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History of biology summary (NWI-BB028B)
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lOMoARcPSD|24598883History of biology
(Radboud University Nijmegen)
NWI-BB028B
Guideline
Why and how.................................................................................................................................................................. 3
Aristotle (384-322 v. Chr)............................................................................................................................................3
Alexander the great (356-323 v. Chr)..........................................................................................................................4
Hypatia (circa 360-415 n. chr).....................................................................................................................................5
Galen (129-200)...........................................................................................................................................................5
Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)...................................................................................................................................6
Paracelsus (1493-1541)...............................................................................................................................................6
Andreas Vesalius (1514-1564).....................................................................................................................................6
William Harvey (1578-1657)........................................................................................................................................7
Robert Knox................................................................................................................................................................. 7
Classification of nature....................................................................................................................................................8
Hans Sloane................................................................................................................................................................. 8
Clifford......................................................................................................................................................................... 9
Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778)...........................................................................................................................................9
Remberdt Dodoens (1517-1585)...............................................................................................................................10
Evolution....................................................................................................................................................................... 11
Jean-Baptiste Lamarck (1744-1829)..........................................................................................................................11
Charles Darwin (1809-1882)......................................................................................................................................12
Rise of the laboratory....................................................................................................................................................15
Robert hooke (1635-1703)........................................................................................................................................15
Antonie van leeuwenhoek (1632-1723)....................................................................................................................16
Theodor schwann (1810-1882).................................................................................................................................17
Justus von liebig (1803-1873)....................................................................................................................................17
Louis pasteur (1822-1895).........................................................................................................................................18
Felix Arhimede Pouchet (1800-1872)........................................................................................................................18
Robert Koch (1843-1920)..........................................................................................................................................19
From generation to genetics.........................................................................................................................................20
Gregor Mendel (1822-1884)......................................................................................................................................20
Thomas hun morgan (1866-1945).............................................................................................................................21
Francis Galton (1822-1911).......................................................................................................................................21
Chales Davenport (1866-1944)..................................................................................................................................22
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Molecularization of biology...........................................................................................................................................24
Herman joseph muller (1890-1967)..........................................................................................................................24
Lysenko (1898-1976).................................................................................................................................................24
Linus Pauling (1901-1994).........................................................................................................................................26
Franci’s crick (1916-2004) and James Watson (1928-heden)....................................................................................26
Rosalind franklin........................................................................................................................................................27
Agriculture and medicine..............................................................................................................................................28
Margaret sanger (1879-1966)...................................................................................................................................29
The arrival of the environment.....................................................................................................................................32
Jacobus P Thijsse (1865-1945)...................................................................................................................................32
Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859)......................................................................................................................32
Rachel Carson (1907-1964).......................................................................................................................................33
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Why and how
Why study biology?
1. Learn from our mistakes
What should we not do again and do
differently? Eg: military adventures or in
biology: eugenics
2. Who are we
Who are our examples? Who is ‘in’? who is ‘out’?
Eg: canon of the Netherlands, biology: heroes in textbooks
3. Learn from our problems
What should we focus on? What can we expect?
Eg: the Netherlands & water, biology: difficult relation with society
4. What have we forgotten
Do we risk losing something valuable? Selective memory?
e.g: old skills, biology: taxonomic field knowledge
Problems with history textbooks
- Heroes are selective
- Portays the defeated poorly
- Societal context largely ignored
- Written for present purposes
- Story of progress, with us at the top
Presentism: The use of history for things we need now.
- Role model of the heroes, for example in textbooks
- The beginning of biology by what we now consider as the core
- What we no longer approve of is omitted from our heroes
- A lot less about the craft, the organization of science, the societal context: lone genius, ahead of his time
- Conceptual anachronisms
Ana-Chronism: Chronological inconsistency, misplaced in time.
Can historians show how it really was?
- The sources are only partially present: the archive is saved for a different purpose.
- All history (and all knowledge) is selective: a fraction of the complex events.
- History is more than just facts: depends on what we want and can learn, the questions asked.
Ways of describing history:
- History of scientific thought: great thinkers and great theories.
- History of scientific institutions: Universities, libraries, financial support.
- Intellectual history: science in relation to culture, world views, art and religion.
- The social history of science: the influences of science on commerce and its applications in medicine, agriculture and
war.
Aristotle (384-322 v. Chr)
Some people see him as the first biologist because:
- He did research into nature
- Made empirical observations
- He classified more than 500 animal species
- Dissected animals
- Got stories of fishers, farmers and hunters.
- In search of organism's essence as explanation of its functions
Who was he?
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- Philosopher, biologist, naturalist
- Prime example of empirical biology
- Prime example of Greek reason
- Big example of the interaction between empirical observation and theory
Depends on the context in which we put him: different times and people praised his various aspects, depending on
what personal quality of themselves they wanted to emphasise.
From our culture:
- Source and authority until 17th c.
- A constant reference in philosophy
- Revival with revival of the classics in 19th c.
Who the first biologist is depends on your definition of biology, so not all areas of the world see him as the first
biologist. In China they already had biological knowledge such as acupuncture. Of Mesopotamia: large scale
agriculture, astronomy, abacus. Or Egypt: mummification from 3300BC.
In our Western culture it is considered important. But who says that the Western world is the standard for good science
and can be seen as a basis?
So, it depends on what you consider 'biology'.
- Detailed knowledge (shaman, hunter, farmer)
- Systematic empirical study (Aristotle)
- Theory (4th BC)
- Biology and medicine (Hippocrates)
- Self-conscious discipline (c1800 the label biology)
- Professional organization of biology (19th c)
- Hypothetical-deductive method (20thc)
Reproductive organ of octopus. Described by Aristotle, rediscovered by Cuvier who saw this as
an example of Aristotle’s meticulous empirical research, far ahead of his time.
The Middle Ages, Linnaeus, and Cuvier all flirted with Aristotle, but praised different
qualities: sometimes his theory, sometimes observation.
Alexander the great (356-323 v. Chr)
Taught by Aristotle. He conquers a very large empire. When he dies, his empire is divided
among three generals. One of these generals’ rules Egypt from Alexandria. Here he founded
the library of Alexandria in a museum. This is a gathering place of all kinds of knowledge and
science.
In addition, the Pharos lighthouse is being built here, where trading can take place and a lot
of medical knowledge is gained in Alexandria through dissections.
Alexandria is the centre of Greece. Later this city was taken over by the Romans. The library is
plundered by the Romans but is only burned much later.
The journey of knowledge after Alexander
the Great: Greek knowledge / Alexandria
(Egypt under Cleopatra) /Rome (Roman
Empire; only practical use of knowledge and
made encyclopaedias) / Constantinople
(Byzantine Empire) / Islamic world
(Damascus, Syria) where it is translated into
Arabic / Islamic Spain / Northern Italy (in the
Renaissance).
The Western Romans first conquered the Greek
Empire. Then the eastern roman empire
conquered the western roman empire. Knowledge followed power. Meanwhile, the Middle Ages had begun in
Europe, where science and faith still went together. The ignorant people from the West attack the highly developed
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