{"title":"Species Transformation and Social Reform: The Role of the Will in Jean-Baptiste Lamarck's Transformist Theory.","authors":"Caden Testa","doi":"10.1007/s10739-023-09707-x","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Jean-Baptiste Lamarck is well known as a pre-Darwinian proponent of evolution. But much of what has been written on Lamarck, on his 'Lamarckian' belief in the inheritance of acquired characters, and on his conception of the role of the will in biological development mischaracterizes his views. Indeed, surprisingly little in-depth analysis has been published regarding his views on human physiology and development. Further, although since Robert M. Young's signal 1969 essay on Malthus and the evolutionists, Darwin scholars have sought to place Darwin's work in its social and political context, this has yet to be done adequately for Lamarck. Here I address this gap. I argue that the will was of particular importance to Lamarck's social commentary and his hopes for the transformation of the French people and nation. Further, I argue that if we are to really grasp Lamarck's ideas and intentions we need to contextualize his works in relation to prevailing debates in France about the physiology of mind and morals and the future of the nation.</p>","PeriodicalId":51104,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the History of Biology","volume":"56 1","pages":"125-151"},"PeriodicalIF":0.7000,"publicationDate":"2023-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of the History of Biology","FirstCategoryId":"98","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10739-023-09707-x","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2023/3/8 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q4","JCRName":"BIOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Jean-Baptiste Lamarck is well known as a pre-Darwinian proponent of evolution. But much of what has been written on Lamarck, on his 'Lamarckian' belief in the inheritance of acquired characters, and on his conception of the role of the will in biological development mischaracterizes his views. Indeed, surprisingly little in-depth analysis has been published regarding his views on human physiology and development. Further, although since Robert M. Young's signal 1969 essay on Malthus and the evolutionists, Darwin scholars have sought to place Darwin's work in its social and political context, this has yet to be done adequately for Lamarck. Here I address this gap. I argue that the will was of particular importance to Lamarck's social commentary and his hopes for the transformation of the French people and nation. Further, I argue that if we are to really grasp Lamarck's ideas and intentions we need to contextualize his works in relation to prevailing debates in France about the physiology of mind and morals and the future of the nation.
让-巴蒂斯特-拉马克作为达尔文进化论之前的支持者是众所周知的。但是,关于拉马克、关于他对后天性格遗传的 "拉马克式 "信念以及关于他对意志在生物发展中的作用的概念的许多论著都错误地描述了他的观点。事实上,有关他对人类生理学和发育的观点的深入分析少得令人吃惊。此外,尽管自1969年罗伯特-M-杨(Robert M. Young)发表关于马尔萨斯和进化论者的重要文章以来,达尔文学者一直在努力将达尔文的研究置于其社会和政治背景中,但对于拉马克来说,这一点还没有做到位。在此,我将弥补这一空白。我认为,意志对于拉马克的社会评论以及他对法国人民和国家变革的希望尤为重要。此外,我还认为,如果我们要真正理解拉马克的思想和意图,就需要将他的作品与法国当时关于心灵和道德生理学以及国家未来的辩论联系起来。
期刊介绍:
The Journal of the History of Biology is devoted to the history of the life sciences, with additional interest and concern in philosophical and social issues confronting biology in its varying historical contexts. While all historical epochs are welcome, particular attention has been paid in recent years to developments during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. JHB is a recognized forum for scholarship on Darwin, but pieces that connect Darwinism with broader social and intellectual issues in the life sciences are especially encouraged. The journal serves both the working biologist who needs a full understanding of the historical and philosophical bases of the field and the historian of biology interested in following developments and making historiographical connections with the history of science.