Bøger af Marjorie Grene

This collection of twelve essays by biologists, historians, and philosophers examines the growth and conceptual structure of the modern evolutionary synthesis, or 'neo-Darwinism'. Taken as a whole, it provides a penetrating analysis of the development, meaning and problems of twentieth-century evolutionary theory.

No student or colleague of Marjorie Grene will miss her incisive presence in these papers on the study and nature of living nature, and we believe the new reader will quickly join the stimulating discussion and critique which Professor Grene steadily provokes.

Is life different from the non-living? If so, how? And how, in that case, does biology as the study of living things differ from other sciences? These questions are traced through an exploration of episodes in the history of biology and philosophy. The book begins with Aristotle, then moves on to Descartes, comparing his position with that of Harvey. In the eighteenth century the authors consider Buffon and Kant. In the nineteenth century the authors examine the Cuvier-Geoffroy debate, pre-Darwinian geology and natural theology, Darwin and the transition from Darwin to the revival of Mendelism. Two chapters deal with the evolutionary synthesis and such questions as the species problem, the reducibility or otherwise of biology to physics and chemistry, and the problem of biological explanation in terms of function and teleology. The final chapters reflect on the implications of the philosophy of biology for philosophy of science in general.

First published in German in 1940 and widely recognized as a classic of philosophical anthropology, Laughing and Crying is a detailed investigation of these two particularly significant types of expressive behaviour, both in themselves and in relation to human nature.

The philosophy of biology should move to the center of the philosophy of science - a place it has not been accorded since the time of Mach.

Argues against the reductionist tendencies in Darwinism known as genetic reductionism. The authors explore the biological underpinnings of social systems from invertebrates to mammals, particularly humans.

In this essay, Grene brings together some of the themes in philosophy, biology, and other disciplines which have influenced her own work, together with recollections of her contacts with some of the thinkers and ideas which have most impressed her.