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Disturbing Dogmas: Biologists and the History of Biology

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 October 2013

Eva Jablonka  and
Marion J. Lamb
Eva Jablonka
Affiliation:
Cohn Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Ideas, Tel Aviv University E-mail: [email protected]
Marion J. Lamb
Affiliation:
Cohn Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Ideas, Tel Aviv University E-mail: [email protected]
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Extract

The attitude of biologists to the history of their discipline varies. For some, a hazy knowledge of the recent past is all that is necessary to provide an explanatory basis for their work. They take it for granted that everything of value from the less recent past has been appropriately incorporated into present-day thinking. Other biologists see history as an integral part of their research: the historical roots of accepted facts and theories help in the evaluation of present positions. These biologists bring to history their specialized knowledge, which can be an advantage, but often they also bring an agenda that biases what they investigate and how they present it. We illustrate this by describing our own foray into history, which was motivated by findings in cell biology that suggested that some accepted views about heredity and evolution were wrong.

Type
Research Article
Information
Science in Context , Volume 26 , Issue 4: Approaches, Styles, and Narratives: Reflections on Doing History of Science , December 2013 , pp. 557 - 571
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013 

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