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First published in 1961, this book explains the main trends and problems in modern biological thought, at that time. It was based on lectures presented at the University College of the West Indies, Jamaica, in 1960 to members from different faculties and is therefore an accessible guide for all to the subject.
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First published in 1941 (this edition in 1968), this book explores the relationship between science, culture, and society- focusing on human beings, and human communities. Here, C. H. Waddington uses the concept of science to mean more than factual information about genes and haemoglobin and his subject is the effect of scientific ways of speaking on the ways in which people look at the world around them. The work discusses biological assumptions made by various communities, particularly fascist movements, on human beings and compares them with the scientific attitude. The Nazis for instance spoke about ‘racial purity’ and ‘German blood’ but these expressions, whilst arousing emotion, had, and have, no rational meaning- they are inaccurate and tell us nothing of human genetics. As well as presenting a scientific argument, being published initially in 1941, this book also acts as a historical document, conveying some of the feeling of living through WWII. It highlights the fact that science and scientific assumptions have very wide implications for the whole conduct of life.
C.H. Waddington, one of the most prominent geneticists of the twentieth century, provides a clear and concise overview of modern genetics in this landmark book. From DNA to epigenetics, Waddington covers the full breadth of the field, making this an essential read for students and professionals in genetics and related fields. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
It has often been pointed out that twentieth-century painting and physics share a common tendency toward probing behind appearances into the underlying structure of things ... The author provides a concise summary of those aspects of modern science that relate to his theme, including the development of a 'third science' that embraces information, communication, automation, and systems theory. He also provides in parallel a concise history of the modern movement in painting--Jacket.
Theoretical biology is still in its early stages as an academic discipline. There is even little agreement as to what topics it should deal with or in what manner it should precede; and it is only recently that philosophers felt called upon to notice the relevance of biological topics as evolution or perception to their traditional problems. This work is a publication of the International Union of Biological Sciences, the central organization of all the branches of biology. The main focus here is to explore the possibility of formulating some frame of concepts and methods around which theoretical biology can grow. The intention of this collective effort was that discussions would be concerne...
Conrad Hal Waddington's Organisers and Genes, published in 1940, is a summary of available research and theoretical framework for many concepts related to tissue differentiation in the developing embryo. The book is composed of two main conceptual sections. The first section explores the action and nature of the organizer, while the second section delves into genes and their influence on development. In this book Waddington explored organizers in terms of their capacity and method of induction. First he examined the nature of induction, discussing crucial experiments concerning the organizer, including Hans Spemann's discovery of the organizer, and his own research into organizers in higher ...
First published in 1960, this book discusses the ethical implications of the view of man’s nature and his place in the biological world. C. H. Waddington highlights issues of the time, such as social upheavals related to social mobility, and the changing nature of philosophical thinking in relation to the nature of good. The author argues that man differs from all other animals in his ability for social teaching and learning and that this provides him with a second method of evolutionary advance, in addition to biology. He advances this through the idea that man has the capacity to entertain ethical ideas, which is an essential and necessary feature of this new mode of evolution. From here he draws the conclusion that a consideration of the broad trends of evolution provides a framework within which we can rationally discuss the relative merits of the various systems of ethical belief current in the world. In presenting his argument, Waddington draws on research in biology, psychology, the social sciences, and philosophy. He concludes with a short consideration of some of the most important ethical problems facing mankind at the time of the book’s publication.
Biological Processes in Living Systems is the fourth and final volume of the Toward a Theoretical Biology series. It contains essays that deal in detail with particular biological processes: morphogenesis of pattern, the development of neuronal networks, evolutionary processes, and others. The main thrust of this volume brings relevance to the general underlying nature of living systems. Faced with trying to understand how the complexity of molecular microstates leads to the relative simplicity of phenome structures, Waddington-on behalf of his colleagues-stresses on the structure of language as a paradigm for a theory of general biology. This is language in an imperative mood: a set of symb...