The Evolution of Theodosius Dobzhansky Essays on His Life and Thought in Russia and America

About this book

A reprint of a classical work in the Princeton Legacy Library, originally published in 1994.

The Evolution of Theodosius Dobzhansky not only offers an intellectual biography of one of the most important biologists and social thinkers of the twentieth century but also illuminates the development of evolutionary studies in Russia and in the West. Theodosius Dobzhansky (1900-1975), a creator of the "evolutionary synthesis" and the author of its first modern statement, Genetics and the Origin of Species (1937), founded modern Western population genetics and wrote many popular books on such topics as human evolution, race and racism, equality, and human destiny. In this, the first book devoted to an analysis of the historical, scientific, and cultural dimensions of Dobzhansky's life and thought, an international group of historians, biologists, and philosophers addresses the full span of his career in Russia and the United States.

Beginning with the reminiscences of his daughter, Sophia Dobzhansky Coe, these essays cover Dobzhansky's Russian roots (Nikolai L. Krementsov, Daniel A. Alexandrov, Mikhail B. Konashev), the Morgan Lab (Garland E. Allen, William B. Provine, Robert E. Kohler, Richard M. Burian), his scientific legacy (Scott F. Gilbert, Bruce Wallace, Charles E. Taylor), and his social, political, philosophical, and religious thought (Costas B. Krimbas, John Beatty, Diane B. Paul, Michael Ruse).

Contents

Preface vii
Acknowledgments

A INTRODUCTION I
- Introduction: Theodosius Dobzhansky in Russia and America Mark B. Adams 3
- Theodosius Dobzhansky: A Family Story Sophia Dobzhansky Coe 13

PART ONE: RUSSIAN ROOTS 29
- Dobzhansky and Russian Entomology: The Origin of His Ideas on Species and Speciation Nikolai L. Krementsov 31
- Filipchenko and Dobzhansky: Issues in Evolutionary Genetics in the 1920s Daniel A. Alexandrov 49
- From the Archives: Dobzhansky in Kiev and Leningrad Mikhail B. Konashev 63

PART TWO: THE MORGAN LAB 85
- Theodosius Dobzhansky, the Morgan Lab, and the Breakdown of the Naturalist/ Experimentalist Dichotomy, 1927-1947 Garland E. Allen 87
- The Origin of Dobzhansky's Genetics and the Origin of Species Fly Room West: Dobzhansky, D. pseudoobscura, and Scientific Practice Robert E. Kohler 115
- Dobzhansky on Evolutionary Dynamics: Some Questions about His Russian Background Richard M. Burian 129

PART THREE: THE SCIENTIFIC LEGACY 141
- Dobzhansky, Waddington, and Schmalhausen: Embryology and the Modern Synthesis Scott F Gilbert 143
- Theodosius Dobzhansky Remembered: Genetic Coadaptation Bruce Wallace 155
- Dobzhansky, Artificial Life, and the "Larger Questions" of Evolution Charles E. Taylor 163

PART FOUR: DOBZHANSKY'S WORLDVIEW 177
- The Evolutionary Worldview of Theodosius Dobzhansky Costas B. Krimbas 179
- Dobzhansky and the Biology of Democracy: The Moral and Political Significance of Genetic Variation John Beatty 195
- Dobzhansky in the "Nature-Nurture" Debate Diane B. Paul 219
- Dobzhansky and the Problem of Progress Michael Ruse 233

Contributors 247

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