Richard Lewontin
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+ | '''Richard Charles Lewontin''' (March 29, 1929 – July 4, 2021) was an American [[evolutionary biologist]], mathematician, [[geneticist]], and [[social commentator]]. A leader in developing the [[mathematical]] basis of [[population genetics]] and evolutionary theory, he pioneered the application of techniques from [[molecular biology]], such as [[gel electrophoresis]], to questions of [[genetic variation]] and evolution. | ||
- | '''Richard Charles "Dick" Lewontin''' (born March 29, 1929) is an [[United States|American]] [[evolutionary biologist]], [[geneticist]] and [[social commentator]]. A leader in developing the [[mathematical]] basis of [[population genetics]] and evolutionary theory, he pioneered the notion of using techniques from [[molecular biology]] such as [[gel electrophoresis]] to apply to questions of [[genetic variation]] and evolution. | + | In a pair of seminal 1966 papers co-authored with [[J. L. Hubby]] in the journal ''[[Genetics (journal)|Genetics]]'', Lewontin helped set the stage for the modern field of [[molecular evolution]]. In 1979 he and [[Stephen Jay Gould]] introduced the term "[[spandrel (biology)|spandrel]]" into [[evolutionary theory]]. From 1973 to 1998, he held an endowed chair in zoology and biology at Harvard University, and from 2003 until his death in 2021 had been a research professor there. |
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- | In a pair of 1966 papers co-authored with [[J.L. Hubby]] in the journal ''[[Genetics (journal)|Genetics]]'', Lewontin helped set the stage for the modern field of [[molecular evolution]]. | + | |
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- | In 1979 he and [[Stephen Jay Gould]] introduced the term "[[spandrel (biology)|spandrel]]" into [[evolutionary theory]]. A spandrel is an evolved biological feature which arises as the result of the modification of another trait. | + | |
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- | Lewontin strongly opposes [[genetic determinism]], especially as allegedly expressed by [[sociobiology]] and [[evolutionary psychology]]. | + | |
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+ | Lewontin opposed [[genetic determinism]]. | ||
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Current revision
“We [Richard Lewontin, Steven Rose, and Leon Kamin] share a commitment to the prospect of the creation of a more socially just—a socialist—society. And we recognize that a critical science is an integral part of the struggle to create that society, just as we also believe that the social function of much of today’s science is to hinder the creation of that society by acting to preserve the interests of the dominant class, gender, and race.” --preface to Not in Our Genes (1984) |
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Richard Charles Lewontin (March 29, 1929 – July 4, 2021) was an American evolutionary biologist, mathematician, geneticist, and social commentator. A leader in developing the mathematical basis of population genetics and evolutionary theory, he pioneered the application of techniques from molecular biology, such as gel electrophoresis, to questions of genetic variation and evolution.
In a pair of seminal 1966 papers co-authored with J. L. Hubby in the journal Genetics, Lewontin helped set the stage for the modern field of molecular evolution. In 1979 he and Stephen Jay Gould introduced the term "spandrel" into evolutionary theory. From 1973 to 1998, he held an endowed chair in zoology and biology at Harvard University, and from 2003 until his death in 2021 had been a research professor there.
Lewontin opposed genetic determinism.