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246Collection and collation: theory and practice of Linnaean botanyStudies in History and Philosophy of Science Part C: Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences 38 (3): 541-562. 2007.Historians and philosophers of science have interpreted the taxonomic theory of Carl Linnaeus as an ‘essentialist’, ‘Aristotelian’, or even ‘scholastic’ one. This interpretation is flatly contradicted by what Linnaeus himself had to say about taxonomy in Systema naturae , Fundamenta botanica and Genera plantarum . This paper straightens out some of the more basic misinterpretations by showing that: Linnaeus’s species concept took account of reproductive relations among organisms and was therefor…Read more
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15The Dark Side of Evolution: Caprice, Deceit, RedundancyHistory and Philosophy of the Life Sciences 31 (2). 2009.The prevalent reading of Darwin's achievements today is adaptationist. Darwin, so the usual story goes, succeeded in providing a naturalistic explanation of the fact that organisms are adapted to their environments, a fact that served and continues to serve, as a chief argument for creationism. This stands in a curious tension with Darwin's own fascination with phenomena whose adaptive value was problematic, like vicariance, ornaments, atavisms, and rudiments, as well as the various "contraption…Read more
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28The cell as nexus: connections between the history, philosophy and science of cell biologyStudies in History and Philosophy of Science Part C: Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences 41 (3): 169-171. 2010.Although the cell is commonly addressed as the unit of life, historians and philosophers have devoted relatively little attention to this concept in comparison to other fundamental concepts of biology such as the gene or species. As a partial remedy to this neglect, we introduce the cell as a major point of connection between various disciplinary approaches, epistemic strategies, technological vectors and overarching biological processes such as metabolism, growth, reproduction and evolution. We…Read more
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14Rezension: Die Welt vermessen. Dispositive der Entdeckungsreise im Zeitalter der Aufklärung von Philippe DespoixBerichte Zur Wissenschaftsgeschichte 34 (1): 77-78. 2011.
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Heredity Produced: At the Crossroads of Biology, Politics, and Culture, 1500–1870Journal of the History of Biology 41 (3): 582-585. 2008.
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15Marianne Sommer, Bones and Ochre: The Curious Afterlife of the Red Lady of Paviland. Cambridge, MA and London: Harvard University Press, 2007. Pp. xii+398. ISBN 978-0-674-02499-1. £25.95 (review)British Journal for the History of Science 42 (4): 619. 2009.
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31How to see the trees for the forest: introduction to a special issue on causation and diseaseHistory and Philosophy of the Life Sciences 33 (4). 2011.This paper summarizes the results from the first European Advanced Seminar in the Philosophy of the Life Sciences, which was held at the Brocher Foundation in Hermance (Switzerland) 6-10 September 2011. The Advanced Seminar brought together philosophers of the life sciences to discuss the topic of "Causation and Disease." The search for causes of disease in the biomedical sciences, we argue on the basis of the contributions to this conference, has not resulted in a simplification and unification…Read more
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19Lists as Research TechnologiesIsis 103 743-752. 2012.The Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus is famous for having turned botany into a systematic discipline, through his classification systems—most notably the sexual system—and his nomenclature. Throughout his life, Linnaeus experimented with various paper technologies designed to display information synoptically. The list took pride of place among these and is also the common element of more complex representations he produced, such as genera descriptions and his “natural system.” Taking clues from …Read more
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13Hybrids, pure cultures, and pure lines: from nineteenth-century biology to twentieth-century geneticsStudies in History and Philosophy of Science Part C: Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences 38 (4): 796-806. 2005.
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26Joining Lapland and the Topinambes in Flourishing Holland: Center and Periphery in Linnaean BotanyScience in Context 16 (4). 2003.
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32Natural history and information overload: The case of LinnaeusStudies in History and Philosophy of Science Part C: Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences 43 (1): 4-15. 2012.
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23Hybrids, pure cultures, and pure lines: from nineteenth-century biology to twentieth-century geneticsStudies in History and Philosophy of Science Part C: Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences 38 (4): 796-806. 2007.
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21Hans-Jorg Rheinberger: temporality in the life sciences and beyondHistory and Philosophy of the Life Sciences 35 (1): 5-7. 2012.
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80Hybrids, pure cultures, and pure lines: from nineteenth-century biology to twentieth-century geneticsStudies in History and Philosophy of Science Part C: Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences 38 (4): 796-806. 2007.Prompted by recent recognitions of the omnipresence of horizontal gene transfer among microbial species and the associated emphasis on exchange, rather than isolation, as the driving force of evolution, this essay will reflect on hybridization as one of the central concerns of nineteenth-century biology. I will argue that an emphasis on horizontal exchange was already endorsed by ‘biology’ when it came into being around 1800 and was brought to full fruition with the emergence of genetics in 1900…Read more
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86Natural history and information overload: The case of LinnaeusStudies in History and Philosophy of Science Part C: Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences 43 (1): 4-15. 2012.
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234From Linnaean Species to Mendelian Factors: Elements of Hybridism, 1751–1870Annals of Science 64 (2): 171-215. 2007.Summary In 1979, Robert C. Olby published an article titled ?Mendel no Mendelian??, in which he questioned commonly held views that Gregor Mendel (1822?1884) laid the foundations for modern genetics. According to Olby, and other historians of science who have since followed him, Mendel worked within the tradition of so-called hybridists, who were interested in the evolutionary role of hybrids rather than in laws of inheritance. We propose instead to view the hybridist tradition as an experimenta…Read more
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410Cell theory, specificity, and reproduction, 1837–1870Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part C: Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences 41 (3): 225-231. 2010.The cell is not only the structural, physiological, and developmental unit of life, but also the reproductive one. So far, however, this aspect of the cell has received little attention from historians and philosophers of biology. I will argue that cell theory had far-reaching consequences for how biologists conceptualized the reproductive relationships between germs and adult organisms. Cell theory, as formulated by Theodor Schwann in 1839, implied that this relationship was a specific and lawf…Read more
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7Early Mendelism and the subversion of taxonomy: epistemological obstacles as institutionsStudies in History and Philosophy of Science Part C: Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences 36 (3): 465-487. 2005.
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18Cell theory, specificity, and reproduction, 1837–1870Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part C: Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences 41 (3): 225-231. 2010.The cell is not only the structural, physiological, and developmental unit of life, but also the reproductive one. So far, however, this aspect of the cell has received little attention from historians and philosophers of biology. I will argue that cell theory had far-reaching consequences for how biologists conceptualized the reproductive relationships between germs and adult organisms. Cell theory, as formulated by Theodor Schwann in 1839, implied that this relationship was a specific and lawf…Read more
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19A translation of Carl Linnaeus’s introduction to Genera plantarum (1737)Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part C: Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences 38 (3): 563-572. 2007.
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23Collection and collation: theory and practice of Linnaean botanyStudies in History and Philosophy of Science Part C: Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences 38 (3): 541-562. 2007.
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36Eugenics: Then and now Content Type Journal Article DOI 10.1007/s11016-010-9477-1 Authors Staffan Müller-Wille, ESRC Centre for Genomics in Society, Byrne House, University of Exeter, Exeter, EX4 4PJ UK Journal Metascience Online ISSN 1467-9981 Print ISSN 0815-0796.
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21Introduction (FOCUS: LISTMANIA)Isis 103 (4): 710-715. 2012.Anthropologists, linguists, cultural historians, and literary scholars have long emphasized the value of examining writing as a material practice and have often invoked the list as a paradigmatic example thereof. This Focus section explores how lists can open up fresh possibilities for research in the history of science. Drawing on examples from the early modern period, the contributors argue that attention to practices of list making reveals important relations between mercantile, administrativ…Read more
Staffan Müller-Wille
Universität Zu Lübeck
Cambridge University
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Universität Zu LübeckHonorary Professor
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University of ExeterDepartment of Sociology, Philosophy and AnthropologyAssociate Professor (Part-time)
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Areas of Specialization
Philosophy of Biology |
Areas of Interest
Philosophy of Biology |
History of Western Philosophy, Misc |