A Cultural History of Heredity

Nonfiction, Science & Nature, Science, Biological Sciences, Genetics, Other Sciences, History
Cover of the book A Cultural History of Heredity by Staffan Müller-Wille, Hans-Jörg Rheinberger, University of Chicago Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Staffan Müller-Wille, Hans-Jörg Rheinberger ISBN: 9780226545721
Publisher: University of Chicago Press Publication: June 22, 2012
Imprint: University of Chicago Press Language: English
Author: Staffan Müller-Wille, Hans-Jörg Rheinberger
ISBN: 9780226545721
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Publication: June 22, 2012
Imprint: University of Chicago Press
Language: English

It was only around 1800 that heredity began to enter debates among physicians, breeders, and naturalists. Soon thereafter it evolved into one of the most fundamental concepts of biology. Here Staffan Müller-Wille and Hans-Jörg Rheinberger offer a succinct cultural history of the scientific concept of heredity. They outline the dramatic changes the idea has undergone since the early modern period and describe the political and technological developments that brought about these changes.

Müller-Wille and Rheinberger begin with an account of premodern theories of generation, showing that these were concerned with the procreation of individuals rather than with hereditary transmission. The authors reveal that when hereditarian thinking first emerged, it did so in a variety of cultural domains, such as politics and law, medicine, natural history, breeding, and anthropology. Müller-Wille and Rheinberger then track theories of heredity from the late nineteenth century—when leading biologists considered it in light of growing societal concerns with race and eugenics—through the rise of classical and molecular genetics in the twentieth century, to today, as researchers apply sophisticated information technologies to understand heredity. What readers come to see from this exquisite history is why it took such a long time for heredity to become a prominent concept in the life sciences and why it gained such overwhelming importance in those sciences and the broader culture over the last two centuries.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

It was only around 1800 that heredity began to enter debates among physicians, breeders, and naturalists. Soon thereafter it evolved into one of the most fundamental concepts of biology. Here Staffan Müller-Wille and Hans-Jörg Rheinberger offer a succinct cultural history of the scientific concept of heredity. They outline the dramatic changes the idea has undergone since the early modern period and describe the political and technological developments that brought about these changes.

Müller-Wille and Rheinberger begin with an account of premodern theories of generation, showing that these were concerned with the procreation of individuals rather than with hereditary transmission. The authors reveal that when hereditarian thinking first emerged, it did so in a variety of cultural domains, such as politics and law, medicine, natural history, breeding, and anthropology. Müller-Wille and Rheinberger then track theories of heredity from the late nineteenth century—when leading biologists considered it in light of growing societal concerns with race and eugenics—through the rise of classical and molecular genetics in the twentieth century, to today, as researchers apply sophisticated information technologies to understand heredity. What readers come to see from this exquisite history is why it took such a long time for heredity to become a prominent concept in the life sciences and why it gained such overwhelming importance in those sciences and the broader culture over the last two centuries.

More books from University of Chicago Press

Cover of the book Animals Without Backbones by Staffan Müller-Wille, Hans-Jörg Rheinberger
Cover of the book Economic Origins of Roman Christianity by Staffan Müller-Wille, Hans-Jörg Rheinberger
Cover of the book The Raj Quartet, Volume 1 by Staffan Müller-Wille, Hans-Jörg Rheinberger
Cover of the book Evangelical Gotham by Staffan Müller-Wille, Hans-Jörg Rheinberger
Cover of the book Laughing at Leviathan by Staffan Müller-Wille, Hans-Jörg Rheinberger
Cover of the book Nightwork by Staffan Müller-Wille, Hans-Jörg Rheinberger
Cover of the book Black and White Styles in Conflict by Staffan Müller-Wille, Hans-Jörg Rheinberger
Cover of the book Money, Capital, and Fluctuations by Staffan Müller-Wille, Hans-Jörg Rheinberger
Cover of the book A Short Introduction to the Ancient Greek Theater by Staffan Müller-Wille, Hans-Jörg Rheinberger
Cover of the book On the Spirit of Rights by Staffan Müller-Wille, Hans-Jörg Rheinberger
Cover of the book Erotic Attunement by Staffan Müller-Wille, Hans-Jörg Rheinberger
Cover of the book Movies That Mattered by Staffan Müller-Wille, Hans-Jörg Rheinberger
Cover of the book The Birth of Insight by Staffan Müller-Wille, Hans-Jörg Rheinberger
Cover of the book The Dancing Bees by Staffan Müller-Wille, Hans-Jörg Rheinberger
Cover of the book On the Nature of Limbs by Staffan Müller-Wille, Hans-Jörg Rheinberger
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy