Research project
The Berlin School and the Beginning of the Evolutionary Synthesis
The synthetic theory of evolution provides the standard model of modern evolutionary biology. Its core is the further development of Darwin's selection theory by integrating the findings of modern genetics, the "new systematics" and palaeontology, which made the emergence of variability and the inheritance of characteristics within a population explainable and thus Darwin's theory incontestable. Despite the enormous importance of the theory for biology, a differentiated view of the history of science is still lacking and there is considerable dissent regarding the significance of the contributions of individual biologists. It has been repeatedly criticised that existing accounts are dominated by an Anglo-American perspective and neglect the international character of the synthesis. This study is dedicated to a re-evaluation of the synthesis with a focus on the contributions of the systematists of the so-called "Berlin School" in the 1920s and 1930s with its most prominent representatives Erwin Stresemann, Bernhard Rensch and Ernst Mayr. On the basis of archival sources, such as correspondence of the protagonists of the Berlin School, as well as their publications, a detailed consideration of the role of the Berlin School for the synthetic theory of evolution will be undertaken, and further, in a second part, the extent to which the historiography in the existing accounts is guided by certain interests will be presented.
Publications produced:
Glaubrecht, M. 2001. Mastermind of the bird world. Erwin Stresemann (1889-1972): Life and work of a pioneer of scientific ornithology. [review of J. Haffer et al. (2000)]. Nature, 411: 136.
Glaubrecht, M. 2004. Leopold von Buch’s legacy: treating species as dynamic natural entities, or why geography matters. American Malacological Bulletin, 19(1/2): 111-134.
Glaubrecht, M. 2004. Ernst Mayr – Vom Systematiker zum Begründer einer neuen Biophilosophie. Ein Porträt aus Anlass des 100. Geburtstages des Evolutionsbiologen. Naturwissenschaftliche Rundschau, 57 (7): 357-368.
Glaubrecht, M. 2004. Ernst Mayr – Der Darwin des 20. Jahrhunderts. Geo, Heft 7/2004: 78-84.
Glaubrecht, M. 2004. A centenarian’s summary. [review of Ernst Mayr’s ”What makes biology unique” (2004)]. Science, 306: 614-615.
Glaubrecht, M. 2007. Die Ordnung des Lebendigen. Zur Geschichte und Zukunft der Systematik in Deutschland. – In: Wägele, J. W. (ed.), Höhepunkte der zoologischen Forschung im deutschen Sprachraum. Festschrift zur 100. Jahresversammlung der Deutschen Zoologischen Gesellschaft in Köln, Sept. 2007; pp. 59-110. Basiliken Press, Marburg.
Employed in the project:
- Elisa Schmitt
- Matthias Glaubrecht