History of Western civilization and science (with biology focus)

http://www.bible-history.com This history is: - Painted with a broad brush - Western biased - Omits many events, people

You are responsible for scientific history topics, not purely political (for context, not exams) First “Western” civilizations arose in the Middle-East in the region of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers (modern Iraq)

http://wps.ablongman.com/long_kishlansky_cw_5/ Akkadian empire (2350-2150 BC)

Akkad was world’s largest city from 2250-2075 BC

http://wps.ablongman.com/long_kishlansky_cw_5/ Assyrian empire (2000-600 BC) and

Babylonian empire (2000-500 BC)

http://wps.ablongman.com/long_kishlansky_cw_5/ 500BC

Persian empire (650-333 BC)

From Iran, not Arabic

http://wps.ablongman.com/long_kishlansky_cw_5/ Meanwhile, the Greek empire (1000-30 BC) forms.

Expanded by Alexander the Great (356-323 BC) who conquers the world, divided afterwards by squabbles

http://wps.ablongman.com/long_kishlansky_cw_5/ First Natural Philosophers

Plato (427BC-347BC) Originator of philosophical idealism and essentialism Allegory of the cave Platonic ideals or molds Supernatural creator

Aristotle (384BC-322BC) Scale of Nature, scala naturae, Great Chain of Being There is a ladder of life forms from invertebrates up to God Justified social hierarchy and social elitism

Begins the overall trend

Static & typological to Changing & variational Roman Republic (500-30 BC) replaced with Roman Empire (30BC - ?AD)

Western Roman Empire falls ~400AD

Eastern lasts arguably until 1461 AD

http://wps.ablongman.com/long_kishlansky_cw_5/ orange=14AD, red=117AD

http://wps.ablongman.com/long_kishlansky_cw_5/ Constantine I Legalizes Christianity in 325AD Christianity spreads through Europe afterwards By 600AD is dominant religion Christianity (0BC +) Special creation explains molds of Plato Motivates the study of nature to discover the mind of God Scala naturae naturally fits

Genesis: 1.11-12 grass, herbs, fruit trees 1.20-22 fish, whales and birds 1.24-25 cattle, creeping things on land 1.26 humanity

Scale of Nature in other religious writings as well

A version of the 10 incarnations of Vishnu

Matsya (fish) Saves Sage Manu from floods and recovers the Vedas from demons. Kurma (tortoise) Sustains the earth on his back. Varaha (boar) Brings the earth back from the bottom of the ocean where it was dragged by a demon, Varaha kills the demon. Narasimha Kills the demon King Hiranyakashipu, who was planning to kill (man-lion) his own son, a devotee of Lord Vishnu. Vamana (dwarf) The first human incarnation, kills the demon King Mahabhali, who had deprived the gods of their possessions. Parasurama Saves Brahmins from the tyranny of the arrogant Kshatriyas. Rama Kills Ravana, the demon king of Lanka. Sri Krishna The most popular incarnation; Krishna's contributions throughout his life include the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita to Arjuna. Buddha Hindus consider Buddha as an incarnation of Lord Vishnu and accept his teachings, but do not directly worship him. Kalkin This incarnation is yet to come and will mark the end of all evil in the world. (a man on a white horse)

Adapted from: http://www.koausa.org, website for Kashmiri Overseas Association Scale of Nature in other religious writings as well

10 incarnations of Vishnu Ganeesha Islamic Empire (expansion 622-750AD, persists to 1200AD) Mohammad (Mecca->Medina->Mecca) Sunni (election) vs Shi’a (inheritance) “People of the Book”

http://wps.ablongman.com/long_kishlansky_cw_5/ Islamic Golden Age (750AD-1200AD)

Many scientific, technological, intellectual advances

- Scientific method - Astronomy - Algebra - Trigonometry - Optics (absorption vs emission) - Imported concept of “zero” from India into Western Math

Respected Greek philosophies and writings, much of what we know comes from translations of Islamic manuscripts Middle ages (400AD - 1500AD)

- Wars and chaos - Feudalism - Barbarian invasions - Black plague (1350s) - Crusades (1100-1300) - No clean water (wine, beer)

http://wps.ablongman.com/long_kishlansky_cw_5/

Not much good science going on in Europe - “Aristotle did it all” attitude - Little stability to allow intellectual pursuits

Some medieval bestiaries written: Leo + Pard = leopard, Phoenix, unicorn, included Renaissance (1300AD - 1600AD)

Florence in Italy saw an increase in the arts Intellectual pursuits and arts spread across Europe

Protestant Reformation (1517AD)

Martin Luther and his 95 theses criticized the Catholic Church (indulgences) End result is a multitude of new Christianities

Scientific Revolution (1543+AD)

Copernicus publishes heliocentric solar system model Bacon popularizes the scientific method Kepler published laws of planetary motion Newton, Isaac (1642-1727) Math & logic can describe behavior of nature, no need for constant invocation of supernatural processes Natural Law & Materialism

The progress of nature requires that no non-physical postulate ever be admitted in connection with the study of physical phenomena ... the researcher who is seeking explanations must seek physical explanations only ... -G.C. Simpson

Saw no conflict with religion (Revelations and seances)

Linnaeus, Carl (1707-1778) Classified all organisms in order to understand the mind of God and represent the scale of nature Accidentally described evolutionary relationships Invented binomial nomenclature kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, Genus species Species were the types or molds, ignored variation as decay As the years pass fossils are discovered more and more… They demonstrate apparent change

Cuvier, Baron Georges (1769-1832) Explained geologic change via catastrophism, the dramatic and sudden changes (saltational) are due to supernaturally caused floods and disasters Matches the geologic record to Biblical ideas

Lyell, Sir Charles (1797-1875) Explained geologic change via uniformatarianism, the changes are not so sharp and are due to slow processes we currently see (nothing supernatural) Requires more time than thought available though Wrote the Principles of Geology (1830) Believed in cyclic time Totally inoffensive and equivocal person Lamarck, Jean-Baptiste (1744-1829): priest, soldier (hero), bank clerk, prof. First person with a real evolutionary theory, wanted to explain the scale of nature Species don't go extinct they evolve up the ladder to keep up with environmental change New species are spontaneously created at the bottom Remembered for "use or disuse", but it wasn't really his idea Coined the terms "biology" and "invertebrates"

morphology ladder

time Darwin (1809-1882) Arguably the 2nd greatest scientist ever Studied to be a doctor, pastor, naturalist 21 years old went on boat trip (almost prevented by Dad) 5 year mission on the HMS Beagle to seek out new life, etc. (psychological babysitter for Captain Fitzroy) Discovered fossils corresponding to current life (implies change) Read Lyell's book and became uniformatarianism convert (change over long periods) Read Malthus and realized importance of struggle to survive (Change may be caused by differential survival)

Darwin (1809-1882) Returns to England Developed theory of the origin of atolls and coral reefs Builds reputation as gifted geologist Married Emma Wedgewood, 10 kids, $$$, Chaga's disease Sketched theory of evolution in 1842, wanted a perfect book 8 years working on barnacles (“where does your dad…”) 1858 gets paper from Wallace (On the tendency of varieties to depart indefinitely from the original type)

PANIC Wallace, Alfred (1823-1913) First European to study wild apes Collected and sold specimens for $$$ Malaria and boat explosion 1855 paper: new species arise near similar ones 1858 paper sent to Darwin for advice (natural selection)

Spurs publication of Origin by Darwin

1889 book: Darwinism

Later campaigned for women's rights, nature conservation, phrenology, psychics, socialism, vs vaccination

Darwin (1809-1882) 1859 On the origin of Species 17 books, 155 articles, 10,000 pages Poor health prevents him from debates Supporters and detractors argue loudly in his absence

Darwin/Wallace theory:

Pattern Evolution occurred Common descent

Process Gradually happened Population speciation Natural selection

Shift from typological to variational focus Darwin's books (1839): Journal of researches into the geology and natural history of the various countries visited by H. M. S. Beagle. (1839-43): Edited The zoology of the voyage of H. M. S. Beagle. Pt. I: Fossil Mammalia, by R. OWEN (1840). Pt. II: Mammalia, by G. R. WATERHOUSE (1839). Pt. III: Birds, by J. GOULD (1841). Pt. IV: Fish, by L. JENYNS (1842). Pt. V: Reptiles, by Th. BELL (1843). (1842): The structure and distribution of coral reefs. - - - - (1842) Note: first draft of the Origin was complete at this time - - - - (1844): Geological observations on the volcanic islands, visited during the voyage of HMS Beagle. (1851): A monograph of the fossil Lepadidae: or, pedunculated cirripeds of Great Britain. (1851): A monograph of the sub-class Cirripedia, with figures of all the species. The Lepadidae: or pedunculated cirripeds. (1854): A monograph of the fossil Balanidae and Verrucidae of Great Britain. (1854): A monograph of the sub-class Cirripedia, with figures of all the species. The Balanidae (or sessile cirripedes), the Verrucidae etc. (1859): On the origin of species by means of natural selection, or preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life. (1862): On the various contrivances by which British and foreign orchids are fertilised by insects, and on the good effects of intercrossing. (1868): The variation of animals and plants under domestication, 2 vols. (1871): The descent of man, and selection in relation to sex, 2 vols. (1872): The expression of the emotions in man and animals. (1875): Insectivorous plants. (1875): The movements and habits of climbing plants. (1876): The effects of self and cross fertilization in the vegetable kingdom. (1877): The different forms of flowers on plants of the same species. (1880): The power of movement in plants. (1881): The formation of vegetable mould, through the action of worms. Darwin (1809-1882) 1859 On the origin of Species 17 books, 155 articles, 10,000 pages Poor health prevents him from debates Supporters and detractors argue loudly in his absence

Darwin/Wallace theory:

Pattern Evolution occurred Common descent

Process Gradually happened Population speciation Natural selection

Shift from typological to variational focus The theory presented a new explanation for homologies Similarity due to descent instead of similarity due to developmental pathway and arbitrary design

morphology ladder no more ladder

time

The pattern and process of evolution was quickly accepted The natural selection mechanism responsible was not

Variation Heredity - missing piece (muddled blending & pangenesis) Selection The pattern and process of evolution was quickly accepted The natural selection mechanism responsible was not

There are still two major COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS about evolution:

(1) Individuals pass on acquired traits (Lamarckism) or themselves evolve. - Individuals develop or acclimate, but do not evolve. - Populations evolve by the deaths and births of individuals.

(2) Natural selection acts to improve species with some sort of foresight or goal (teleology). - Mutations don't happen in order to help populations. - Selection does not "see" the future and select for what would be best for the population, it acts by choosing from variable individuals in the present. - A side-effect of the selection on individuals is that populations adapt and evolve, often (but not always) becoming improved.

Mendel, Gregor (1822-1884) Monk working in gardens with pea plants TALL x short -> 100%TALL TALL x TALL -> 75%TALL & 25%short 1865 paper: showed particulate inheritance, totally ignored

http://www.biologie.uni-hamburg.de

Haeckel, Ernst (1834-1919) Studied developmental biology “ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny” Too vague to be useful though

1900 Mendel's laws rediscovered: De Vries, Correns, von Tschermak

Initially was bad for Darwinism since mutations had big effects, not gradual ones

Mutationists - no selection, evolution by mutational drive

Biometricians (including Pearson) studied continuous traits, rejected mendelism since that predicts big differences

Pattern accepted but not the process WWI (1914-1918) 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand (heir to the Austrian throne) assassinated in Sarajevo by Gavrilo Princip Complicated series of alliances, arms races and lingering disputes allow escalation of war. WWI (1914-1918) War ends: Germany forced to sign Treaty of Versailles with Guilt Clause Article 231: The Allied and Associated Governments affirm and Germany accepts the responsibility of Germany and her allies for causing all the loss and damage to which the Allied and Associated Governments and their nationals have been subjected as a consequence of the war imposed upon them by the aggression of Germany and her allies. Causes deep resentment that is exploited soon… Lenin returns to Russia, leads Communist Revolution 1927-1964 Trofim Lysenko controls Soviet agricultural/biological science - Denied genetics as “bourgeois pseudoscience” (Nazis were geneticists) - Imprisoned/executed many scientists - Promoted Lamarckian techniques, hard work by Aleksandr Mikhailovich Gerasimov not "genes" fits communist ideology End result is setting Soviet genetic science back 50 years

This is real reason scientists worry about creationism: Not fear of religeon, fear of ideology in science http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trofim_Lysenko Fisher, R.A. (1890-1962) 1918: showed mendelism was consistent with biometrics - many genes of small effect Invented statistics

Haldane, J.B.S. (1892-1964) - Relatives are partially you - The Causes of Evolution (1932) http://en.wikipedia.org

Wright, Sewell (1889-1988) - Inbreeding coefficient www.stephenjaygould.org - Genetic drift and metaphor of fitness landscapes

http://www.harvardsquarelibrary.org These 3 were Responsible for the Modern synthesis/neo-darwinism, Mendelism + natural selection (1930's - 1940's)

Invented population genetics, the change in gene frequencies in populations as explaining evolution Morgan, T. H. (1866-1945) 1933 Nobel Prize for genes on chromosomes Worked with Drosophila

Dobzhansky, Theodosius (1900-1975) Studied the population genetics http://Nobelprize.org of Drosophila in wild Genetics and the Origin of Species

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dobzhansky Huxley, Julian (1887-1975) Wrote: The Modern Synthesis, unifying math and evolution Proponent of Eugenics

http://www.algebra.com WWII (1939-1945) After WWII

Soviet Union and US enter into arms and influence race 1950-53: Korean war 1957: Sputnik in mobilizes US to invest heavily in science education and research 1962: Cuban missile crisis 1965-75: Vietnam war 1987: Soviet Union begins democratization 1991: Soviet Union disintegrates

USA emerges as the worldwide academic/scientific leader.

Rural to urban lifestyle trend, beginnings of megacities.

USA anti-intellectualism, "great divergence" and emergence of India and China.

Computers/robots replace some people's jobs.

Capitalism morally ascendant.

Mayr, Ernst (1904-2005) Wrote: Systematics and the Origin of Species Used these population genetics ideas to describe allopatric speciation Redefined a species from a type to a group of interbreeding individuals

Simpson, G.G. (1902-1991) Paleontology + population genetics Tempo and Mode in Evolution Kimura, Motoo (1924-1994) Used sophisticated models of mathematics in Pop. Gen. - Prob. of fixing allele - Time to fix an allele Neutral theory of molecular evolution - Most mutations selectively neutral

http://bioinformatica.uab.es

Ohta, Tomoko (1933+) Nearly neutral theory of molecular evolution - Most mutations are slightly deleterious

http://hrst.mit.edu Hennig, Willi (1913-1976) Argued for cladistics as a method to compute phylogenies systematically (objectifies phylogenetics)

http://www.nhm.ac.uk

Pauling, Linus (1901-1994) and Zuckerkandl, Emile (1922-) Molecular clock based on protein sequence allows numerical values for rates of change (calibrated with fossils) Beginning of molecular evolution

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pauling Gould, Stephen J. (1941-2002) Revisited Haeckel's ideas in Ontogeny and Phylogeny With Niles Eldredge developed the theory of punctuated evolution, a mix of uniformatarianism and saltational processes Exceptional science writer

Dawkins, Richard (1941-) Argued for reductionism, evolution acting at the level of genes is only/most important level

Phenotype selection here

Genotype heredity here

http://www.skeptic.com/ Current hot topics:

Developmental biology: revisiting Haeckel with better technology

Genomics/bioinformatics: brand new data set just as big as a whole new set of morphological characters

Phylogenetics: DNA sequencing + super computers :)

Paleontology is still the only way to see what life looked like, new countries building their science culture.

Evolutionary medicine: studying variation in human populations