The Concept of the Gene in Development and Evolution
Historical and Epistemological Perspectives

This interdisciplinary collection of essays questions: what are genes?

Peter J. Beurton (Edited by), Raphael Falk (Edited by), Hans-Jörg Rheinberger (Edited by)

9780521771870, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 29 May 2000

404 pages, 11 b/w illus. 1 table
23.6 x 15.8 x 3 cm, 0.744 kg

"This is a very strong collection of essays on a crucial topic and deserves to be widely read. Historians, philosophers, and biologists will all find interesting material here, some of it quite novel." Jrnl of the History of Biology

Advances in molecular biological research in the latter half of the twentieth century have made the story of the gene vastly complicated: the more we learn about genes, the less sure we are of what a gene really is. Knowledge about the structure and functioning of genes abounds, but the gene has also become curiously intangible. This collection of essays renews the question: what are genes? Philosophers, historians and working scientists re-evaluate the question in this volume, treating the gene as a focal point of interdisciplinary and international research. It will be of interest to professionals and students in the philosophy and history of science, genetics and molecular biology.

Introduction
Part I. Genes and Traits: 1. The dissolution of protein coding genes in molecular biology Thomas Fogle
2. The differential concept of the gene: past and present Sara Schwartz
3. Gene concepts and genetic concepts Fred Gifford
Part II. Extracting The Units Of Heredity: 4. From measurement to organization: a philosophical scheme for the history of the concept of heredity Jean Gayon
5. From gene to genetic hierarchy: Richard Goldschmidt and the problem of the gene Michael R. Dietrich
6. Seymour Benzer and the definition of the gene Frederic L. Holmes
Part III. Genetic Programs and Developmental Genes: 7. Decoding the genetic program Evelyn Fox Keller
8. Genes classical and developmental: the different use of genes in evolutionary synthesis Scott F. Gilbert
9. The developmental gene concept: history and limits Michel Morange
Part IV. Conceptual Perspectives: 10. Gene concepts: fragments from the perspective of molecular biology Hans-Jörg Rheinberger
11. Reproduction and the reduction of genetics James R. Griesemer
12. A unified view of the gene, or how to overcome reductionism Peter J. Beurton
The gene - a concept in tension: A critical overview Raphael Falk.

Subject Areas: Philosophy of science [PDA]