Skip to main content
Log in

Characters as units and the case of the presence and absence hypothesis

  • Published:
Biology and Philosophy Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This paper discusses the individuation of characters for the use asunits by geneticists at the beginning of the 20th century. Thediscussion involves the Presence and Absence Hypothesis as a case study. It issuggested that the gap between conceptual consideration and etiological factorsof individuating of characters is being handled by way of mutual adjustment.Confrontation of a suggested morphological unit character with experimentresults molded the final boundaries of it.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Bateson W. 1902a. ‘The Facts of Heredity in the Light of Mendel's Discovery'. In: Punnett R.C. (ed.), Scientific Papers of William Bateson Vol. 2. Johnson Reprint Corporauon, New York and London, pp. 29–68.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bateson W. 1902b. ‘Notes on the Resolution of Compound Characters by Cross-Breeding'. In: Punnett R.C. (ed.), Scientific Papers of William Bateson Vol. 2. Johnson Reprint Corporation, New York and London, pp. 69–73.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bateson W. 1905a. ‘A Suggestion as to the Nature of the “Walnut” Comb in Fowls'. In: Punnett R.C. (ed.), Scientific Papers of William Bateson Vol. 2. Johnson Reprint Corporation, New York and London, pp. 135–138.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bateson W. 1905b. ‘Notes on the Progress of Mendelian Studies'. In: Punnett R.C. (ed.), Scientific Papers of William Bateson Vol. 2. Johnson Reprint Corporation, New York and London, pp. 121–134.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bateson W. 1907. ‘Facts Limiting the Theory of Heredity'. In: Punitett R.C. (ed.), Scientific Papers of William Bateson Vol. 2. Johnson Reprint Corporation, New York and London, pp. 162–177.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bateson W. 1926. ‘Segregation'. In: Punnett R.C. (ed.), Scientific Papers of William Bateson Vol. 2. Johnson Reprint Corporation, New York and London, pp. 405–440.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bateson W., Saunders E.R. and Punnett R.C. 1906. ‘Experimental Studies in the Physiology of Heredity'. In: Punnett R.C. (ed.), Scientific Papers of William Bateson Vol. 2. Johnson Reprint Corporation, New York and London, pp. 152–161.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bowler P.J. 1989. The Mendelian Revolution: The Emergence of Hereditarian Concepts in Modern Science and Society. The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore.

    Google Scholar 

  • Campbell K. 1976. Metaphysics: An Introduction. Encino, Dickenson publishing Company, California.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carlson E.A. 1966/1989. The Gene: A Critical History. Iowa State University Press, Iowa, Ames.

    Google Scholar 

  • Castle W.E. 1906. ‘Yellow Mice and Gametic Purity'. Science n. s. 24: 275–281.

    Google Scholar 

  • Castle W.E. 1915. ‘Muller on the Constancy of Mendelian Factors'. The American Naturalist 49: 37–42.

    Google Scholar 

  • Castle W.E. 1919. ‘Piebald Rats and the Theory of the Genes'. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 5: 126–130.

    Google Scholar 

  • Coleman W.E. 1970. ‘Bateson and Chromosomes: Conservative thought in Science'. Centaurus 15: 228–315.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davenport C.B. 1908. ‘Determination of Dominance in Mendelian Inheritance'. Proceedings of the American philosophical Society 47: 59–63.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dawkins R. 1982. The Extended Phenotype: The Long Reach of the Gene. Oxford University Press, Oxford.

    Google Scholar 

  • Falk R. 1991. ‘The Dominance of Traits in Genetic Analysis'. Journal of the History of Biology 24: 457–484.

    Google Scholar 

  • Falk R. 2001. ‘The Rise and Fall of Dominance'. Biology and Philosophy 16: 285–323.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goodman N. 1955/1973. Fact, Fiction and Forecast. Bobbs-Merrill, Indianapolis.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gould S.J. and Lewontin R. 1979/1984. ‘The Spandrels of San Marco and the panglossian paradigm: A Cntique of the Adaptionist Program'. proceedings of the Royal Society, London, Series B, 205, 581–598. In: Sober E. (ed.), Conceptual Issue in Evolutionary Biology. MIT Piess, Cambridge, MA, pp. 252–270.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gregory R.P. 1903. ‘The Seed Character of Pisum sativum'. The New Phytologist 2: 226–228.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hull D.L. 1974. Philosophy of Biological Science. prentic-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hurst C.C. 1906. ‘Mendelian Characters in Plants and Animals’ Report of the Third International Conference on Genetics of the Royal Horticultural Society. Spottiswoode, London 114–129.

    Google Scholar 

  • Morgan T.H., Sturtevant A.H., Muller H.J. and Bridges C.B. 1915. The Mechanism of Mendelian Heredity. Constable & Company, London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Muller H.J. 1914. ‘The Bearing of the Selection Experiments of Castle and Phillips on the Variability of Genes'. The American Naturalist 48: 567–576.

    Google Scholar 

  • Punnett R.C. 1927. Mendelism. 7th edn. Macmillan, London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rawls J. 1971. A Theory of justice. The Belknap of Harvard University Press, Cambridge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sarkar S. 1998. Genetics and Reductionism. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schwartz S. 2000. ‘The Differential Concept of the Gene: Past and Present'. In: Beurton P., Falk R. and Rheinberger H.-J. (eds), The Concept of The Gene in Development and Evolution. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 26–39.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shull G.H. 1909. ‘The “Presence and Absence” Hypothesis'. The American Naturalist 43: 410–419.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sober E. 1990. ‘Let's Razor Ockham's Razor', Reprinted. In: Sober E. (ed.), From a Biological Point of View: Essays in Evolutionary Philosophy. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1994., pp. 136–157.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sturtevant A.H. 1965. A History of Genetics. Harper and Row, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Swinburne R.G. 1962. ‘The Presence-and-Absence Theory'. Annals of Science 18: 131–145.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Schwartz, S. Characters as units and the case of the presence and absence hypothesis. Biology & Philosophy 17, 369–388 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1020131508987

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1020131508987

Navigation