History of biology
HISTORY OF BIOLOGY
KW2 Radboud Universiteit
2024/ 2025
0
,History of biology
1
,History of biology
TABLE OF CONTENTS
UNIT 1: Why and how.................................................................................................. 3
UNIT 2: Classification ................................................................................................. 9
UNIT 3: Evolution: Darwin in society .......................................................................... 12
UNIT 4: To the laboratory: the experimental style in biology ........................................ 16
UNIT 5: Genetics and eugenics ................................................................................. 21
UNIT 6: The molecularization of biology ..................................................................... 26
UNIT 7: Agriculture and medicine .............................................................................. 31
UNIT 8: Environment, nature and ecology: the whole and the parts ............................. 36
2
, History of biology
UNIT 1: Why and how
1. Why and how
- Why study history?
o Learn from your mistakes: what should we (not) do again? Do differently?
o Identity (who we are?): who are our examples, who is in? who is out?
o What are our problems? What should we focus on? What can we expect?
o What have we forgotten? Do we risk losing something valuable? Selective
memory?
- Problems with textbook-history:
o Heroes are selective: only the geniuses, the great men.
o Usually portrays the defeated poorly: even though they may have had
merits.
o Societal context largely ignored.
o Often written for present purposes, rather than in historic setting (hence
presentism).
o Story of progress, with us at the top.
If you ask different questions of history, you will get different facts and stories and different
answers. If you do history for contemporary uses too much, there is a big risk that you will
twist history. However, we cannot avoid it because makes difficult the communication.
The beggining
- Aristotle (384-322 BC): a lot 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). Viewed from our culture he is seen as
important.
o Empirical observations: classification of 500 species, embryo studies
through a study of eggs, some 50 animal dissections, got stories of fishers,
farmers and hunters.
o Theoretical contributions: in search of organism’s essence, as explanation
of its function.
- China: herbs and medicine, advanced in mathematics, astronomy, technology
(paper, gunpowder, compass), acupuncture meridians, (1340), Chinese Pascal’s
triangle (1303).
- Mesopotamia: large scale agriculture (5000 BC), astronomy, abacus (2500 BC).
- Egypt: mummification (3300BC).
o Imhotep (27 BC): physician.
So, what is the beginning? Depends on what you consider crucial to biology:
- Detailed knowledge: shaman, hunter, farmer.
- Systematic empirical study: Aristotle.
- Theory: 4BC philosophy.
- Biology and medicine: Hippocrates (460-361 BC).
- Experiments and instruments: 17C.
- Self-conscious discipline: 1800.
- Professional organisation of biology: 19th C.
- Hypothetical-deductive method: 20th C.
3
HISTORY OF BIOLOGY
KW2 Radboud Universiteit
2024/ 2025
0
,History of biology
1
,History of biology
TABLE OF CONTENTS
UNIT 1: Why and how.................................................................................................. 3
UNIT 2: Classification ................................................................................................. 9
UNIT 3: Evolution: Darwin in society .......................................................................... 12
UNIT 4: To the laboratory: the experimental style in biology ........................................ 16
UNIT 5: Genetics and eugenics ................................................................................. 21
UNIT 6: The molecularization of biology ..................................................................... 26
UNIT 7: Agriculture and medicine .............................................................................. 31
UNIT 8: Environment, nature and ecology: the whole and the parts ............................. 36
2
, History of biology
UNIT 1: Why and how
1. Why and how
- Why study history?
o Learn from your mistakes: what should we (not) do again? Do differently?
o Identity (who we are?): who are our examples, who is in? who is out?
o What are our problems? What should we focus on? What can we expect?
o What have we forgotten? Do we risk losing something valuable? Selective
memory?
- Problems with textbook-history:
o Heroes are selective: only the geniuses, the great men.
o Usually portrays the defeated poorly: even though they may have had
merits.
o Societal context largely ignored.
o Often written for present purposes, rather than in historic setting (hence
presentism).
o Story of progress, with us at the top.
If you ask different questions of history, you will get different facts and stories and different
answers. If you do history for contemporary uses too much, there is a big risk that you will
twist history. However, we cannot avoid it because makes difficult the communication.
The beggining
- Aristotle (384-322 BC): a lot 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). Viewed from our culture he is seen as
important.
o Empirical observations: classification of 500 species, embryo studies
through a study of eggs, some 50 animal dissections, got stories of fishers,
farmers and hunters.
o Theoretical contributions: in search of organism’s essence, as explanation
of its function.
- China: herbs and medicine, advanced in mathematics, astronomy, technology
(paper, gunpowder, compass), acupuncture meridians, (1340), Chinese Pascal’s
triangle (1303).
- Mesopotamia: large scale agriculture (5000 BC), astronomy, abacus (2500 BC).
- Egypt: mummification (3300BC).
o Imhotep (27 BC): physician.
So, what is the beginning? Depends on what you consider crucial to biology:
- Detailed knowledge: shaman, hunter, farmer.
- Systematic empirical study: Aristotle.
- Theory: 4BC philosophy.
- Biology and medicine: Hippocrates (460-361 BC).
- Experiments and instruments: 17C.
- Self-conscious discipline: 1800.
- Professional organisation of biology: 19th C.
- Hypothetical-deductive method: 20th C.
3
