Structuralism and Form in Literature and Biology

Critiquing Genetic Manipulation
Erscheinungsjahr 2024
ISBN: 978-3-031-47741-6
Verlag: Springer Nature Switzerland

Buch, Englisch, 239 Seiten, Format (B × H): 148 mm x 210 mm, Gewicht: 346 g

The book considers biology in parallel with philosophical structuralism in order to argue that notions of form in the organism are analogous to similar ideas in structuralist philosophy and literary theory. This analogy is then used to shed light on debates among biological scientists from the turn of the 19th century to the present day, including Cuvier, Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, Dawkins, Crick, Goodwin, Rosen and West-Eberhard. The book critiques the endorsement of genetic manipulation and bioengineering as keys to solving agricultural and environmental problems, suggesting that alternative models have been marginalized in the promotion of this discourse.  Drawing from the work of philosophers including Cassirer, Saussure, Jakobson and Foucault the book ultimately argues that methods based on agroecology, supported by molecular applications (such as marker-assisted selection, MAS), can both advance agricultural development and remain focused on the whole organism. 

Zielgruppe

Research

Autoren/Hrsg.

McMahon, Peter

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Literaturwissenschaft Literaturtheorie: Poetik und Literaturästhetik
• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Moderne Philosophische Disziplinen Dekonstruktivismus, Strukturalismus, Poststrukturalismus
• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Sprachphilosophie
• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Wissenschaftstheorie, Wissenschaftsphilosophie
• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Geschichte der Westlichen Philosophie Westliche Philosophie: Neuzeit

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1:Structuralism, Vitalism, and Bioengineering.- 2: The Debate: Cuvier and Geoffroy.- 3: Setting the Stage for Evolutionary Theory.- 4: Adaptationism and the Author.- 5: The Relational Turn.- 6: Prague Structuralism and the Poetic Function.- 7: Immanent Evolution.- 8: Phenotype then Gene.- 9: The Interpreting Organism.- 10: An Ecological Context.

Über Autor(innen)

Peter McMahon studied biology at Sussex University and completed a PhD at La Trobe University.  Based there and later at the University of Sydney he coordinated Australian-funded research in Indonesia on soil management, on-farm genotype selection and community development based on ‘One Health’ principles. He has published papers on cocoa pests and diseases and participatory approaches to smallholder livelihoods, and co-authored a book on sustainable approaches to cocoa production.