Article ID: CBB001320042

Weismann Versus Morgan Revisited: Clashing Interpretations on Animal Regeneration (2013)

unapi

This paper has three principal aims: first, through a detailed analysis of the hypotheses and assumptions underlying Weismann's and Morgan's disagreement on the nature of animal regeneration, it seeks to readdress the imbalance in coverage of their discussion, providing, at the same time, a fascinating case-study for those interested in general issues related to controversies in science. Second, contrary to Morgan's beliefs according to which Weismann employed a speculative and unempirical method of scientific investigation, the article shows that Weismann performed experiments, made observations and proposed 'undogmatic' theories open to refutation. Third, through the reconstruction of Weismann's and Morgan's disagreement, this study illustrates how biology, during the very late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, was undergoing important changes. I argue that this controversy clearly and convincingly demonstrates how some important epistemic assumptions became increasingly problematic for some members of the younger generations of biologists. At the end of my discussion I will also argue that Weismann and Morgan both had strong well-grounded arguments supporting their conclusions; for this reason I suggest a few factors ("taken-for-granted" beliefs or assumptions) that could explain why their disagreement was doomed to remain unresolved. In particular, I will analyze their diverse explicative interests, their different theoretical concerns and their distinct use of the available evidence.[PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]

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Authors & Contributors
Frezza, Giulia
Ceccarelli, David
Tamborini, Marco
Zottoli, Steven J.
Churchill, F. B.
Vorms, Marion
Concepts
Biology
Discipline formation
Genetics
Experimental biology
Embryology
Controversies and disputes
Time Periods
20th century, early
19th century
20th century
Places
United States
Germany
Europe
Great Britain
Moscow (Russia)
Russia
Institutions
Society for Experimental Biology (Great Britain)
Woods Hole Marine Biological Laboratory
Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research
American Museum of Natural History, New York
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