In The Eclipse of Darwinism
historian of science Peter J. Bowler chronicles the period in the first few decades of the 20th century when the Darwinian theory of evolution (that is, rooted in natural selection acting upon heritable variation) was out of favor with most biologists. To some extent this falsifies the contention that “Darwinians”1 are an all-powerful orthodoxy who can stifle dissent, but one tidbit that I found interesting that I thought I’d pass along: on page 18 Bowler asserts that Herbert Spencer’s conception of the process of evolution was Neo-Lamarckian, not Darwinian.
1 – I personally think that biology is complex and advanced enough to move beyond “schools” of thought. Molecular evolution in particular has changed things so much that pre-1950 terminology does not capture the complexity of the field(s).
Posted by razib at 02:09 PM