Classical influences on European Culture, A.D.

Abstract

The author's aim is to present a general history of biological ideas as they came out of the nineteenth century to create the experimental, analytically rigorous and interpretative life science as we know it today.He recognizes the need to deal with both the internal, or scientific, content of this process, and with the external, or "social", factors, but prefers to consider only the former.Areas examined are those that have proved to be so influential, such as genetics, embryology, evolutionary theory, general physiology, molecular biology and biochemistry, during the selected period of 1890 through 1965.It seems to have been the influence of the physical sciences at the end of the nineteenth century that promoted their rapid growth.The younger workers were then moving away from the descriptive and speculative ap- proach of their teachers and the weighty influence of Darwinian theory, and were seeking for more scientific precision.To facilitate his handling of this complex subject, Professor Allen uses the interaction of mechanical with dialectical materialism as a guide, and he shows how the former has served biology in its earlier steps towards an essential experimental methodology, although the latter also has a role.He is least effective when discussing molecular biology and biochemistry, and in the latter there are several significant errors and omissions.However, this is a thought- ful book written in a lively style, although without notes; the critical bibliography to some extent makes up for this omission.There are numerous typographical errors, no legends to the illustrations and the index is meagre.