Levins & Lewontin on Lysenko, was Re: Cuban cows
Levins & Lewontin on Lysenko, was Re: Cuban cows by Louis Proyect 21 May 2002 19:40 UTC >Lou, you've referred off and on to Levins & Lewontin, _The Dialectical >Biologist_. They don't treat Lysenko at all like this. See Chapter 7, >"The Problem of Lysenkoism." There were many elements involved, and it >was no matter of mere quackery. > >Carrol Yes, of course. There is another side to Lysenko. In fact Stephen Jay Gould treats him with considerable respect in one of his essays although I can't remember the technical details. ^^^ CB: As I understand it, Lysenko's theory ran afoul, somewhat, of the fundamental biological dogma against the inheritance of acquired characteristics. Theories of inheritance of acquired characteristics are sometimes termed LaMarckian. Cloning as a method of breeding an individual organism with particularly desirable characteristics is not LaMarckian, as long as the characteristics that one seeks to reproduce in the clones are inherited and were not acquired during the life time of the organism which is the "stud".
Re: RE: Re: Levins & Lewontin on Lysenko, was Re: Cuban cows
>if early-onset Alzheimer's hasn't kicked in yet, the problem was not Lysenko >himself, who was simply updating Lamarck in a period when the alternative >Darwin-Mendel theory hadn't completely taken hold, even in the U.S. The >problem was that Lysenko's theory became The Party Line, a line which had >state power behind it. Those who doubted, suffered. >JD This is a link for the chapter on Lysenkoism in Helen Sheehan's "Marxism and the Philosophy of Science", a truly great book. http://www.comms.dcu.ie/sheehanh/lysenko.htm Louis Proyect Marxism mailing list: http://www.marxmail.org
RE: Re: Levins & Lewontin on Lysenko, was Re: Cuban cows
LP:> Yes, of course. There is another side to Lysenko. In fact Stephen Jay Gould treats him with considerable respect in one of his essays although I can't remember the technical details.< if early-onset Alzheimer's hasn't kicked in yet, the problem was not Lysenko himself, who was simply updating Lamarck in a period when the alternative Darwin-Mendel theory hadn't completely taken hold, even in the U.S. The problem was that Lysenko's theory became The Party Line, a line which had state power behind it. Those who doubted, suffered. JD
Re: Levins & Lewontin on Lysenko, was Re: Cuban cows
>Lou, you've referred off and on to Levins & Lewontin, _The Dialectical >Biologist_. They don't treat Lysenko at all like this. See Chapter 7, >"The Problem of Lysenkoism." There were many elements involved, and it >was no matter of mere quackery. > >Carrol Yes, of course. There is another side to Lysenko. In fact Stephen Jay Gould treats him with considerable respect in one of his essays although I can't remember the technical details. Louis Proyect Marxism mailing list: http://www.marxmail.org
Levins & Lewontin on Lysenko, was Re: Cuban cows
Louis Proyect wrote: > > > > I don't know whether Lysenko's reputation revolved around quick, technical > solutions. I was under the impression that he was infamous for quackery > under pressure from Stalin. Lou, you've referred off and on to Levins & Lewontin, _The Dialectical Biologist_. They don't treat Lysenko at all like this. See Chapter 7, "The Problem of Lysenkoism." There were many elements involved, and it was no matter of mere quackery. Carrol
