Research Article
Darwin's Natural Selection and the History of the Concept of Gene
Department of History, Inha University
Published: June 2005 · Vol. 27 No. 1 · pp. 33-58
Full Text
Abstract
This paper tries to trace the history of criticisms on Darwin's Natural Selection theory, which has been believed to explain the mechanism of producing new species, in contrast with the historical development of the concept of gene. In the few decades around 1900, considerable advancement in the area of genetics was made, such as Weismann's theory of the continuity of germ-plasm, the rediscovery of Mendel and the consequent establishment of genetics, and the discovery of mutation. However, despite all those accomplishment in the knowledge of gene, Darwinian theory of “Struggle for Existence” and the “Survival of the Fittest” faced fierce criticism against it. And the anti-Darwinian m ovement almost crashed Natural Selection to its death, which most historians did not describe objectively. The second surge of attack against Darwinism has come up since 1970's. Gould's Punctuated Equilibrium, Lewontin and Keller's criticism against genetic determinism, the resurgence of Lamarckism, the molecular biologist Kimura's Neutral Theory, and the spread of 'Gaia hypothesis', all posed themselves against Natural Selection.