Theory change in science : strategies from Mendelian genetics / Lindley Darden.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Darden, Lindley.

Series:

Monographs on the history and philosophy of biology

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Science--Methodology.

Science--Methodology--Case studies.

Human genetics--Case studies.

Science--Philosophy.

Science--Philosophy--Case studies.

Human genetics.

Physical Description:

xi, 314 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm.

Place of Publication:

New York : Oxford University Press, 1991.

Summary:

This challenging and innovative book examines the processes involved in the birth and development of new scientific ideas. The author has searched for strategies used by scientists for producing new theories, both those that yield a range of plausible hypotheses and ones that aid in narrowing that range. She goes on to focus on the development of the theory of the gene as a case study in scientific creativity. Her discussion of modern genetics greatly demystifies the philosophy of science, and establishes a realistic framework for understanding how scientists actually go about their work. This compelling work will interest a broad range of readers, including biologists and geneticists, along with historians and philosophers of science.

Contents:

2.2 Strategies for Producing New Ideas 9

2.3 Strategies for Theory Assessment 12

2.4 Strategies for Anomaly Resolution and Change in Scope 13

2.5 Descriptive, Hypothetical or Normative Strategies? 15

2.6 Metascientific Vocabulary 17

2.7 Stages and Strategies 21

3. The Problem of Heredity 24

4. Historical Introduction 34

4.2 A Note on Mendel 39

4.3 Rediscovery of Mendel's Work 42

4.4 Bateson and the Emergence of Genetics 46

5. Mendelism, 1900-1903 49

5.2 Component 1. Unit-characters 52

5.3 Component 2. Differentiating Pairs of Characters 54

5.4 Component 3. Interfield Connection to Cytology 55

5.5 Component 4. Dominance-recessiveness 56

5.6 Component 5. Segregation 57

5.7 Component 6. Explanations of Dihybrid Crosses 60

5.8 Additional Claims 61

5.9 Relations between Domain and Theoretical Components 62

6. Unit-Characters, Pairs, and Dominance 65

6.2 Changes to Component 1: Unit-characters 65

6.3 Components 2 and 4: Paired Allelomorphs and Dominance-recessiveness 68

6.4 Strategies: Complicate, Specialize, Add, Delete 73

7. Boveri-Sutton Chromosome Theory 80

7.2 Weismann and Nineteenth-Century Cytology 80

7.3 Boveri-Sutton Chromosome Theory, 1903-1904 83

7.4 Sex Chromosomes 89

7.5 Assessments of the Chromosome Theory, 1906-1910 90

7.6 Strategy of Using Interrelations 94

8. Tests of Segregation 98

8.2 Cuenot's 2:1 Ratios 99

8.3 Strategy of Delineate and Alter 103

8.4 Castle and Contamination 108

8.5 Strategies for Resolving Anomalies 113

9. Reduplication, Linkage, and Mendel's Second Law 120

9.2 The Reduplication Hypothesis 121

9.3 Strategies, including Delineate and Alter 125

9.4 Morgan and Sex Linkage 132

9.5 Strategies: Interrelations and Levels of Organization 136

9.6 Assessments: Reduplication versus Linkage 138

10. The Chromosome Theory and Mutation 143

10.2 Mapping and Non-disjunction 144

10.3 Bateson's Objections to the Chromosome Theory 150

10.4 Castle and the Debate about Linearity 153

10.5 Modularity and Alternative Hypotheses 157

10.6 The Problem of Mutation 158

10.7 Strategies: Using Interrelations and an Analog Model 161

11. Unit-characters to Factors to Genes 168

11.2 Conceptual Problems 170

11.3 Symbolic Representations 171

11.4 Terminology 178

11.5 A New Theoretical Entity and Its Properties 183

11.6 Strategies for Finding and Solving Conceptual Problems 188

12. Exemplars, Diagrams, and Diagnosis 191

12.2 Morgan's Exposition of the Theory of the Gene 192

12.3 Exemplars and Diagrams 195

12.4 Exemplars and Explanation 196

12.5 Monster and Model Anomalies 199

12.6 Diagnosing and Fixing Faults in the Theory 201

13. Genetics and Other Fields 205

13.2 Solved and Unsolved Problems in 1926 206

13.3 Genetics and Embryology 208

13.4 The Chemical Nature of the Gene 210

13.5 Genetics and Evolution 212

13.6 Strategies: Interrelations and Levels of Organization 218

14. Summary of Strategies from the Historical Case 226

14.1 Unit-characters to Genes 226

14.2 Multiple Factors and Multiple Alleles 227

14.3 Interfield Connection 229

14.4 Dominance-recessiveness 230

14.5 Segregation 232

14.6 Mendel's Second Law and Linkage 235

14.7 The New Component of Mutation 238

14.8 Additional Strategies from the Case 238

15. General Strategies for Theory Change 243

15.1 Strategies for Producing New Ideas 243

15.2 Strategies for Theory Assessment 257

15.3 Strategies for Anomaly Resolution and Change of Scope 269.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 282-301) and index.

ISBN:

0195067975

OCLC:

22709507