Darwinism and Lamarckism before and after Weismann: A Historical, Philosophical, and Methodological Analysis.

When exploring the relationship between two reputedly competitive scientific concepts that have persisted, with modification, through time, there are three main features to consider. First, there are historical features of an evolving relationship. Just as a causal story can be reconstructed concerning adaptations in a complex system, an analogous story can be supplied for the historical contingencies that have shaped the organization and development of Lamarckian and Darwinian biological thought, and their interactions, over time. Second, there are philosophical and conceptual features to the relationship-- what is shared, what is not, whether two ideas inherently conflict or conditionally conflict, etc. Third, there are methodological features to the relationship—how do the theoretical concepts interact when in realistic operation? What are the benefits and constraints regarding their co-application? This project will explore the historical, philosophical, and methodological characteristics of the infamous Darwinian-Lamarckian dichotomy as characterized through Lakatos' Methodology for Scientific Research Programs, with the hypothesis that, once the respective evolutionary philosophies are generalized and the clutter of stigma removed, there is a large degree of compatibility to be found among them. The justification for this project derives from the recent resurgence of interest in Lamarckian phenomena and the stern, often vehement backlash that has greeted that interest. If biologists and philosophers both resist, or worse dismiss, Lamarckian suggestions on the grounds that they perceive them to undermine and conflict with Darwinian lines of thought, then that resistance may be unconstructive and misguided, should it be the case that, just as it was with Darwin's original conception of evolution, a more flexible, pluralistic view is plausible