Transformations of Lamarckism

A reappraisal of Lamarckism--its historical impact and contemporary significance.

In 1809--the year of Charles Darwin's birth--Jean-Baptiste Lamarck published Philosophie zoologique, the first comprehensive and systematic theory of biological evolution. The Lamarckian approach emphasizes the generation of developmental variations; Darwinism stresses selection. Lamarck's ideas were eventually eclipsed by Darwinian concepts, especially after the emergence of the Modern Synthesis in the twentieth century. The different approaches--which can be seen as complementary rather than mutually exclusive--have important implications for the kinds of questions biologists ask and for the type of research they conduct. Lamarckism has been evolving--or, in Lamarckian terminology, transforming--since Philosophie zoologique's description of biological processes mediated by subtle fluids. Essays in this book focus on new developments in biology that make Lamarck's ideas relevant not only to modern empirical and theoretical research but also to problems in the philosophy of biology. Contributors discuss the historical transformations of Lamarckism from the 1820s to the 1940s, and the different understandings of Lamarck and Lamarckism; the Modern Synthesis and its emphasis on Mendelian genetics; theoretical and experimental research on such Lamarckian topics as plasticity, soft (epigenetic) inheritance, and individuality; and the importance of a developmental approach to evolution in the philosophy of biology. The book shows the advantages of a Lamarckian perspective on evolution. Indeed, the development-oriented approach it presents is becoming central to current evolutionary studies--as can be seen in the burgeoning field of Evo-Devo. Transformations of Lamarckism makes a unique contribution to this research.

Eva Jablonka is Professor at Tel-Aviv University. She is the coauthor of Evolution in Four Dimensions: Genetic, Epigenetic, Behavioral, and Symbolic Variation in the History of Life and the coeditor of Transformations of Lamarckism: From Subtle Fluids to Molecular Biology, both published by the MIT Press.

Snait B. Gissis is a Researcher in the Cohn Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Ideas at Tel Aviv University and the coeditor of Transformations of Lamarckism (MIT Press).

Sander Gliboff is Associate Professor of History and Philosophy of Science at Indiana University.

Snait B. Gissis is a Researcher in the Cohn Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Ideas at Tel Aviv University and the coeditor of Transformations of Lamarckism (MIT Press).

Snait B. Gissis is a Researcher in the Cohn Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Ideas at Tel Aviv University and the coeditor of Transformations of Lamarckism (MIT Press).

Eva Jablonka is Professor at Tel-Aviv University. She is the coauthor of Evolution in Four Dimensions: Genetic, Epigenetic, Behavioral, and Symbolic Variation in the History of Life and the coeditor of Transformations of Lamarckism: From Subtle Fluids to Molecular Biology, both published by the MIT Press.

Marion J. Lamb was Senior Lecturer at Birkbeck College, University of London, before her retirement. Jablonka and Lamb are also the authors of Epigenetic Inheritance and Evolution

Eva Jablonka is Professor at Tel-Aviv University. She is the coauthor of Evolution in Four Dimensions: Genetic, Epigenetic, Behavioral, and Symbolic Variation in the History of Life and the coeditor of Transformations of Lamarckism: From Subtle Fluids to Molecular Biology, both published by the MIT Press.

Stuart Newman is Professor of Cell Biology and Anatomy at New York Medical College.

Eva Jablonka is Professor at Tel-Aviv University. She is the coauthor of Evolution in Four Dimensions: Genetic, Epigenetic, Behavioral, and Symbolic Variation in the History of Life and the coeditor of Transformations of Lamarckism: From Subtle Fluids to Molecular Biology, both published by the MIT Press.

Snait B. Gissis is a Researcher in the Cohn Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Ideas at Tel Aviv University and the coeditor of Transformations of Lamarckism (MIT Press).

Eva Jablonka is Professor at Tel-Aviv University. She is the coauthor of Evolution in Four Dimensions: Genetic, Epigenetic, Behavioral, and Symbolic Variation in the History of Life and the coeditor of Transformations of Lamarckism: From Subtle Fluids to Molecular Biology, both published by the MIT Press.

Ayelet Shavit is Senior Lecturer in the Departments of Interdisciplinary Studies and Environmental Science and Head of the Philosophy Program at Tel-Hai College, Israel.

James R. Griesemer is Professor in the Department of Philosophy at the University of California, Davis.

James R. Griesemer is Professor in the Department of Philosophy at the University of California, Davis.

Ehud Lamm is Senior Lecturer in the Cohn Institute at Tel Aviv University and the head of the Inter-university PhD program in History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences.

Snait B. Gissis is a Researcher in the Cohn Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Ideas at Tel Aviv University and the coeditor of Transformations of Lamarckism (MIT Press).

Eva Jablonka is Professor at Tel-Aviv University. She is the coauthor of Evolution in Four Dimensions: Genetic, Epigenetic, Behavioral, and Symbolic Variation in the History of Life and the coeditor of Transformations of Lamarckism: From Subtle Fluids to Molecular Biology, both published by the MIT Press.

Simona Ginsburg is Associate Professor in the Department of Natural Sciences, retired from the Open University of Israel.

Alfred I. Tauber is the Zoltan Kohn Professor of Medicine, Professor of Philosophy, and Director of the Center for Philosophy and History of Science at Boston University.