The concept of the gene in development and evolution : historical and epistemological perspectives /
The Concept of the Gene in Development & Evolution
edited by Peter J. Beurton, Raphael Falk, Hans-Jörg Rheinberger.
- Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2000.
- 1 online resource (xvi, 384 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).
- Cambridge studies in philosophy and biology .
- Cambridge studies in philosophy and biology. .
Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015).
The dissolution of protein coding genes in molecular biology / T. Fogle -- The differential concept of the gene: past and present / S. Schwartz -- Gene concepts and genetic concepts / F. Gifford -- From measurement to organization: a philosophical scheme for the history of the concept of heredity / J. Gayon -- From gene to genetic hierarchy: Richard Goldschmidt and the problem of the gene / M.R. Dietrich --Seymour Benzer and the definition of the gene / F.L. Holmes -- Decoding the genetic program: or, some circular logic in the logic of circularity / E. Fox Keller -- Genes classical and genes developmental: the different use of genes in evolutionary syntheses / S.F. Gilbert -- The development gene concept: history and limits / M. Morange -- Gene concepts: fragments from the perspective of molecular biology / H.-J. Rheinberger -- Reproduction and the reduction of genetics / J.R. Griesemer -- A unified view of the gene, or how to overcome reductionism / P.J. Beurton -- The gene -- a concept in tension / R. Falk.
Advances in molecular biological research in the latter half of the twentieth century have made the story of the gene vastly complicated: the more we learn about genes, the less sure we are of what a gene really is. Knowledge about the structure and functioning of genes abounds, but the gene has also become curiously intangible. This collection of essays renews the question: what are genes? Philosophers, historians and working scientists re-evaluate the question in this volume, treating the gene as a focal point of interdisciplinary and international research. It will be of interest to professionals and students in the philosophy and history of science, genetics and molecular biology.