This Is Biology: The Science of the Living World
by Ernst Mayr
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Book Summary Information
Author: Ernst MayrEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1998-09-15
ISBN: 0674884698
Number of pages: 352
Publisher: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press
Product features:
- ISBN13: 9780674884694
- Condition: New
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Book Reviews of This Is Biology: The Science of the Living World
Book Review: PHILOSOPHICAL NATURALISTS!
Summary: 5 Stars
As a field of inquiry Biology has always been somewhat suspect. When first introduced to it we are told that "biology is the science of life," but this is almost immediately followed by the rather sheepish admission that "scientists are unable to agree on a standard definition of life." (This quote is from Biology The Easy Way, which admittedly is not in quite the same league as Prof. Mayr's work. But, as his first chapter here shows, there's not a great deal of daylight between his position and that of the simpler introductory text just quoted). Hmmm! A "science of life" that can't define "life." Not exactly reassuring news after more than two hundred years of inquiry!
After this inauspicious start, Biology rather quickly degenerates into a prolonged exercise in classification. Not that it's not fun deciding whether Neocons are poisonous fungi or uselful protists, but it is after all a limited exercise. Once we move beyond the issue of classification we find that Biology has remarkably little to offer as a field of study in its own right. It is, at root, a field for amateurs, for naturalists who are impressed by the variety and beauty (or ugliness) of Nature.
And there is much in Nature, and Biology too, to admire. Who among us is not impressed by the mighty Sequoia? (Even Neocons think they make neat window-boxes). And isn't it fun to be able to demonstrate your superior knowledge by intoning wisely at keg parties that "The whale, you know, is not really a fish. It's a mammal. As indeed is the bat."
But, party tricks aside, what else does Biology offer?
Most students rather quickly come to the conclusion that it's less a field OF scientific study than FOR scientific application. Chemistry, for instance, when applied to Biology is endlessly engaging, and profitable too. Biochemistry is not a new science; it is merely the application of a real science, Chemistry, to a fertile field, Biology.
Then too of course there's the whole question of Evolution, which invariably brings all the more creulous "scientists" out of the woodwork to rail against so-called "Creationism." For most of us, these are not really opposing choices. We embrace both without any great discomfort. As Whitman once said: "We contain multitudes." Or, in Shakespeare's phrase: "There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamed of in [either] philosophy." But for the "scientists" and the "creationists," it's a crusade; a sort of intellectual jihad in which each side fights with a crazed and unreasoning determination to annihilate the other. It's the arrogance of both that turns the rest of us off. They both act, and argue, as though dogmatic orthodoxy is our only guide. They seek Consistency, not Truth.
To his credit, Mayr is not a crazed intellectual jihadist, and he has answers aplenty for each and all of my (above-noted) objections to Biology as an intellectual pursuit worthy of our time and effort. His book is wide-ranging and knowledgeable, as one would expect from a man of his stature. But he is also very well-versed in the history and philosophy of science, which is unfortunately all-too-rare among his contemporary fellow-scientists. Most of them pooh pooh philosophy as unworthy of their superior intellects!
This Is Biology is an excellent work, which college-level students of science, (and philosphy; and indeed, history) should read. I don't find Mayr's arguments convincing, but I do think his wonderfully-engaging book will provide an entree to a better class of keg party!
Summary of This Is Biology: The Science of the Living World
Biology until recently has been the neglected stepchild of science, and many educated people have little grasp of how biology explains the natural world. Yet to address the major political and moral questions that face us today, we must acquire an understanding of their biological roots. This magisterial new book by Ernst Mayr will go far to remedy this situation. An eyewitness to this century's relentless biological advance and the creator of some of its most important concepts, Mayr is uniquely qualified to offer a vision of science that places biology firmly at the center, and a vision of biology that restores the primacy of holistic, evolutionary thinking.
As he argues persuasively, the physical sciences cannot address many aspects of nature that are unique to life. Living organisms must be understood at every level of organization; they cannot be reduced to the laws of physics and chemistry. Mayr's approach is refreshingly at odds with the reductionist thinking that dominated scientific research earlier in this century, and will help to redirect how people think about the natural world.
This Is Biology can also be read as a "life history" of the discipline--from its roots in the work of Aristotle, through its dormancy during the Scientific Revolution and its flowering in the hands of Darwin, to its spectacular growth with the advent of molecular techniques. Mayr maps out the territorial overlap between biology and the humanities, especially history and ethics, and carefully describes important distinctions between science and other systems of thought, including theology. Both as an overview of the sciences of life and as the culmination of a remarkable life in science, This Is Biology will richly reward professionals and general readers alike.
At the age of 93, Ernst Mayr has forgotten more about biology than most people ever learn. Mayr has been more than just an eyewitness to the amazing advances in biological theory and understanding over the century; he was an active participant as well, helping to formulate the combination of Darwinian thought and modern genetics that is the bedrock of today's standard theory of evolution. But biology has always been something of a poor relation to the other physical sciences--subjects such as physics or chemistry that have strict rules of cause and effect and a certain predictability. Biology, on the other hand, is based on a muddle of combined causes, pure chance, and evidence drawn from unrelated areas, yet it is the one science that addresses those aspects of nature that can't be reduced to mere laws of chemistry or physics. In his book This Is Biology, Ernst Mayr sets out to show us how and why.
Though biology is a relatively young science, born in the 19th century, its roots go back to the days of Aristotle; Mayr traces its development from the ancient Greeks to the advent of modern molecular techniques. Woven throughout this history of the science is an explanation of its relation to other sciences and to the humanities, particularly history and ethics. This Is Biology was written with great thought and care and requires the same from its readers; for those interested in the science of life as well as one great man's life in science, this book is the natural selection.
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