Pub Date : 2024-02-15DOI: 10.1007/s10739-024-09763-x
Maura C Flannery
{"title":"Joel Schwartz, Robert Brown and Mungo Park: Travels and Explorations in Natural History for the Royal Society, Memoirs of the New York Botanical Garden no. 122, Cham: Springer, 2021, ISBN: 9783030748616, 217 pp.","authors":"Maura C Flannery","doi":"10.1007/s10739-024-09763-x","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10739-024-09763-x","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":51104,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the History of Biology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2024-02-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139742614","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-12-20DOI: 10.1007/s10739-023-09743-7
Jordan Thomas Mursinna
British systematics was distinctly marked by a raft of vituperative controversies around the turn of the 1830s. After the local collapse of broad consensus in the Linnaean system by 1820, the emergence of new schemes of classification—most notably, the “quinarian” system of William Sharp Macleay—brought with it an unprecedented register of public debate among zoologists in Britain, one which a young Charles Darwin would bitterly describe to his friend John Stevens Henslow in October 1836 as possessing a “mean quarrelsome spirit,” conducted in “a manner anything but like that of gentlemen.” This article aims to provide a social and conceptual account of the remarkable tenor of zoological discourse in Britain in the late 1820s and early 1830s, with joint attention to the philosophical and interpersonal commitments at play. In doing so, it analyzes the three of the period’s most striking public controversies, each of which counted key advocates of the quinarian system as central participants.
{"title":"A “Mean Quarrelsome Spirit:” Controversy in British Systematics, 1822–1836","authors":"Jordan Thomas Mursinna","doi":"10.1007/s10739-023-09743-7","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10739-023-09743-7","url":null,"abstract":"<p>British systematics was distinctly marked by a raft of vituperative controversies around the turn of the 1830s. After the local collapse of broad consensus in the Linnaean system by 1820, the emergence of new schemes of classification—most notably, the “quinarian” system of William Sharp Macleay—brought with it an unprecedented register of public debate among zoologists in Britain, one which a young Charles Darwin would bitterly describe to his friend John Stevens Henslow in October 1836 as possessing a “mean quarrelsome spirit,” conducted in “a manner anything but like that of gentlemen.” This article aims to provide a social and conceptual account of the remarkable tenor of zoological discourse in Britain in the late 1820s and early 1830s, with joint attention to the philosophical and interpersonal commitments at play. In doing so, it analyzes the three of the period’s most striking public controversies, each of which counted key advocates of the quinarian system as central participants.</p>","PeriodicalId":51104,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the History of Biology","volume":"35 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2023-12-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138817381","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-12-18DOI: 10.1007/s10739-023-09742-8
Abstract
The long 19th century was a period of many developments and technical innovations in agriculture and animal biology, during which actors sought to incorporate new practices in light of new information. By the middle of the century, however, while heredity steadily became the dominant concept in animal husbandry, some policies related to livestock improvement in Brazil seemed to have been tailored following a climate-deterministic concept established in the mid-18th century by the French naturalist Georges-Louis Leclerc, the Comte de Buffon. His theory of animal degeneration posited, among other things, the necessity of recurrent crossbreeding to preserve animal species living in nonnative environments from climate-induced degeneration. Although largely discredited by the early 19th century, the teachings of the French naturalist seem to have found supporters in a Brazilian program to modernize national agriculture through the application of the natural sciences. Herein I examine the revival of Buffon’s theories in that government-sponsored program to improve animal husbandry and breeding techniques, including actual applications of this theory in the real world. Ultimately, I argue that Buffon’s theory of degeneration was used to tailor public policies and funding for the improvement of domesticated animals in Brazil between 1856 and 1860.
{"title":"A Tale of Enduring Myths: Buffon’s Theory of Animal Degeneration and the Regeneration of Domesticated Animals in Mid-19th Century Brazil","authors":"","doi":"10.1007/s10739-023-09742-8","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10739-023-09742-8","url":null,"abstract":"<h3>Abstract</h3> <p>The long 19th century was a period of many developments and technical innovations in agriculture and animal biology, during which actors sought to incorporate new practices in light of new information. By the middle of the century, however, while heredity steadily became the dominant concept in animal husbandry, some policies related to livestock improvement in Brazil seemed to have been tailored following a climate-deterministic concept established in the mid-18th century by the French naturalist Georges-Louis Leclerc, the Comte de Buffon. His theory of animal degeneration posited, among other things, the necessity of recurrent crossbreeding to preserve animal species living in nonnative environments from climate-induced degeneration. Although largely discredited by the early 19th century, the teachings of the French naturalist seem to have found supporters in a Brazilian program to modernize national agriculture through the application of the natural sciences. Herein I examine the revival of Buffon’s theories in that government-sponsored program to improve animal husbandry and breeding techniques, including actual applications of this theory in the real world. Ultimately, I argue that Buffon’s theory of degeneration was used to tailor public policies and funding for the improvement of domesticated animals in Brazil between 1856 and 1860.</p>","PeriodicalId":51104,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the History of Biology","volume":"55 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2023-12-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138742623","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-12-18DOI: 10.1007/s10739-023-09744-6
Vassiliki Betty Smocovitis, Nicolas Rasmussen
{"title":"Everett Mendelsohn (1931-2023): Founding Editor of the Journal of the History of Biology","authors":"Vassiliki Betty Smocovitis, Nicolas Rasmussen","doi":"10.1007/s10739-023-09744-6","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10739-023-09744-6","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":51104,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the History of Biology","volume":"41 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2023-12-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138742626","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-12-14DOI: 10.1007/s10739-023-09758-0
M. S. Lindee
{"title":"Rena Selya, Salvador Luria: An Immigrant Biologist in Cold War America, Cambridge, USA: MIT Press, 2022, ISBN: 9780262046466, 248 pp.","authors":"M. S. Lindee","doi":"10.1007/s10739-023-09758-0","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10739-023-09758-0","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":51104,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the History of Biology","volume":"2011 25","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2023-12-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139001945","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-12-01DOI: 10.1007/s10739-023-09757-1
Katrina Maydom
{"title":"Stefanie Gänger, A Singular Remedy: Cinchona across the Atlantic World, 1751-1820, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2020, ISBN: 9781108842167, 300 pp.","authors":"Katrina Maydom","doi":"10.1007/s10739-023-09757-1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10739-023-09757-1","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":51104,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the History of Biology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2023-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138471248","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-12-01Epub Date: 2023-11-24DOI: 10.1007/s10739-023-09753-5
Janet Browne
{"title":"Everett Mendelsohn, the Harvard Colleague.","authors":"Janet Browne","doi":"10.1007/s10739-023-09753-5","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10739-023-09753-5","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":51104,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the History of Biology","volume":" ","pages":"625-627"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2023-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138300590","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-12-01Epub Date: 2024-01-03DOI: 10.1007/s10739-023-09752-6
Joel Schwartz
{"title":"Everett Mendelsohn, One Colleague's Remembrances.","authors":"Joel Schwartz","doi":"10.1007/s10739-023-09752-6","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10739-023-09752-6","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":51104,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the History of Biology","volume":" ","pages":"621-623"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2023-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139089334","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-12-01Epub Date: 2023-11-10DOI: 10.1007/s10739-023-09741-9
Elisabeth de Cambiaire
The growth of botany following European expansion and the consequent increase of plants necessitated significant development in classification methodology, during the key decades spanning the late 17th to the mid-18th century, leading to the emergence of a "natural method." Much of this development was driven by the need to accurately identify medicinal plants, and was founded on the principle of analogy, used particularly in relation to properties. Analogical reasoning established correlations (affinities) between plants, moreover between their external and internal characteristics (here, medicinal properties). The diversity of plants, names, and botanical information gathered worldwide amplified confusion. This triggered the systematisation of the collection and referencing of data, prioritizing the meticulous observation of plant characteristics and the recording of medicinal properties as established by tradition: it resulted in principled methods of natural classification and nomenclature, represented by the genus, to enhance reliability of plant knowledge, which was crucial in medical contexts. The scope of botany increased dramatically, with new methods broadening studies beyond traditional medicinal plants. The failure of chemical methods to predict properties, particularly of unknown flora, amplified the reliance on analogy and on natural affinities.
{"title":"\"From the Known to the Unknown:\" Nature's Diversity, Materia Medica, and Analogy in 18th Century Botany, Through the Work of Tournefort, the Jussieu Brothers, and Linnaeus.","authors":"Elisabeth de Cambiaire","doi":"10.1007/s10739-023-09741-9","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10739-023-09741-9","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The growth of botany following European expansion and the consequent increase of plants necessitated significant development in classification methodology, during the key decades spanning the late 17th to the mid-18th century, leading to the emergence of a \"natural method.\" Much of this development was driven by the need to accurately identify medicinal plants, and was founded on the principle of analogy, used particularly in relation to properties. Analogical reasoning established correlations (affinities) between plants, moreover between their external and internal characteristics (here, medicinal properties). The diversity of plants, names, and botanical information gathered worldwide amplified confusion. This triggered the systematisation of the collection and referencing of data, prioritizing the meticulous observation of plant characteristics and the recording of medicinal properties as established by tradition: it resulted in principled methods of natural classification and nomenclature, represented by the genus, to enhance reliability of plant knowledge, which was crucial in medical contexts. The scope of botany increased dramatically, with new methods broadening studies beyond traditional medicinal plants. The failure of chemical methods to predict properties, particularly of unknown flora, amplified the reliance on analogy and on natural affinities.</p>","PeriodicalId":51104,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the History of Biology","volume":" ","pages":"635-672"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2023-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"89720503","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-12-01Epub Date: 2024-01-15DOI: 10.1007/s10739-023-09747-3
Mark V Barrow
{"title":"Remembering Everett Mendelsohn, a Kind and Generous Mentor.","authors":"Mark V Barrow","doi":"10.1007/s10739-023-09747-3","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10739-023-09747-3","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":51104,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the History of Biology","volume":" ","pages":"595-599"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2023-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139467223","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}