Biology Under the Influence: Dialectical Essays on Ecology, Agriculture, and Health by Richard Lewontin and Richard Levins
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Book Reviews of Biology Under the Influence: Dialectical Essays on Ecology, Agriculture, and Health
Book Review: Could be better
Summary: 3 Stars
I love the work by Levins and Lewontin. They are great thinkers. The make exellent reflections about the history of natural sciences (especially biology). But I think that the essays on this book do not represet the full capacity of this authors. In part this may be caused by a misunderstanding of the role of social sciences in the explication of social phenomena. They use mostly Marx, and very lightly. I do not want to imply that marxism is not a good way to aproach social events but I think that it is innapropiate considering the incredible number of theories (modern and posmodern) that social scientis have produced. Mabye this is in part to allow for some causalism (wich is one of the things they criticize). The book still has great passages and explanations but those passages are not trying to do a pseudo-marxist interpretation of the "role"of sciencie in society. I think that to complement Levins and Lewontin one should also read Latour, Hacking, Foucault, Keller (feminist biologist) and Gould (paleontologist).Book Review: biology under the influence
Summary: 5 Stars
this is a collection of essays by two of America's leading biologists. It is generally written for the general public, although some of the essays are a bit more technical. On the whole, Lewontin and Levins succeed in providing a comprehensive picture of some of the leading debates in the field, notably, the relevance of molecular biology and evolutionary thought for issues such as education and other aspects of social policy. Highly recommended.