Article ID: CBB694704544

Jacob versus Monod on the Natural Selection of Ideas (2023)

unapi

François Jacob’s The Logic of Life: A History of Heredity has shown an enduring relevance for the history and philosophy of biology. In this article, resisting the received view that regards this book merely as an application of Foucault’s archaeological method, I reconstruct a silent debate between François Jacob and Jacques Monod. More precisely, I argue that Jacob’s history of biology offers a riposte to Monod’s claims in Chance and Necessity. First, I show that the distinction between a “history of ideas” and a “history of objects” captures two ways of looking at the history of science that characterize Monod’s and Jacob’s own approaches. Next, I present Monod’s search for a “theory of the natural selection of ideas.” Then I argue that the concept of “integron,” introduced by Jacob in his conclusion, covertly undermines Monod’s argument for the use of evolutionary models of cultural and scientific change. These contrasting perspectives shed new light on why the Nobel colaureates and former colleagues expressed little interest in each other’s books. More generally, the Monod-Jacob divide illustrates the use and rejection of biological models in writing the history of science and the importance of situating Jacob within his own milieu.

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Article Pierre-Olivier Méthot; Florence Vienne (2023) Special Section Introduction. HOPOS (pp. 454-462). unapi

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Authors & Contributors
Loison, Laurent
Méthot, Pierre-Olivier
Rheinberger, Hans-Jörg
Bertrand, Emanuel
De Araújo, Aldo Mellender
Marchand, Suzanne L.
Journals
Revue d'Histoire des Sciences
HOPOS
History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences
Journal of the History of Biology
Berichte zur Wissenschaftsgeschichte
Filosofia e História da Biologia
Concepts
Biology
Philosophy of biology
Molecular biology
Epistemology
Philosophy of science
Evolution
People
Jacob, François
Monod, Jacques
Canguilhem, Georges
Foucault, Michel
Lwoff, André
Althusser, Louis
Time Periods
20th century
20th century, late
21st century
19th century
20th century, early
Places
France
Paris (France)
Institutions
Collège de France, Paris
Institut Pasteur, Paris
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