Description
Book SynopsisPhylogenetic Systematics: Haeckel to Hennig traces the development of phylogenetic systematics against the foil of idealistic morphology through 100 years of German biology. It starts with the iconic Ernst Haeckelthe German Darwin from Jenaand the evolutionary morphology he developed. It ends with Willi Hennig, the founder of modern phylogenetic systematics. Written in English, the book presents a unique perspective on a vast body of German biological literature.
The book also offers a perspective on German biology in the Third Reich. The author looks at how idealistic morphology and phylogenetic systematics represented two antagonistic traditions in German biology, the first organicist-holistic, the latter empiricist-positivistic. In addition, he explains the ways in which both traditions acquired socio-political and ideological connotations, culminating in their accommodation to different strands of Nazi ideology.
The book's nine chapters summarize a
Trade Review
The whole is a complex and compelling story that requires attention to the details of the argument. The breadth and depth of Rieppel’s coverage of these controversies is the major strength of this book. Another major strength is the analysis of what can go wrong when science is subverted by politics. For those who wish to understand the roots of phylogenetic systematics and its philosophical basis, this volume is an essential resource. E. O Wiley in The Quarterly Review of Biology.
Table of Contents
The Evolutionary Turn in Comparative Anatomy. Of Parts and Wholes. The Turn against Haeckel. The Rise of Holism in German Biology. The Rise of German ("Aryan") Biology. Ganzheitsbiologie. The Ideological Instrumentalization of Biology. A New Beginning: From Speciation to Phylogenetics. Grundzüge: The Conceptual Foundations of Phylogenetic Systematics. Epilogue. Literature Cited.
