In one of his most famous papers, Ernst (mayr1961) claims that the modes of explanation of molecular biology and evolutionary biology are completely different, because the former refers to proximate causes, whereas the latter resorts to ultimate causes. At the celebration of his 100th birthday, only a few months before his death, he asserted that molecular biology of the second half of the 20th century, despite spectacular progress, had not had any real impact on the synthetic theory of evolution:
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2009 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Barberousse, A., Morange, M., Pradeu, T. (2009). Introduction. In: Barberousse, A., Morange, M., Pradeu, T. (eds) Mapping the Future of Biology. Boston Studies in the Philosophy of Science, vol 266. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-9636-5_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-9636-5_1
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-1-4020-9635-8
Online ISBN: 978-1-4020-9636-5
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)