Shaping science with rhetoric : the cases of Dobzhansky, Schrödinger, and Wilson

How do scientists persuade colleagues from diverse fields to cross the disciplinary divide, risking their careers in new interdisciplinary research programs? Why do some attempts to inspire such research win widespread acclaim and support, while others do not? In __Shaping Science with Rhetoric,__ Leah Ceccarelli addresses such questions through close readings of three scientific monographs in their historical contexts—Theodosius Dobzhansky's __Genetics and the Origin of Species__ (1937), which inspired the "modern synthesis" of evolutionary biology; Erwin Schrödinger's __What Is Life?__ (1944), which catalyzed the field of molecular biology; and Edward O. Wilson's __Consilience__ (1998), a so far not entirely successful attempt to unite the social and biological sciences. She examines the rhetorical strategies used in each book and evaluates which worked best, based on the reviews and scientific papers that followed in their wake. Ceccarelli's work will be important for anyone interested in how interdisciplinary fields are formed, from historians and rhetoricians of science to scientists themselves. How Do Scientists Persuade Colleagues From Diverse Fields To Cross The Disciplinary Divide, Risking Their Careers In New Interdisciplinary Research Programmes? Why Do Some Attempts To Inspire Such Research Win Widespread Acclaim And Support, While Others Do Not? Leah Ceccarelli Addresses Such Questions Through Close Readings Of Three Scientific Monographs In Their Historical Contexts. She Examines The Rhetorical Strategies Used In Each Book And Evaluates Which Worked Best, Based On The Reviews And Scientific Papers That Followed In Their Wake. 1 Inspiring Interdisciplinarity 1 -- Texts That Seek To Catalyze Community: An Unexamined Genre Of Science 3 -- Close Textual-intertextual Analysis: Combining Rhetorical Criticism And Historical Research 6 -- I Theodosius Dobzhansky's Genetics And The Origin Of Species -- 2 Initiator Of The Evolutionary Synthesis: Historians And Scientist Weigh In 13 -- Conflict Between Disciplines And Theories 15 -- Evolutionary Synthesis 19 -- What Launched The Synthesis? 21 -- Influence Of Dobzhansky's Genetics And The Origin Of Species 24 -- Prelude To A Rhetorical Reading 29 -- 3 A Text Rhetorically Designed To Unite Competing Fields 31 -- Simplifying Theory 31 -- Surveying The Results Of Research 37 -- Using Language That Promotes Conceptual Change 41 -- Addressing Social Concerns 45 -- Ii Erwin Schrodinger's What Is Life? The Physical Aspect Of The Living Cell -- 4 Uncle Tom's Cabin Of The Molecular Biology Revolution: Assessing The Place Of A Text In History 61 -- Influence Of Schrodinger's Text 63 -- Value Of Untrue, Unoriginal Science 67 -- Other Laws Of Physics 75 -- Prelude To A Rhetorical Reading 80 -- 5 A Text Rhetorically Designed To Negotiate Different Interests And Beliefs 82 -- Comparison With Other Attempts At Inspiring Interdisciplinary Work 83 -- Negotiating Common Ground: The Value Of Precision 89 -- Negotiating Professional Goals: The Appeal To Ambition 90 -- Negotiating Disciplinary Linguistic Practices: Conceptual Chiasmus 92 -- Negotiating Ideological Commitments: Strategic Ambiguity 97 -- Iii Edward O. Wilson's Consilience: The Unity Of Knowledge -- 6 Controversy Over Sociobiology: Scholars Offer Conflicting Explanations 113 -- Wilson's Purpose 113 -- Effect Of Wilson's Interdisciplinary Appeals 116 -- Explanation 1: Wilson Is Wrong; The Cultural Divide Should Not Be Bridged 119 -- Explanation 2: Critics Are Unable To See The Truth Because Of Political Bias 121 -- Prelude To A Rhetorical Reading 124 -- 7 A Text Rhetorically Designed To Fuel Interdisciplinary Hostilities 128 -- A Rhetoric Of Conquest, Not Negotiation 129 -- An Explicit Commitment To Reductionism 139 -- Equivocation Rather Than Productive Polysemy 145 -- What Wilson's Consilience Could Have Been 148 -- Iv Speaking To Multiple Audiences -- 8 Genre 157 -- Comparison Of Dobzhansky And Schrodinger 158 -- Wilson's Participation In The Genre 164 -- 9 Contributions To Four Ongoing Conversations 168 -- Rhetoric Of Science 168 -- Rhetorical Inquiry 170 -- History Of Science 177 -- Interdisciplinarity 179. Leah Ceccarelli. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 183-197) And Index. In considering how scientists persuade colleagues to cross the disciplinary divide, this text examines three scientific monographs in their historical contexts: Dodzhansky's "Genetics and the Origin of Species" (1937); Schrodinger's "What is Life?" (1944); and Wilson's "Consilience" (1998). This book is about interdisciplinarity--how scientists reach across disciplinary borders to motivate colleagues with very different intellectual and professional commitments to embark on new interdisciplinary lines of research. Disciplinarity is also the purpose of this book [preface] Some books make an impact, not because they introduce new ideas that have never before been thought, but because they repackage ideas in a way that allows readers to see things they had previously been unable or unwilling to recognize.