What Makes Biology Unique?: Considerations on the Autonomy of a Scientific Discipline

by Ernst Mayr

• ISBN13: 9780521700344
• ISBN10: 0521700345
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-04-16
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

This book, a collection of essays written by the most eminent evolutionary biologist of the twentieth century, explores biology as an autonomous science, offers insights on the history of evolutionary thought, critiques the contributions of philosophy to the science of biology, and comments on several of the major ongoing issues in evolutionary theory. Notably, Mayr explains that Darwin's theory of evolution is actually five separate theories, each with its own history, trajectory and impact. Natural selection is a separate idea from common descent, and from geographic speciation, and so on. A number of the perennial Darwinian controversies may well have been caused by the confounding of the five separate theories into a single composite. Those interested in evolutionary theory, or the philosophy and history of science will find useful ideas in this book, which should appeal to virtually anyone with a broad curiosity about biology.

Author Biography

Ernst Mayr (1904-2005) was Professor Emeritus at Harvard University and former Director of the Museum of Comparative Zoology

Table of Contents

Preface	p. ix
Acknowledgments	p. xiii
Introduction	p. 1
Science and sciences	p. 11
The autonomy of biology	p. 21
Teleology	p. 39
Analysis or reductionism?	p. 67
Darwin's influence on modern thought	p. 83
Darwin's five theories of evolution	p. 97
Maturation of Darwinism	p. 117
Selection	p. 133
Do Thomas Kuhn's scientific revolutions take place?	p. 159
Another look at the species problem	p. 171
The origin of humans	p. 195
Are we alone in this vast universe?	p. 209
Glossary	p. 219
Index	p. 227
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