The paper analyzes the early theory building process of Thomas Hunt Morgan (1866-1945) from the 1910s to the 1930s and the introduction of the invisible gene as a main explanatory unit of heredity. Morgan's work marks the transition between two different styles of thought. In the early 1900s, he shifted from an embryological study of the development of the organism to a study of the mechanism of genetic inheritance and gene action. According to his contemporaries as well as to historiography, Morgan separated genetics from embryology, and the gene from the whole organism. Other scholars identified an underlying embryological focus in Morgan's work throughout his career. Our paper aims to clarify the debate by concentrating on Morgan's theory building-characterized by his confidence in the power of experimental methods, and carefully avoiding any ontological commitment towards the gene-and on the continuity of the questions to be addressed by both embryology and genetics.

Thomas Hunt Morgan and the invisible gene. The right tool for the job / Frezza, Giulia; Capocci, Mauro. - In: HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE LIFE SCIENCES. - ISSN 0391-9714. - STAMPA. - 40:2(2018). [10.1007/s40656-018-0196-z]

Thomas Hunt Morgan and the invisible gene. The right tool for the job

Frezza, Giulia
;
Capocci, Mauro
2018

Abstract

The paper analyzes the early theory building process of Thomas Hunt Morgan (1866-1945) from the 1910s to the 1930s and the introduction of the invisible gene as a main explanatory unit of heredity. Morgan's work marks the transition between two different styles of thought. In the early 1900s, he shifted from an embryological study of the development of the organism to a study of the mechanism of genetic inheritance and gene action. According to his contemporaries as well as to historiography, Morgan separated genetics from embryology, and the gene from the whole organism. Other scholars identified an underlying embryological focus in Morgan's work throughout his career. Our paper aims to clarify the debate by concentrating on Morgan's theory building-characterized by his confidence in the power of experimental methods, and carefully avoiding any ontological commitment towards the gene-and on the continuity of the questions to be addressed by both embryology and genetics.
2018
embryology; gene; genetics; T. H. Morgan
01 Pubblicazione su rivista::01a Articolo in rivista
Thomas Hunt Morgan and the invisible gene. The right tool for the job / Frezza, Giulia; Capocci, Mauro. - In: HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE LIFE SCIENCES. - ISSN 0391-9714. - STAMPA. - 40:2(2018). [10.1007/s40656-018-0196-z]
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11573/1111066
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