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Aristotle to Zoos: A Philosophical Dictionary of Biology
320
by P. B. Medawar, J. S. Medawar
P. B. Medawar
Aristotle to Zoos: A Philosophical Dictionary of Biology
320
by P. B. Medawar, J. S. Medawar
P. B. Medawar
Paperback(Reprint)
$49.00
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Overview
In the spirit of Voltaire—and occasionally in the spirit of P. G. Wodehouse—P. B. and J. S. Medawar have crafted for the life sciences a source of reference that is meant for browsing, a book both authoritative and filled with delights. The authors’ breadth of knowledge is encyclopedic— arranged, appropriately enough, from A to Z—but more than that, they illuminate the ideas of biology with wit and intelligence and uncommon good sense. They bridge the chasm in our culture between the technically and the humanistically trained, breaking the code of jargon that limits access to scientific understanding. The Medawars’ special gift is to offer, at the same time, a pleasurable introduction for the layman and a source of new insight for the specialist.
In this book we can find a clear and meaningful definition of interferon, a useful explanation of the immune system, and thoughtful essays on sociobiology, eugenics, and aging. But we also find: “It is a popular fallacy that chewing gum regains its flavor if removed from the mouth and parked, say, under a chair.”
Whether in a serious discussion of cancer or a whimsical reflection on “chicken and egg” imagery in science, the Medawars’ blend of fact, literary allusion, historical anecdote, mythical and folk tradition, and even professional gossip is a rewarding exercise in biology as a humanistic endeavor.
In this book we can find a clear and meaningful definition of interferon, a useful explanation of the immune system, and thoughtful essays on sociobiology, eugenics, and aging. But we also find: “It is a popular fallacy that chewing gum regains its flavor if removed from the mouth and parked, say, under a chair.”
Whether in a serious discussion of cancer or a whimsical reflection on “chicken and egg” imagery in science, the Medawars’ blend of fact, literary allusion, historical anecdote, mythical and folk tradition, and even professional gossip is a rewarding exercise in biology as a humanistic endeavor.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780674045378 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Harvard University Press |
| Publication date: | 03/15/1985 |
| Series: | Philosophy Dictionary |
| Edition description: | Reprint |
| Pages: | 320 |
| Product dimensions: | 6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.75(d) |
About the Author
P. B. Medawar, an Oxford-trained biologist, received the 1960 Nobel Prize for Medicine and Physiology.
J. S. Medawar was a biologist trained at the University of Oxford.
J. S. Medawar was a biologist trained at the University of Oxford.
Table of Contents
- Adaptation
- Adrenal gland
- Age distribution
- Aggressive instinct
- Aging
- Albinism
- Allergy
- Allometric growth
- Altruism
- Amino acids
- Amphioxus
- Anabiosis
- Anencephaly
- Animals and human obligations
- Antibiotics
- Anticholinesterases
- Antigens and antibodies
- Apes
- Aquaculture
- Archaeopteryx
- Aristotle
- Arthropods
- Atavism
- Bacteriophages
- Barnacles
- Behaviorism
- Bilharziasis
- Bioengineering
- Biogenesis
- Biology in medical education
- Blood and its circulation
- Cancer
- Carotid artery
- Cell theory
- Centrifuge
- Chance and randomness
- Chicken and egg
- Chimera
- Chordata
- Chromosomes
- Clones
- Comparative anatomy
- Contact inhibition
- Coronary artery
- Creationism
- Curare
- Cybernetics
- Definition of life and other terms
- Demography
- Design, argument from
- Down’s syndrome
- Ecology
- Electrophoresis
- Embryonic axis
- Endocrine gland
- Enzymes
- Epithelium
- Errors of nature
- Ethology
- Eugenics
- Eukaryotes
- Euphenies
- Evidence of evolution
- Exogenetic heredity
- Fertility
- Figures of speech
- Fitness
- Force of mortality
- Form and mathematics
- Frauds
- Geneticism
- Genetic and embryologic terms
- Genius and insanity
- Germ layer theory
- Gondwanaland
- Great chain of being
- Group selection
- Growth, laws of biological
- Hierarchy
- Historicism
- Holism
- Homology
- Huntington’s chorea
- Hypothalamus
- Hypothesis and theory
- Illness
- Immunity
- Immunologic surveillance
- Individuality
- Infertility and its remedies
- Instinct
- Interferon
- Invertebrata
- Irritability
- [J]
- King crab
- Lamarckism
- Language
- Lemmings
- Life table
- Lungfish
- Lymphatics and lymph nodes
- Lymphocytes
- Lysenkoism
- Malaria
- Man’s place in nature
- Meiosis
- Meme
- Metabolism
- Mimicry
- Missing links
- Mitochondria
- Mitosis
- Molecular biology
- Mollusca
- Monotremes
- Mules
- Myasthenia gravis
- Natural selection
- Nature and nurture
- Neo-Darwinism
- Neoteny
- Nerve gases
- Nerve impulses
- Nucleic acids
- Order in biology
- Orders of magnitude
- Origin of life
- Ornithology
- Parthenogenesis
- Phenylketonuria
- Piltdown skull
- Pineal body
- Poiesis
- Population growth and control
- Primates
- Proteins
- Protoplasm
- Protozoa
- Pterodactyls
- [Q]
- Recapitulation
- Reductionism
- Reflex
- Rhesus factor
- Sense organs
- Sessile animals
- Sexual cycles
- Sexuality
- Sickle-cell anemia
- Sociobiology
- Soma
- Specificity
- Spina bifida
- Spontaneous generation
- Spores
- Sweating
- Symbiosis
- Sympathetic nervous system
- Syphilis
- Taxon
- Teleology
- Teratology
- Terminology
- Thermoregulation
- Tissue culture and storage
- Toxins
- Transformations
- Transplantation
- [U]
- [V]
- [W]
- [X]
- [Y]
- [Z]
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