Herring, E (2016) Des évolutionnismes sans mécanisme: les néo-lamarckismes métaphysiques d'Albert Vandel (1894-1980) et Pierre-Paul Grassé (1895-1985) [Evolution without a Mechanism: The Metaphysical neo-Lamarckisms of Albert Vandel (1894-1980) and Pierre-Paul Grassé (1895-1985)]. Revue d'histoire des sciences, 69 (2). pp. 369-398. ISSN 0151-4105
Abstract
Albert Vandel and Pierre-Paul Grassé were influential and academically acclaimed zoologists in France in the second half of the 20th century. They were among the last scientific adversaries of Neo-Darwinism in France, proposing instead a form of Neo-Lamarckism up until the 1980s. Their theories were not equivalent but were both founded on the idea that evolution is internally driven, teleologically orientated but also « creative » in the sense that it generates unpredictable novelties. However, they proposed no alternative mechanism to replace natural selection. My analysis of their scientific, epistemological and metaphysical arguments shows that their take on evolution relied on cosmogonical and metaphysical explanations, founded on elements from Henri Bergson’s metaphysics of duration and Pierre Teilhard de Chardin’s theological cosmogony. Despite theoretical differences they shared ideas about mankind’s nature and destiny in the universe, which justified, in their view, their repudiation of Darwinian adaptation and chance as well as their philosophical vision of evolution.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © Armand Colin. This is an author produced version of a paper published in Revue d'histoire des sciences. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | Albert Vandel; Pierre-Paul Grassé; Neo-Lamarckism; Pierre Teilhard de Chardin; Modern Synthesis; Henri Bergson |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures (Leeds) > School of Philosophy, Religion and History of Science (Leeds) > School of Philosophy (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 24 Jun 2016 11:40 |
Last Modified: | 29 Dec 2020 01:38 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Armand Colin |
Identification Number: | 10.3917/rhs.692.0369 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:101370 |