Article ID: CBB000931559

Biology and War---American Biology and International Science (2007)

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Abstract -- The German-born American scientist Jacques Loeb (1859--1924) was one of the most important promoters of experimental biology around 1900. He was best known for his physico-chemical explanations of psychological processes and his biotechnological approach to artificial parthenogenesis. At the start of the First World War, Loeb was deeply troubled by the deterioration of the international scientific community and the growing alienation of his German and American colleagues. The aim of this paper is to examine Jacques Loeb's activities aimed at advancing scientific internationalism before, during, and after the war. Loeb, for example, tried to negotiate the publication of German authors in American journals during the war, at a time when this was categorically rejected by publishers. Immediately after the war, he tried to create a specific system aimed at disseminating scientific literature and funding selected European colleagues, in order to overcome what he considered reactionary and hegemonic forces within German scientific institutions. His correspondence with eminent scientists from all over the world (amongst them Albert Einstein, Richard Goldschmidt, Otto Meyerhof, Otto Warburg, Paul Ehrlich, Wolfgang Ostwald, Wilhelm Roux, and Ross Harrison) will serve as a source for the analysis. Special emphasis will be placed on the question how Jacques Loeb integrated epistemology, his particular world view, and his social commitment into the workings of his own life and how he tried to extend his scientific goal of controlling biological systems to the sphere of international science. Keywords -- Internationalism, First World War, Jacques Loeb, History, Biology, Control.

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Description Focuses especially on the work of Jacques Loeb.


Citation URI
https://data.isiscb.org/isis/citation/CBB000931559/

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Authors & Contributors
Fangerau, Heiner
Mazliak, Laurent
Benjamin W. Goossen
Johnson, Alison F.
Wünsch, Danielle
Tazzioli, Rossana
Concepts
International cooperation
Science and war; science and the military
World War I
Science and politics
Scientific communities; interprofessional relations
Professions and professionalization
Time Periods
20th century, early
20th century, late
19th century
20th century
Places
United States
Germany
France
Europe
Great Britain
Peru
Institutions
International Geophysical Year (IGY)
International Polar Year (1882-1883)
International Research Council
Rockefeller Foundation
International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry
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