Abstract
This paper presents the chapter on the history of the inheritance of acquired characters that Jean Gayon published in 2006 in a book entitled Lamarck, Philosophe de la nature. Gayon’s detailed analysis of this notion clarifies the oft-misunderstood role of the French naturalist Jean-Baptiste Lamarck in its elaboration and demonstrates how several authors contributed to it during the first half of the nineteenth century. Beyond the specific case of the inheritance of acquired characters, Gayon's article is an important contribution to the history of heredity in general. Above all, it confirms Gayon’s strong interest for the study of the history of concepts, which is probably one of the most important aspects of his oeuvre.
Translated from Tirard (2018).
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Notes
- 1.
This book is the result of reflections that its four authors have had during four years of seminars (Lamarck seminar from 1998 to 2000 and Seminar on Lamarckism from 2000 to 2002) organized by the REHSEIS team (Paris 7), then with the Mahler Centre (University of Paris 1), the IHPST (University of Paris 1) and the Centre François Viète (University of Nantes). All translations are mine.
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Tirard, S. (2023). Lamarck: Philosopher of Nature. In: Méthot, PO. (eds) Philosophy, History and Biology: Essays in Honour of Jean Gayon. History, Philosophy and Theory of the Life Sciences, vol 30. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-28157-0_14
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