Wallace Arthur
Encyclopedia
Wallace Arthur is a zoologist specialising in evolutionary developmental biology
. He was Professor of evolutionary biology at the University of Sunderland
, UK, but is now Professor of zoology
and head of the zoology department at the National University of Ireland, Galway
. He is one of the founding editors of the leading journal Evolution and Development
, and has written several books on evolution, including one on the origin of animal body plans. He describes himself as "a bit of a maverick" who likes "making connections across disciplinary boundaries". Arthur cites the three best books he has read as Darwin's
(1859) On the Origin of Species, D'Arcy Thompson's
(1917) On Growth and Form; and Lancelot Law Whyte
's (1965) Internal Factors in Evolution.
Amongst Wallace Arthur's earliest attempts at interdisciplinary conceptualisation was his 1987 book Theories of Life, in which the influence of Arthur's three favourite books, amongst others, can be seen. In his 1987 book, he attempted to unite conceptually the fields of genetics, development, and evolution. In this work, he addressed issues of relevance not only to evolutionary theory, but also to the philosophy of science, using evolutionary theory as the vehicle for this. He posed the questions of what constitutes a scientific theory, and how it is distinguished from hypotheses and laws. "One of the main distinctions between these different types of 'scientific idea', is the degree of certainty attached to it. A hypothesis is the least certain and is essentially a tentative answer to a particular question, often put forward so that it can be tested expermimentally." Arthur describes the hypothesis as being at the least certain end of a spectrum of scientific certainty.
To Wallace Arthur, "basically, a law is a universally accepted generalization. Usually, universal acceptance can be achieved in science only when very precise testing is both possible to conduct and positive in outcome when conducted: and precise testing is possible only when the assertion to be tested takes a quantitative form". Thus, in the certainty/uncertainty spectrum, a hypothesis remains to be tested, and a law has generally been rigorously tested. Arthur notes that the categorisation of theories is more problematic.
Continuing on this theme, Arthur noted "two dimensions in addition to certainty/uncertainty...helpful in distinguishing between hypotheses, theories and laws":
He elaborates thus: "Darwin and Mendel were ultimately making statements broadly applicable to all species in the living world, whereas the hypothesis that for example, high-fat diets cause heart-attacks in man is of relatively narrow applicability and would not, if proved to be true, turn into a law or theory". Arthur notes that over time, if a hypothesis progresses from untested to tested, it cannot remain as a hypothesis. If refuted, "it is simply a refuted hypothesis' and disappears from the face of science". If proved true, "it turns either into a theory or a law or, if it is too specific and limited to be either, a fact. A particular diet known to cause heart conditions is a fact". He notes also that "according to the philosopher of science Karl Popper
, it is possible only do disprove a theory, not to prove it".
A central theme to Arthur's 1987 book is the morphogenetic tree, which he expounds in chapter ten, The Missing Theory of Development. Arthur's morphogenetic tree ssentially this is not unlike the evolution theory tree, and the resemblance "may not be merely coincidental". Arthur proposed that the "morphogenetic tree represents a general theory of pattern formation", which attempts a solution to the problem of cell formation, such as why do finger cells produce a particular pattern formation?.
Evolutionary developmental biology
Evolutionary developmental biology is a field of biology that compares the developmental processes of different organisms to determine the ancestral relationship between them, and to discover how developmental processes evolved...
. He was Professor of evolutionary biology at the University of Sunderland
University of Sunderland
The University of Sunderland is located in Sunderland, north east England. The university has more than 17,500 students, including 7,000-plus international students from some 70 countries....
, UK, but is now Professor of zoology
Zoology
Zoology |zoölogy]]), is the branch of biology that relates to the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct...
and head of the zoology department at the National University of Ireland, Galway
National University of Ireland, Galway
The National University of Ireland, Galway is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland...
. He is one of the founding editors of the leading journal Evolution and Development
Evolution and Development
Evolution & Development is a peer-reviewed scientific journal publishing material at the interface of evolutionary and developmental biology. Within evolutionary developmental biology, it has the aim of aiding a broader synthesis of biological thought in these two areas...
, and has written several books on evolution, including one on the origin of animal body plans. He describes himself as "a bit of a maverick" who likes "making connections across disciplinary boundaries". Arthur cites the three best books he has read as Darwin's
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
(1859) On the Origin of Species, D'Arcy Thompson's
D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson
Sir D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson CB FRS FRSE was a Scottish biologist, mathematician, and classics scholar. A pioneering mathematical biologist, he is mainly remembered as the author of the 1917 book On Growth and Form, written largely in Dundee in 1915...
(1917) On Growth and Form; and Lancelot Law Whyte
Lancelot Law Whyte
Lancelot Law Whyte was a Scottish financier and industrial engineer.He claimed to have worked with Albert Einstein on the unified field theory. He further claimed that this work was based on the theory of the 18th century natural philosopher Roger Boscovich.Whyte proposed something he called "the...
's (1965) Internal Factors in Evolution.
Amongst Wallace Arthur's earliest attempts at interdisciplinary conceptualisation was his 1987 book Theories of Life, in which the influence of Arthur's three favourite books, amongst others, can be seen. In his 1987 book, he attempted to unite conceptually the fields of genetics, development, and evolution. In this work, he addressed issues of relevance not only to evolutionary theory, but also to the philosophy of science, using evolutionary theory as the vehicle for this. He posed the questions of what constitutes a scientific theory, and how it is distinguished from hypotheses and laws. "One of the main distinctions between these different types of 'scientific idea', is the degree of certainty attached to it. A hypothesis is the least certain and is essentially a tentative answer to a particular question, often put forward so that it can be tested expermimentally." Arthur describes the hypothesis as being at the least certain end of a spectrum of scientific certainty.
At the other end of the spectrum of certainty/uncertainty is the scientific law. These sometimes come individually but more often in sets. An example of the latter is provided by the Laws of Thermodynamics, which are of central importance in physics, and indeed in science as a whole. (The first Law of Thermodynamics is better known by its alternative title, the Law of Conservation of Energy).
To Wallace Arthur, "basically, a law is a universally accepted generalization. Usually, universal acceptance can be achieved in science only when very precise testing is both possible to conduct and positive in outcome when conducted: and precise testing is possible only when the assertion to be tested takes a quantitative form". Thus, in the certainty/uncertainty spectrum, a hypothesis remains to be tested, and a law has generally been rigorously tested. Arthur notes that the categorisation of theories is more problematic.
Where does a theory fit in? The answer is, unfortunately, that it can fit in almost anywhere, and that its meaning is much more difficult to pin down than that of a hypothesis or law. On the one hand, theory can mean hypothesis, as it does in the phrase 'it's only a theory', meaning that an idea has not been adequately tested or that it has not been tested at all. On the other hand, in the Theory of Evolution we are referring to a process - evolution - which is almost universally accepted within the present-day scientific community and thus has almost the certainty associated with a law.
Continuing on this theme, Arthur noted "two dimensions in addition to certainty/uncertainty...helpful in distinguishing between hypotheses, theories and laws":
- "Degree of 'quantitativeness':- Most useful in distinguishing laws (e.g. Mendel's) from law-like theories (such as Darwin's)".
- "Breadth:- Helps to separate hypotheses from laws and theories, because the former are usually quite specific while the latter two are usually broad".
He elaborates thus: "Darwin and Mendel were ultimately making statements broadly applicable to all species in the living world, whereas the hypothesis that for example, high-fat diets cause heart-attacks in man is of relatively narrow applicability and would not, if proved to be true, turn into a law or theory". Arthur notes that over time, if a hypothesis progresses from untested to tested, it cannot remain as a hypothesis. If refuted, "it is simply a refuted hypothesis' and disappears from the face of science". If proved true, "it turns either into a theory or a law or, if it is too specific and limited to be either, a fact. A particular diet known to cause heart conditions is a fact". He notes also that "according to the philosopher of science Karl Popper
Karl Popper
Sir Karl Raimund Popper, CH FRS FBA was an Austro-British philosopher and a professor at the London School of Economics...
, it is possible only do disprove a theory, not to prove it".
A central theme to Arthur's 1987 book is the morphogenetic tree, which he expounds in chapter ten, The Missing Theory of Development. Arthur's morphogenetic tree ssentially this is not unlike the evolution theory tree, and the resemblance "may not be merely coincidental". Arthur proposed that the "morphogenetic tree represents a general theory of pattern formation", which attempts a solution to the problem of cell formation, such as why do finger cells produce a particular pattern formation?.
Books
- Mechanisms of Morphological Evolution: 1984, Wiley
- Theories of Life: Darwin, Mendel and Beyond: 1987, New York, Hammondsworth, U.K publisher Penguin, isbn 0-14022699-0
- A Theory of the Evolution of Development: 1988, Wiley
- The Origin of Animal Body Plans: 1997, Cambridge University Press
- Biased Embryos and Evolution: 2004, Cambridge University Press
- Creatures of Accident: The Rise of the Animal Kingdom: 2006, Hill & Wang (Farrar, Straus & Giroux)
- Evolution: A Developmental Approach: 2010, Wiley-Blackwell