York Times Book Review “This important and controversial book will be hotly discussed by biologists.”―Library Journal “An extremely readable and very provocative book.”―New Scientist Richard Levins was John Rock Professor of Population Sciences at the Harvard School of Public Health. Richard Lewontin is Alexander Agassiz Research Professor at the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University. His many books include Biology and Ideology, Not in Our Genes, and Human Diversity. Cover Title Page Copyright Preface Contents Introduction One. On Evolution 1. Evolution as Theory and Ideology The Ideology of Evolution Change Order Direction Progress Perfectability Darwin and Evolution The Background of Darwinism Darwinism and Materialism The Darwinian Theory Genetics and Evolution Races and Species Novelty and Adaptation The Origin of Life Fitness of and in Populations Organism and Environment Integration of Parts Macroscopic and Microscopic Theories 2. Adaptation Being Adapted and Becoming Adapted Specific Adaptations Natural Selection and Adaptation Evolutionary Convergence Nonadaptive Characters and the Failure of Adaptation# Adaptation as Ideology 3. The Organism as the Subject and Object of Evolution Gene and Development Organism and Environment Two. On Analysis 4. The Analysis of Variance and the Analysis of Causes Discrimination of Causes and Analysis of Causes Quantitative Analysis of Causes Norm of Reaction Effect of Additivity Purpose of Analysis 5. Isidore Nabi on the Tendencies of Motion Results Conclusions 6. Dialectics and Reductionism in Ecology Reductionism and Materialism The Community as a Dialectical Whole Abstraction and Idealism Stochasticity and Statistics Three. Science as a Social Product and the Social Product of Science 7. The Problem of Lysenkoism The Philosophical and Scientific Claims of Lysenkoism The Conditions Creating Lysenkoism Conditions of Agriculture Problems of Experiment and Evaluation The State of Genetic Theory Ideological and Social Implications of Genetics The Reaction of the Peasants to Collectivization Class Origins of Scientists and Agronomists Xenophobia The Apogee and Decline of Lysenkoism Did Lysenkoism Affect Soviet Agriculture? Can There Be a Marxist Science? 8. The Commoditization of Science 9. The Political Economy of Agricultural Research Profitability and Solvency Social Objectives of Agriculture Organization of Knowledge 10. Applied Biology in the Third World 11. The Pesticide System 12. Research Needs for Latin Community Health Toward a Concept of Environment The Inseparability of the Psychosocial and the Physiological Inseparability of Occupational and Community Health The Unit of Epidemiology Is Not the Individual Health Care and Its Utilization Conclusions 13. What Is Human Nature? Conclusion: Dialectics Bibliography Index