title: "A temporary oversimplification": Mayr, Simpson, Dobzhansky, and the origins of the typology/population dichotomy (part 1 of 2).
abstract: The dichotomy between 'typological thinking' and 'population thinking' features in a range of debates in contemporary and historical biology. The origins of this dichotomy are often traced to Ernst Mayr, who is said to have coined it in the 1950s as a rhetorical device that could be used to shield the Modern Synthesis from attacks by the opponents of population biology. In this two-part essay I argue that the origins of the typology/population dichotomy are considerably more complicated and more interesting than is commonly thought. In this first part, I will argue that Mayr's dichotomy was based on two distinct type/population contrasts that had been articulated much earlier by George Gaylord Simpson and Theodosius Dobzhansky. Their distinctions made eminent sense in their own, isolated contexts. In the second part, I will show how Mayr conflated these type/population distinctions and blended in some of his own, unrelated concerns with 'types' of a rather different sort. Although Mayr told his early critics that he was merely making "a temporary oversimplification," he ended up burdening the history and philosophy of biology with a troubled dichotomy.
authors.affiliation: Descartes Centre for the History and Philosophy of the Sciences and the Humanities, Utrecht University, The Netherlands; Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Utrecht University, The Netherlands; Department of Psychology, Utrecht University, The Netherlands. Electronic address: j.witteveen@uu.nl.
authors.forename: Joeri
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Witteveen
mesh_terms: D005075:Biological Evolution; D005823:Genetics / Q000266:history*; D049673:History, 20th Century; D010684:Philosophy / Q000266:history*
keywords: Ernst Mayr; George Gaylord Simpson; Modern Synthesis; Population thinking; Theodosius Dobzhansky; Typology