The Origins of Theoretical Population Genetics : With a New Afterword

Tracing the development of population genetics through the writings of such luminaries as Darwin, Galton, Pearson, Fisher, Haldane, and Wright, William B. Provine sheds light on this complex field as well as its bearing on other branches of biology. In a new afterword that is sure to stir discussion and controversy, Provine discusses how his beliefs about evolutionary biology have changed radically in the past 30 years. He examines the 10 major assumptions in the field that were current when the book was first published and then, point-by-point, argues against them in light of more recent research. The result is a work that is at once imbued with new life and yet remains the definitive short history of a major development in modern biology. 1. Darwin's Theory Of Natural Selection: The Reaction. Darwin's Theory. The Reaction -- 2. Background To The Conflict Between Mendelians And Biometricians. Karl Pearson: A Sketch Of His Early Life. Weldon, Pearson, And Biometry. William Bateson And Discontinuous Evolution. The Public Controversies -- 3. The Conflict Between Mendelians And Biometricians. The Homotyposis Controversy. The Mutation Theory. Inheritance In Peas. Heredity In Mice. Mendelism And Biometry. Meeting Of The British Association, 1904. Coat Color In Horses. The Effects Of The Conflict -- 4. Darwinian Selection: The Controversy, 1900-1918. The Argument Against Darwinian Selection. The Proof And Explanation Of The Effectiveness Of Selection -- 5. Population Genetics: The Synthesis Of Mendelism, Darwinism, And Biometry. Exploration Of The Mathematical Consequences Of Mendelian Heredity Before 1918. Ronald Alymer Fisher. Sewall Wright. J. B. S. Haldane. Conclusions -- App. Galton, Pearson, And The Law Of Ancestral Heredity. William B. Provine. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 189-195) And Index. ISBN 0-226-68464-4, population genetics, science history, Charles Darwin, Thomas Huxley, Francis Galton, Karl Pearson, William Bateson, R.A. Fisher, J.B.S. Haldane, Sewall Wright, Mendel, biometrics, evolution, selection, Wilhelm Johannsen, Herbert Spencer Jennings, Raymond Pearl, William Ernest Castle, Thomas Hunt Morgan, the Law of Ancestral Heredity, regression to the mean, correlation, heritability genetics When Charles Darwin boarded the Beagle in late 1831 for his famous voyage he took with him volume one of Charles Lyell's Principles of Geology, which had been published in 1830.