Friedrich Leopold August Weisman ( German: Friedrich Leopold August Weismann ; January 17, 1834 , Frankfurt - November 5, 1914 , Freiburg ) - German zoologist and theorist of evolutionary doctrine .
| August Weisman | |
|---|---|
| him. August weismann | |
 | |
| Birth name | |
| Date of Birth | |
| Place of Birth | Frankfurt am Main , German Union |
| Date of death | |
| A place of death | Freiburg , German Empire |
| Scientific field | biology |
| Place of work | In 1873-1912 he was a professor at the University of Freiburg . |
| Alma mater | |
| supervisor | |
| Famous students | |
| Known as | German zoologist and theorist of evolutionary doctrine , founder of the theory of neo-Darwinism |
| Awards and prizes | Cotenius Medal (1876) Darwin-Wallace Medal (1908) Darwin Medal (1908)  |
He studied at Gottingen (1852-1856). From 1863 he was a private assistant professor, and from 1873-1912 he was a professor at the University of Freiburg . Early works were devoted to the histology of muscle tissue , the development of insects , and the biology of freshwater organisms.
Since the end of the 1860s, he switched mainly to theoretical studies on the protection, justification, and development of the teachings of C. Darwin . Standing on the positions of materialism , Weisman defended a mechanistic understanding of life phenomena. Opposing vitalism , he rejected Lamarckism , which initially recognized the expedient response of living beings to environmental influences (see Teleology ) and the inheritance of changes that occurred in this way. Weisman rightly argued that the question of the inheritance of acquired traits can only be solved with the help of experience, and experimentally showed the non-inheritance of mechanical damage. Weisman is the author of speculative theories of heredity and individual development, incorrect in detail, but in principle anticipating modern ideas about the discreteness of carriers of hereditary information and their relationship with chromosomes , as well as the concept of the role of hereditary inclinations in individual development.
In the late 1940s, the doctrine created by Weismann, called neo-Darwinism by him, was followed by the followers of Lysenko as unscientific and reactionary. In fact, Weisman’s teaching was a further development of the Darwinian theory of evolution .
Denial of Lamarckism
A. Weisman, who initially shared Lamarck ’s idea of inheriting acquired characteristics, [4] subsequently became a decisive opponent of her, thus describing the change in his views:
“How can the germ cell lying inside the body communicate with the changes that have occurred in the muscle as a result of its exercise, or the reduction experienced by the organ from non-use, and moreover, be communicated so that subsequently, when this cell grows into a new organism, it is on the corresponding muscle and on the corresponding part of the body out of herself made the same changes that the parents had as a result of use or non-use? This is the question that has arisen before me a long time ago and which, upon further deliberation, led me to a complete denial of such a hereditary transfer of acquired properties ”(A. Weisman, 1905, p. 301-302) [4] .
Weisman proposed two options for transmitting body changes to the sex cells for consideration:
“Either the preexisting pathways along which germ cells reach a completely incomprehensible effect, or the separation from the altered organ of the material particles involved in the construction of the germplasm; the third is not given ”(A. Weismann, 1892, p. 515) [4] .
Weismann considered the “fantastic” assumption that every cell in the body is connected by a nerve to every reproductive cell. The assumption accepted by C. Darwin that each cell of the body separates specific gemmules that gather in germ cells, Weismann also considered unbelievable [4] .
Bibliography
- Weisman A. 1905. Lectures on evolutionary theory. Part I. M., 301-302.
- Weismann A. Das Keimplasma. Eine Theorie der Vererbung, Jena, 1892;
- Weismann A. Vorgänge über Deszendenztheorie, 3 Aufl., Jena, 1913.
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 BNF identifier : Open Data Platform 2011.
- ↑ 1 2 Encyclopædia Britannica
- ↑ 1 2 SNAC - 2010.
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 Velikanov L.P. “Directional Variability of Organisms and Natural Selection”
Literature
- Gaupp E., August Weismann. Sein Leben und sein Werk, Jena, 1917: Löther R., _ August Weismann - Wegbereiter des Darwinismus und wissenschaftlicher Vererbunglehre, Wissenschaft und Fortschritt, 1963, Bd 13, No. 10.