Whewell's Philosophy of Discovery and the Archetype of the Vertebrate Skeleton: The Role of German Philosophy of Science in Richard Owen's Biology (2003)
Sloan, Phillip R. (Author)
Annals of Science: The History of Science and Technology
Volume: 60
Pages: 39--61
This paper examines the origin and philosophical significance of Richard Owen's (1804-92) theory of the archetypal vertebrate in relation to the important methodological developments of German-inspired anti-empiricist methodologies in England in the 1814-45 period, particularly as articulated by Samuel Taylor Coleridge and his close disciple, the surgeon Joseph Henry Green (1791-1863), and in a parallel form by William Whewell. Positioned in intimate contact with both Green and Whewell in the crucial 1840s period, Owen was able to develop his theory of the archetype in direct contact with these methodological insights. This warrants the recognition of determinative intellectual and conceptual issues in the formulation of this theory in addition to the social constructivist factors suggested by Nicolaas Rupke and Adrian Desmond. The general conclusion of the paper suggests that both kinds of factor are needed to understand Owen's important theoretical development.
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