Richard Lewontin

R. C. Lewontin is a prominent scientist -- a geneticist who teaches at Harvard -- yet he believes that we have placed science on a pedestal, treating it as an objective body of knowledge that transcends all other ways of knowing and all other endeavours. Lewontin writes in this collection of essays, which began their life as CBC Radio's Massey Lectures Series for 1990: "Scientists do not begin life as scientists, after all, but as social beings immersed in a family, a state, a productive structure, and they view nature through a lens that has been molded by their social experience... . Science, like the Church before it, is a supremely social institution, reflecting and reinforcing the dominant values and vices of society at each historical epoch." In Biology as Ideology Lewontin examines the false paths down which modern scientific ideology has led us. By admitting science's limitations, he helps us rediscover the richness of nature -- and appreciate the real value of science. Renowned geneticist R. C. Lewontin argues that science is a social institution and only by admitting its limitations we can appreciate its real value.

Not in our Genes systematically exposes and dismantles the claims that inequalities class, race, gender are the products of biological, genetic inheritances. 'Informative, entertaining, lucid, forceful, frequently witty... never dull... should be read and remembered for a long time.' - New York Times Book Review. 'The authors argue persuasively that biological explanations for why we act as we do are based on faulty (in some cases, fabricated) data and wild speculation... It is debunking at its best.' - Psychology Today

Dieses allgemein verständliche Buch eines weltbekannten Evolutionsbiologen gibt einen brilliant geschriebenen Überblick über die Auswirkungen der Evolutionsbiologie und Genforschung auf die menschliche Gesellschaft. Ausführlich analysiert und kommentiert der Autor insbesondere weit verbreitete falsche Vorstellungen, die oft das Verständnis von Biologie und Evolution behindern. Der Titel "Die Dreifachhelix" bezieht sich auf die drei Komponenten, die bei der Evolution eine Rolle spielen: Gen, Organismus, Umwelt. Alle wissenschaftlichen Interessierten, die sich mit politischen Fragen im Zusammenhang mit Genforschung befassen sowie Mathematiker und Informatiker, die sich in biologischen Fragen einarbeiten wollen, finden in dem Buch eine hervorragende Grundlage. "...das Nachdenken eines ganzen wissenschaftlichen Lebens über Genetik und Evolution ist in diesem kleinen, eleganten und Maßstäbe setzenden Buch konzentriert..." Nature Nov. 2000

Dieses allgemein verständliche Buch eines weltbekannten Evolutionsbiologen gibt einen brilliant geschriebenen Überblick über die Auswirkungen der Evolutionsbiologie und Genforschung auf die menschliche Gesellschaft. Ausführlich analysiert und kommentiert der Autor insbesondere weit verbreitete falsche Vorstellungen, die oft das Verständnis von Biologie und Evolution behindern. Der Titel "Die Dreifachhelix" bezieht sich auf die drei Komponenten, die bei der Evolution eine Rolle spielen: Gen, Organismus, Umwelt. Alle wissenschaftlichen Interessierten, die sich mit politischen Fragen im Zusammenhang mit Genforschung befassen sowie Mathematiker und Informatiker, die sich in biologischen Fragen einarbeiten wollen, finden in dem Buch eine hervorragende Grundlage. "...das Nachdenken eines ganzen wissenschaftlichen Lebens über Genetik und Evolution ist in diesem kleinen, eleganten und Maßstäbe setzenden Buch konzentriert..." Nature Nov. 2000

One of our most brilliant evolutionary biologists, Richard Lewontin has also been a leading critic of those—scientists and non-scientists alike—who would misuse the science to which he has contributed so much. In The Triple Helix, Lewontin the scientist and Lewontin the critic come together to provide a concise, accessible account of what his work has taught him about biology and about its relevance to human affairs. In the process, he exposes some of the common and troubling misconceptions that misdirect and stall our understanding of biology and evolution. The central message of this book is that we will never fully understand living things if we continue to think of genes, organisms, and environments as separate entities, each with its distinct role to play in the history and operation of organic processes. Here Lewontin shows that an organism is a unique consequence of both genes and environment, of both internal and external features. Rejecting the notion that genes determine the organism, which then adapts to the environment, he explains that organisms, influenced in their development by their circumstances, in turn create, modify, and choose the environment in which they live. The Triple Helix is vintage Lewontin: brilliant, eloquent, passionate, and deeply critical. But it is neither a manifesto for a radical new methodology nor a brief for a new theory. It is instead a primer on the complexity of biological processes, a reminder to all of us that living things are never as simple as they may seem.

Scientists act within a social context and from a philosophical perspective that is inherently political. Whether they realize it or not, scientists always choose sides. The Dialectical Biologist explores this political nature of scientific inquiry, advancing its argument within the framework of Marxist dialectic. These essays stress the concepts of continual change and codetermination between organism and environment, part and whole, structure and process, science and politics. Throughout, this book questions our accepted definitions and biases, showing the self-reflective nature of scientific activity within society.