A History of Biology

Description

A comprehensive history of the biological sciences from antiquity to the modern era This book presents a global history of the biological sciences from ancient times to today, providing needed perspective on the development of biological thought while shedding light on the field's upheavals and key breakthroughs through the ages. Michel Morange brings to life the dynamic interplay of science, society, and biology's many subdisciplines, enabling readers to better appreciate the interdisciplinary exchanges that have shaped the field over the centuries. Each chapter of this incisive book focuses on a specific period in the history of biology, describing the major transformations that occurred, the enduring scientific concerns behind these changes, and the implications of yesterday's science for today's. Morange covers everything from the first cell theory to the origins of the concept of ecosystems, and offers perspectives on areas that are often neglected by historians of biology, such as ecology, ethology, and plant biology. Along the way, he highlights the contributions of technology, the important role of hypothesis and experimentation, and the cultural contexts in which some of the most breathtaking discoveries in biology were made. Unrivaled in scope and written by a world-renowned historian of science, A History of Biology is an ideal introduction for students and experts alike, and essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the present state of biological knowledge. Cover Contents Preface 1. Ancient Greece and Rome The Facts The Birth of Biology Overview of Ancient Greek and Roman Biological Sciences Hippocratic Medicine Aristotle Galen’s Physiology Pliny the Elder’s Natural History The Atomists Historical Overview The Role of Experimentation in Greek Science and Particularly in Life Sciences Anaximander and the Atomists: The Futile Search for Pioneers Contemporary Relevance Mechanistic and Molecular Explanations The Role of Analogy The Beginnings of the Chain of Being Pliny’s Legacy Ever-Present Finalism 2. The Middle Ages and Arab-Muslim Science The Facts The Arab-Muslim World The Middle Ages in the West Historical Overview Contemporary Relevance Scientific Progress Is Not a Given Less Obvious Contributions to the Development of Science 3. The Renaissance (Sixteenth Century) The Facts Progress in Anatomy and Depictions of the Human Body Books on Natural History Alchemy in Medicine: From Paracelsus to Van Helmont Historical Overview A Fascination with Dissections The Role of Alchemy Changes in the Social Structure of Science Contemporary Relevance Finding the Right Distance from the Past New Techniques Bring New Sources of Error Aging as a Form of Poisoning 4. The Age of Classicism (Seventeenth Century) The Facts The Discovery of Circulation The Development of Quantitative Experiments The Invention of the Microscope and Its Consequences Historical Overview The Not-So-Obvious Case of Circulation The Mechanistic Model of Life and Its Limitations The Incomprehensible Theory of Preformationism Invisible and Indirect Changes Contemporary Relevance The Machines in Front of Us Vestiges of Preformation Theory Accepting the Plurality of Approaches in Biology Translational Medicine Is Not New 5. The Enlightenment (Eighteenth Century) The Facts Vitalism Classification: Linnaeus versus Buffon Reproductive Physiology The Role of Breathing Becomes Clear Historical Overview Variations on Vitalism Classification versus Evolution Classifying Humans Priestley and Lavoisier: Only the First Step Contemporary Relevance A Natural Classification? Comparing Plants and Animals Maupertuis, the Father of Self-Organization? 6. The Nineteenth Century (Part I): Embryology, Cell Biology, Microbiology, and Physiology The Facts Embryology Becomes an Established Discipline The Emergence of Cell Theory The Rise of Germ Theory Physiology’s Golden Age Historical Overview The Roots of Cell Theory Scholars Trapped by Their Own Philosophical Ideas? The Tension between Chemical Explanations and Structural Models Was Embryology Holding Out for Evolution? 1859: A Remarkable Year Contemporary Relevance The Disappearance of Traditional Disciplines in Biology The Endogenous or Exogenous Origins of Diseases The Debate on Cerebral Localization 7. The Nineteenth Century (Part II): The Theory of Evolution, the Theory of Heredity, and Ecology The Facts Lamarck: An Early Version of the Theory of Evolution The Contribution of Georges Cuvier The Second Wave of Transformism: Darwin The Theory of Heredity The Reception of Darwin’s Theory and the Eclipse of Darwinism From Biogeography to Ecology Historical Overview A Moving History The Birth of a Science of Heredity Biology: A Comparative Science, according to Auguste Comte Darwinism and Ecology: A Complex Relationship Biogeography The Epistemological Originality of the Darwinian Model of Natural Selection Science and Religion Darwin and the Human Being Contemporary Relevance Epigenetics and the Return of Lamarckism Compensation and Life Histories The End of Orthogenesis? Did Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire Win the Argument with Cuvier? The Mathematical Laws of Morphogenesis: The First Steps of Phyllotaxy Another Mendel? 8. The Twentieth Century (Part I): The Diversity of Functional Biology and the Birth of Molecular Biology The Facts Biochemistry Endocrinology and Neurophysiology Immunology, Microbiology, Virology, and Chemotherapy Developmental Biology and Cellular Biology The Rediscovery of Mendel’s Laws, and the Rise of Genetics The Rise of Molecular Biology Historical Overview The Complex Dance of Disciplines The Identity of Objects Studied and the Tools for Studying Them Multiple Explanations—Contentious Explanations? Embryonic Induction, Hormones, and Genes: Another Model for the Action of Genes Contemporary Relevance The Recurrent Enigma of Phenomena of Regeneration From Data Science to Networks Metchnikoff, the Inventor of Exaptation? The Explanation of Diseases: A Plus or a Minus? What Are the Colloids of Today? The End of the Dominant Position of Genetics The Asilomar Conference: A Model? 9. The Twentieth Century (Part II): The Theory of Evolution, Ecology, Ethology The Facts Genetics and the Theory of Evolution (1900–1920) The Rise of Population Genetics (1918–1932) Modern Evolutionary Synthesis (1937–1950) Ecology Ethology Historical Overview The Influence of Marxism The Rise of Holism and Emergentism The Energetics View of Life The Question of Life The Process of “Synthesis” in Science Contemporary Relevance From Energy to Information From the Biosphere to Global Warming The Responsibility of Biologists 10. Twentieth–Twenty-First Centuries: After the Syntheses The Facts The Rise of Structural Biology The Encounter between Molecular Biology and the Modern Synthesis Genome Sequencing The New Frontier: The Neurosciences A New View of the Living World Historical Overview The Dogma and Its Overturning: The Example of Prions Molecular Noise Does Systems Biology Have a Place? Beyond Specificity? Time and Life Mastering the Evolutionary Future The Mystery of Life The Ever-Ambiguous Place of the Human Being Contemporary Relevance In Conclusion References Index of Names Thematic Index