A History of the Study of Phyllotaxis
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Embodied Empiricism
View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by PhilPapers Embodied Empiricism CHARLES T. WOLFE OFER GAL It was in 1660s England, according to the received view, in the meetings of the Royal Society of London, that science acquired the form of empirical enquiry that we recognize as our own: an open, collaborative experimental practice, mediated by specially-designed instruments, supported by civil, critical discourse, stressing accuracy and replicability. Guided by the philosophy of Francis Bacon, by Protestant ideas of this-worldly benevolence, by gentlemanly codes of decorum and integrity and by a dominant interest in mechanics and a conviction in the mechanical structure of the universe, the members of the Royal Society created a novel experimental practice that superseded all former modes of empirical inquiry– from Aristotelian observations to alchemical experimentation. It is enlightening to consider that this view is imparted by both the gentlemen of the Royal Society, in their official self-presentations, and by much of the most iconoclastic historiography of our time. Lines like ―Boyle‘s example … was mobilized to give legitimacy to the experimental philosophy,‖1 are strongly reminiscent of Bishop Sprat‘s 1667 eulogy of the ―Lord Bacon in whose Books there are everywhere scattered the best arguments for the defence of experimental philosophy; and the best directions, needful to promote it.‖2 One reason for the surprising agreement is that this picture of openness, benevolence and civility does capture some of the moral-epistemological mores of the empiricism of the New Science, but this very agreement of historians and apologists also harbors a paradox. -
Claus Kahlert and Otto E. Rössler Institute for Physical and Theoretical Chemistry, University of Tübingen Z. Naturforsch
Chaos as a Limit in a Boundary Value Problem Claus Kahlert and Otto E. Rössler Institute for Physical and Theoretical Chemistry, University of Tübingen Z. Naturforsch. 39a, 1200- 1203 (1984); received November 8, 1984 A piecewise-linear. 3-variable autonomous O.D.E. of C° type, known to describe constant- shape travelling waves in one-dimensional reaction-diffusion media of Rinzel-Keller type, is numerically shown to possess a chaotic attractor in state space. An analytical method proving the possibility of chaos is outlined and a set of parameters yielding Shil'nikov chaos indicated. A symbolic dynamics technique can be used to show how the limiting chaos dominates the behavior even of the finite boundary value problem. Reaction-diffusion equations occur in many dis boundary conditions are assumed. This result was ciplines [1, 2], Piecewise-linear systems are especially obtained by an analytical matching method. The amenable to analysis. A variant to the Rinzel-Keller connection to chaos theory (Smale [6] basic sets) equation of nerve conduction [3] can be written as was not evident at the time. In the following, even the possibility of manifest chaos will be demon 9 ö2 — u u + p [- u + r - ß + e (ii - Ö)], strated. o t oa~ In Fig. 1, a chaotic attractor of (2) is presented. Ö The flow can be classified as an example of "screw- — r = - e u + r , (1) 0/ type-chaos" (cf. [7]). A second example of a chaotic attractor is shown in Fig. 2. A 1-D projection of a where 0(a) =1 if a > 0 and zero otherwise; d is the 2-D cross section through the chaotic flow in a threshold parameter. -
Why Was There No Controversy Over Life in the Scientific Revolution? *
Why was there no controversy over Life in the Scientific Revolution? * Charles T. Wolfe Unit for History and Philosophy of Science University of Sydney Well prior to the invention of the term ‗biology‘ in the early 1800s by Lamarck and Treviranus, and also prior to the appearance of terms such as ‗organism‘ under the pen of Leibniz in the early 1700s, the question of ‗Life‘, that is, the status of living organisms within the broader physico-mechanical universe, agitated different corners of the European intellectual scene. From modern Epicureanism to medical Newtonianism, from Stahlian animism to the discourse on the ‗animal economy‘ in vitalist medicine, models of living being were constructed in opposition to ‗merely anatomical‘, structural, mechanical models. It is therefore curious to turn to the ‗passion play‘ of the Scientific Revolution – whether in its early, canonical definitions or its more recent, hybridized, reconstructed and expanded versions: from Koyré to Biagioli, from Merton to Shapin – and find there a conspicuous absence of worry over what status to grant living beings in a newly physicalized universe. Neither Harvey, nor Boyle, nor Locke (to name some likely candidates, the latter having studied with Willis and collaborated with Sydenham) ever ask what makes organisms unique, or conversely, what does not. In this paper I seek to establish how ‗Life‘ became a source of contention in early modern thought, and how the Scientific Revolution missed the controversy. ―Of all natural forces, vitality is the incommunicable one.‖ (Fitzgerald 1945: 74) Introduction To ask why there was no controversy over Life – that is, debates specifically focusing on the status of living beings, their mode of functioning, their internal mechanisms and above all their ‗uniqueness‘ within the physical universe as a whole – in the Scientific Revolution is to simultaneously run the risk of extreme narrowness of detail and/or of excessive breadth in scope. -
6 Phyllotaxis in Higher Plants Didier Reinhardt and Cris Kuhlemeier
6 Phyllotaxis in higher plants Didier Reinhardt and Cris Kuhlemeier 6.1 Introduction In plants, the arrangement of leaves and flowers around the stem is highly regular, resulting in opposite, alternate or spiral arrangements.The pattern of the lateral organs is called phyllotaxis, the Greek word for ‘leaf arrangement’. The most widespread phyllotactic arrangements are spiral and distichous (alternate) if one organ is formed per node, or decussate (opposite) if two organs are formed per node. In flowers, the organs are frequently arranged in whorls of 3-5 organs per node. Interestingly, phyllotaxis can change during the course of develop- ment of a plant. Usually, such changes involve the transition from decussate to spiral phyllotaxis, where they are often associated with the transition from the vegetative to reproductive phase. Since the first descriptions of phyllotaxis, the apparent regularity, especially of spiral phyllotaxis, has attracted the attention of scientists in various dis- ciplines. Philosophers and natural scientists were among the first to consider phyllotaxis and to propose models for its regulation. Goethe (1 830), for instance, postulated the existence of a general ‘spiral tendency in plant vegetation’. Mathematicians have described the regularity of phyllotaxis (Jean, 1994), and developed computer models that can recreate phyllotactic patterns (Meinhardt, 1994; Green, 1996). It was recognized early that phyllotactic patterns are laid down in the shoot apical meristem, the site of organ formation. Since scientists started to pos- tulate mechanisms for the regulation of phyllotaxis, two main concepts have dominated the field. The first principle holds that the geometry of the apex, and biophysical forces in the meristem determine phyllotaxis (van Iterson, 1907; Schiiepp, 1938; Snow and Snow, 1962; Green, 1992, 1996). -
History and Epistemology of Plant Behaviour: a Pluralistic View?
Synthese (2021) 198:3625–3650 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11229-019-02303-9 BIOBEHAVIOUR History and epistemology of plant behaviour: a pluralistic view? Quentin Hiernaux1 Received: 8 June 2018 / Accepted: 24 June 2019 / Published online: 2 July 2019 © Springer Nature B.V. 2019 Abstract Some biologists now argue in favour of a pluralistic approach to plant activities, under- standable both from the classical perspective of physiological mechanisms and that of the biology of behaviour involving choices and decisions in relation to the environ- ment. However, some do not hesitate to go further, such as plant “neurobiologists” or philosophers who today defend an intelligence, a mind or even a plant consciousness in a renewed perspective of these terms. To what extent can we then adhere to pluralism in the study of plant behaviour? How does this pluralism in the study and explanation of plant behaviour fit into, or even build itself up, in a broader history of science? Is it a revolutionary way of rethinking plant behaviour in the twenty-first century or is it an epistemological extension of an older attitude? By proposing a synthesis of the question of plant behaviour by selected elements of the history of botany, the objective is to show that the current plant biology is not unified on the question of behaviour, but that its different tendencies are in fact part of a long botanical tradition with contrasting postures. Two axes that are in fact historically linked will serve as a common thread. 1. Are there several ways of understanding or conceiving plant behaviour within plant sciences and their epistemology? 2. -
Montesquieu Charles-Louis De Secondat
EBSCOhost Page 1 of 5 Record: 1 Title: Montesquieu, Charles-Louis de Secondat, baron de La Brède et de. Authors: Robert Shackleton Source: Britannica Biographies; 2008, p1, 2p Document Type: Biography Abstract: (born January 18, 1689, Château La Brède, near Bordeaux, France— died February 10, 1755, Paris) French political philosopher whose major work, The Spirit of Laws, was a major contribution to political theory. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER] Copyright of Britannica Biographies is the property of Encyclopedia Britannica and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all abstracts.) Lexile: 1240 Full Text Word Count:2611 Accession Number: 32418468 Database: MAS Ultra - School Edition Montesquieu, Charles-Louis de Secondat, baron de La Brède et de (born January 18, 1689, Château La Brède, near Bordeaux, France—died February 10, 1755, Paris) French political philosopher whose major work, The Spirit of Laws, was a major contribution to political theory. Early life and career. His father, Jacques de Secondat, belonged to an old military family of modest wealth that had been ennobled in the 16th century for services to the crown, while his mother, Marie- Françoise de Pesnel, was a pious lady of partial English extraction. She brought to her husband a great increase in wealth in the valuable wine-producing property of La Brède. -
Synthetic Conversion of Leaf Chloroplasts Into Carotenoid-Rich Plastids Reveals Mechanistic Basis of Natural Chromoplast Development
Synthetic conversion of leaf chloroplasts into carotenoid-rich plastids reveals mechanistic basis of natural chromoplast development Briardo Llorentea,b,c,1, Salvador Torres-Montillaa, Luca Morellia, Igor Florez-Sarasaa, José Tomás Matusa,d, Miguel Ezquerroa, Lucio D’Andreaa,e, Fakhreddine Houhouf, Eszter Majerf, Belén Picóg, Jaime Cebollag, Adrian Troncosoh, Alisdair R. Ferniee, José-Antonio Daròsf, and Manuel Rodriguez-Concepciona,f,1 aCentre for Research in Agricultural Genomics (CRAG) CSIC-IRTA-UAB-UB, Campus UAB Bellaterra, 08193 Barcelona, Spain; bARC Center of Excellence in Synthetic Biology, Department of Molecular Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney NSW 2109, Australia; cCSIRO Synthetic Biology Future Science Platform, Sydney NSW 2109, Australia; dInstitute for Integrative Systems Biology (I2SysBio), Universitat de Valencia-CSIC, 46908 Paterna, Valencia, Spain; eMax-Planck-Institut für Molekulare Pflanzenphysiologie, 14476 Potsdam-Golm, Germany; fInstituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Plantas, CSIC-Universitat Politècnica de València, 46022 Valencia, Spain; gInstituto de Conservación y Mejora de la Agrodiversidad, Universitat Politècnica de València, 46022 Valencia, Spain; and hSorbonne Universités, Université de Technologie de Compiègne, Génie Enzymatique et Cellulaire, UMR-CNRS 7025, CS 60319, 60203 Compiègne Cedex, France Edited by Krishna K. Niyogi, University of California, Berkeley, CA, and approved July 29, 2020 (received for review March 9, 2020) Plastids, the defining organelles of plant cells, undergo physiological chromoplasts but into a completely different type of plastids and morphological changes to fulfill distinct biological functions. In named gerontoplasts (1, 2). particular, the differentiation of chloroplasts into chromoplasts The most prominent changes during chloroplast-to-chromo- results in an enhanced storage capacity for carotenoids with indus- plast differentiation are the reorganization of the internal plastid trial and nutritional value such as beta-carotene (provitamin A). -
Multidimensional Generalization of Phyllotaxis
CYBERNETICS AND PHYSICS, VOL. 8, NO. 3, 2019, 153–160 MULTIDIMENSIONAL GENERALIZATION OF PHYLLOTAXIS Andrei Lodkin Dept. of Mathematics & Mechanics St. Petersburg State University Russia [email protected] Article history: Received 28.10.2019, Accepted 28.11.2019 Abstract around a stem, seeds on a pine cone or a sunflower head, The regular spiral arrangement of various parts of bi- florets, petals, scales, and other units usually shows a ological objects (leaves, florets, etc.), known as phyl- regular character, see the pictures below. lotaxis, could not find an explanation during several cen- turies. Some quantitative parameters of the phyllotaxis (the divergence angle being the principal one) show that the organization in question is, in a sense, the same in a large family of living objects, and the values of the divergence angle that are close to the golden number prevail. This was a mystery, and explanations of this phenomenon long remained “lyrical”. Later, similar pat- terns were discovered in inorganic objects. After a se- ries of computer models, it was only in the XXI cen- tury that the rigorous explanation of the appearance of the golden number in a simple mathematical model has been given. The resulting pattern is related to stable fixed points of some operator and depends on a real parame- ter. The variation of this parameter leads to an inter- esting bifurcation diagram where the limiting object is the SL(2; Z)-orbit of the golden number on the segment [0,1]. We present a survey of the problem and introduce a multidimensional analog of phyllotaxis patterns. -
D'arcy Wentworth Thompson
D’ARCY WENTWORTH THOMPSON Mathematically trained maverick zoologist D’Arcy Wentworth Thompson (May 2, 1860 –June 21, 1948) was among the first to cross the frontier between mathematics and the biological world and as such became the first true biomathematician. A polymath with unbounded energy, he saw mathematical patterns in everything – the mysterious spiral forms that appear in the curve of a seashell, the swirl of water boiling in a pan, the sweep of faraway nebulae, the thickness of stripes along a zebra’s flanks, the floret of a flower, etc. His premise was that “everything is the way it is because it got that way… the form of an object is a ‘diagram of forces’, in this sense, at least, that from it we can judge of or deduce the forces that are acting or have acted upon it.” He asserted that one must not merely study finished forms but also the forces that mold them. He sought to describe the mathematical origins of shapes and structures in the natural world, writing: “Cell and tissue, shell and bone, leaf and flower, are so many portions of matter and it is in obedience to the laws of physics that their particles have been moved, molded and conformed. There are no exceptions to the rule that God always geometrizes.” Thompson was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, the son of a Professor of Greek. At ten he entered Edinburgh Academy, winning prizes for Classics, Greek Testament, Mathematics and Modern Languages. At seventeen he went to the University of Edinburgh to study medicine, but two years later he won a scholarship to Trinity College, Cambridge, where he concentrated on zoology and natural science. -
Research Advances on Leaf and Wood Anatomy of Woody Species
rch: O ea pe es n A R t c s c Rodriguez et al., Forest Res 2016, 5:3 e e r s o s Forest Research F DOI: 10.4172/2168-9776.1000183 Open Access ISSN: 2168-9776 Research Article Open Access Research Advances on Leaf and Wood Anatomy of Woody Species of a Tamaulipan Thorn Scrub Forest and its Significance in Taxonomy and Drought Resistance Rodriguez HG1*, Maiti R1 and Kumari A2 1Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Facultad de Ciencias Forestales, Carr. Nac. No. 85 Km. 45, Linares, Nuevo León 67700, México 2Plant Physiology, Agricultural College, Professor Jaya Shankar Telangana State Agricultural University, Polasa, Jagtial, Karimnagar, Telangana, India Abstract The present paper make a synthesis of a comparative leaf anatomy including leaf surface, leaf lamina, petiole and venation as well as wood anatomy of 30 woody species of a Tamaulipan Thorn Scrub, Northeastern Mexico. The results showed a large variability in anatomical traits of both leaf and wood anatomy. The variations of these anatomical traits could be effectively used in taxonomic delimitation of the species and adaptation of the species to xeric environments. For example the absence or low frequency of stomata on leaf surface, the presence of long palisade cells, and presence of narrow xylem vessels in the wood could be related to adaptation of the species to drought. Besides the species with dense venation and petiole with thick collenchyma and sclerenchyma and large vascular bundle could be well adapted to xeric environments. It is suggested that a comprehensive consideration of leaf anatomy (leaf surface, lamina, petiole and venation) and wood anatomy should be used as a basis of taxonomy and drought resistance. -
Ferns of the National Forests in Alaska
Ferns of the National Forests in Alaska United States Forest Service R10-RG-182 Department of Alaska Region June 2010 Agriculture Ferns abound in Alaska’s two national forests, the Chugach and the Tongass, which are situated on the southcentral and southeastern coast respectively. These forests contain myriad habitats where ferns thrive. Most showy are the ferns occupying the forest floor of temperate rainforest habitats. However, ferns grow in nearly all non-forested habitats such as beach meadows, wet meadows, alpine meadows, high alpine, and talus slopes. The cool, wet climate highly influenced by the Pacific Ocean creates ideal growing conditions for ferns. In the past, ferns had been loosely grouped with other spore-bearing vascular plants, often called “fern allies.” Recent genetic studies reveal surprises about the relationships among ferns and fern allies. First, ferns appear to be closely related to horsetails; in fact these plants are now grouped as ferns. Second, plants commonly called fern allies (club-mosses, spike-mosses and quillworts) are not at all related to the ferns. General relationships among members of the plant kingdom are shown in the diagram below. Ferns & Horsetails Flowering Plants Conifers Club-mosses, Spike-mosses & Quillworts Mosses & Liverworts Thirty of the fifty-four ferns and horsetails known to grow in Alaska’s national forests are described and pictured in this brochure. They are arranged in the same order as listed in the fern checklist presented on pages 26 and 27. 2 Midrib Blade Pinnule(s) Frond (leaf) Pinna Petiole (leaf stalk) Parts of a fern frond, northern wood fern (p. -
PART II PERSONAL PAPERS and ORGANIZATIONAL RECORDS Allen, Paul Hamilton, 1911-1963 Collection 1 RG 4/1/5/15 Photographs, 1937-1959 (1.0 Linear Feet)
PART II PERSONAL PAPERS AND ORGANIZATIONAL RECORDS Allen, Paul Hamilton, 1911-1963 Collection 1 RG 4/1/5/15 Photographs, 1937-1959 (1.0 linear feet) Paul Allen was a botanist and plantsman of the American tropics. He was student assistant to C. W. Dodge, the Garden's mycologist, and collector for the Missouri Botanical Garden expedition to Panama in 1934. As manager of the Garden's tropical research station in Balboa, Panama, from 1936 to 1939, he actively col- lected plants for the Flora of Panama. He was the representative of the Garden in Central America, 1940-43, and was recruited after the War to write treatments for the Flora of Panama. The photos consist of 1125 negatives and contact prints of plant taxa, including habitat photos, herbarium specimens, and close-ups arranged in alphabetical order by genus and species. A handwritten inventory by the donor in the collection file lists each item including 19 rolls of film of plant communities in El Salvador, Costa Rica, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama. The collection contains 203 color slides of plants in Panama, other parts of Central America, and North Borneo. Also included are black and white snapshots of Panama, 1937-1944, and specimen photos presented to the Garden's herbarium. Allen's field books and other papers that may give further identification are housed at the Hunt Institute of Botanical Documentation. Copies of certain field notebooks and specimen books are in the herbarium curator correspondence of Robert Woodson, (Collection 1, RG 4/1/1/3). Gift, 1983-1990. ARRANGEMENT: 1) Photographs of Central American plants, no date; 2) Slides, 1947-1959; 3) Black and White photos, 1937-44.