Typological thinking: Then and now
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Typological thinking : Then and now. / Witteveen, Joeri.
In: Journal of Experimental Zoology Part B: Molecular and Developmental Evolution, Vol. 330, No. 3, 01.05.2018, p. 123-131.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Typological thinking
T2 - Then and now
AU - Witteveen, Joeri
PY - 2018/5/1
Y1 - 2018/5/1
N2 - A popular narrative about the history of modern biology has it that Ernst Mayr introduced the distinction between “typological thinking” and “population thinking” to mark a contrast between a metaphysically problematic and a promising foundation for (evolutionary) biology, respectively. This narrative sometimes continues with the observation that, since the late-20th century, typological concepts have been making a comeback in biology, primarily in the context of evolutionary developmental biology. It is hard to square this narrative with the historical and philosophical literature on the typology/population distinction from the last decade or so. The conclusion that emerges from this literature is that the very distinction between typological thinking and population thinking is a piece of mere rhetoric that was concocted and rehearsed for purely strategic, programmatic reasons. If this is right, it becomes hard to make sense of recent criticisms (and sometimes: espousals) of the purportedly typological underpinnings of certain contemporary research programs. In this article, I offer a way out of this apparent conflict. I show that we can make historical and philosophical sense of the continued accusations of typological thinking by looking beyond Mayr, to his contemporary and colleague George Gaylord Simpson. I show that before Mayr discussed the typology/population distinction as an issue in scientific metaphysics, Simpson introduced it to mark several contrasts in methodology and scientific practice. I argue that Simpson's insightful discussion offers useful resources for classifying and assessing contemporary attributions of typological thinking.
AB - A popular narrative about the history of modern biology has it that Ernst Mayr introduced the distinction between “typological thinking” and “population thinking” to mark a contrast between a metaphysically problematic and a promising foundation for (evolutionary) biology, respectively. This narrative sometimes continues with the observation that, since the late-20th century, typological concepts have been making a comeback in biology, primarily in the context of evolutionary developmental biology. It is hard to square this narrative with the historical and philosophical literature on the typology/population distinction from the last decade or so. The conclusion that emerges from this literature is that the very distinction between typological thinking and population thinking is a piece of mere rhetoric that was concocted and rehearsed for purely strategic, programmatic reasons. If this is right, it becomes hard to make sense of recent criticisms (and sometimes: espousals) of the purportedly typological underpinnings of certain contemporary research programs. In this article, I offer a way out of this apparent conflict. I show that we can make historical and philosophical sense of the continued accusations of typological thinking by looking beyond Mayr, to his contemporary and colleague George Gaylord Simpson. I show that before Mayr discussed the typology/population distinction as an issue in scientific metaphysics, Simpson introduced it to mark several contrasts in methodology and scientific practice. I argue that Simpson's insightful discussion offers useful resources for classifying and assessing contemporary attributions of typological thinking.
KW - Bauplan
KW - body plans
KW - Ernst Mayr
KW - Essentialism Story
KW - George Gaylord Simpson
KW - morphological type
KW - phyla
KW - typological thinking
KW - typology
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85044411966&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1002/jez.b.22796
DO - 10.1002/jez.b.22796
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 29578654
AN - SCOPUS:85044411966
VL - 330
SP - 123
EP - 131
JO - Journal of Experimental Zoology. Part B: Molecular and Developmental Evolution
JF - Journal of Experimental Zoology. Part B: Molecular and Developmental Evolution
SN - 1552-5007
IS - 3
ER -
ID: 199117088