Ornithology, Evolution, and Philosophy

The Life and Science of Ernst Mayr 1904-2005
1. Auflage 2007
ISBN: 978-3-540-71778-2
Verlag: Springer

Buch, Englisch, 464 Seiten, Format (B × H): 155 mm x 235 mm, Gewicht: 1460 g

This book is the first detailed biography of Ernst Mayr. He was an ‘architect’ of the Synthetic Theory of Evolution, and the greatest evolutionary biologist since Charles Darwin, influential historian and philosopher of biology, outstanding taxonomist and ornithologist, and naturalist. He is one of the most widely known biologists of the 20th century. Mayr used the theories of natural selection and population thinking as theoretical models within the framework of historical biological studies. He suggested that various competing paradigms may exist side by side and more or less pronounced ’revolutions’ may occur in different fields from time to time. Mayr was the first to emphasize the role of biopopulations, thereby pointing out the basic difference between ’population thinking’ and typological essentialism. Population thinking takes into consideration the uniqueness of each individual and unlimited variation of populations which may lead to the development of new species.

Zielgruppe

Professional/practitioner

Autoren/Hrsg.

Haffer, Jürgen

Fachgebiete

• Interdisziplinäres Wissenschaften Wissenschaften: Allgemeines Geschichte der Naturwissenschaften, Formalen Wissenschaften & Technik
• Naturwissenschaften Biowissenschaften Biowissenschaften Evolutionsbiologie
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtliche Themen Wissenschafts- und Universitätsgeschichte
• Naturwissenschaften Biowissenschaften Tierkunde / Zoologie Wirbeltiere (Vertebrata) Fische (Ichthyologie)
• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Naturphilosophie, Philosophie und Evolution

Inhaltsverzeichnis

The Young Naturalist in Germany.- Childhood and Youth.- The Budding Scientist.- Ornithologist and Evolutionist in New York.- The New York Years (1931–1953).- Ornithologist and Zoogeographer.- Biological Species and Speciation—Mayr’s First Synthesis.- Life in North America during World War II.- Professor of Zoology at Harvard University.- The Harvard Years (1953–2005).- Evolutionary Biology—Mayr’s Second Synthesis.- Ernst Mayr—the Man.- Systematics and Classification.- History and Philosophy of Biology—Mayr’s Third Synthesis.- Summary: Appreciation of ErnstMayr’s Science.

Über Autor(innen)

Jürgen Haffer was born in 1932. He majored in geology and paleontology obtaining a PhD degree at the University of Göttingen in 1957. He became an exploration geologist and lived in South and North America, Iran, Egypt, and Norway. During these assignments he studied the bird faunas of Amazonia and Iran and has been in close communication with Ernst Mayr since the early 1960s. He also co-published a biography of Erwin Stresemann, Mayr’s teacher and friend in Berlin, Germany.