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Article ID: CBB709549944

Vitalism, Holism, and Metaphorical Dynamics of Hans Spemann’s “Organizer” in the Interwar Period (2022)

Brandt, Christina (Author)

Journal of the History of Biology
Volume: 55
Issue: 2
Pages: 285-320

URI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10739-022-09682-9

DOI: 10.1007/s10739-022-09682-9

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Metaphors; analogies Reductionism Rhetoric in scientific discourse Biology Holism Vitalism 20th century, early Germany Spemann, Hans

This paper aims to provide a fresh historical perspective on the debates on vitalism and holism in Germany by analyzing the work of the zoologist Hans Spemann (1869–1941) in the interwar period. Following up previous historical studies, it takes the controversial question about Spemann’s affinity to vitalistic approaches as a starting point. The focus is on Spemann’s holistic research style, and on the shifting meanings of Spemann’s concept of an organizer. It is argued that the organizer concept unfolded multiple layers of meanings (biological, philosophical, and popular) during the 1920s and early 1930s. A detailed analysis of the metaphorical dynamics in Spemann’s writings sheds light on the subtle vitalistic connotations of his experimental work. How Spemann’s work was received by contemporary scientists and philosophers is analyzed briefly, and Spemann’s holism is explored in the broader historical context of the various issues about reductionism and holism and related methodological questions that were so prominently discussed not only in Germany in the 1920s.

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Article Jan Baedke; Christina Brandt (2022) Between the Wars, Facing a Scientific Crisis: The Theoretical and Methodological Bottleneck of Interwar Biology. Journal of the History of Biology (pp. 209-217). unapi

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