The Philosopher
Ernst Mayr
The face
The background
- Nationality:
- German-American
- Period:
- 20th century
The synopsis
Ernst Walter Mayr (1904–2005) was a highly influential German-American evolutionary biologist, taxonomist, tropical explorer, ornithologist, philosopher of biology, and historian of science. He played a pivotal role in the development of the modern evolutionary synthesis, bridging Mendelian genetics with Darwinian evolution. Mayr is best known for his formulation of the biological species concept, defining a species as a group of individuals that can interbreed only among themselves. He posited that geographic isolation, combined with genetic drift and natural selection, could lead to the formation of new species, a theory known as peripatric speciation. His theoretical work influenced later evolutionary concepts like punctuated equilibrium. Mayr also made significant contributions to systematics and the philosophy of biology, distinguishing it from physics due to its incorporation of natural history. Throughout his career, he held positions at institutions such as the American Museum of Natural History and Harvard University, mentoring numerous young scientists and authoring numerous influential books and papers.
The works
Systematics and the Origin of Species
Animal Species and Evolution
The Growth of Biological Thought
Toward a New Philosophy of Biology
One Long Argument
This Is Biology
What Evolution Is
What Makes Biology Unique?
The quotes
As a consequence, geneticists described evolution simply as a change in gene frequencies in populations, totally ignoring the fact that evolution consists of the two simultaneous but quite separate phenomena of adaptation and diversification.
The major novelty of my theory was its claim that the most rapid evolutionary change does not occur in widespread, populous species, as claimed by Most geneticists, but in small founder populations.
All I claimed was that when a drastic change occurs, it occurs in a relatively small and isolated population.
I had found again and again that the most aberrant population of a species - often having reached species rank, and occasionally classified even as a separate genus - occurred at a peripheral location, indeed usually at the most isolated peripheral location.
Most of them are doomed to rapid extinction, but a few may make evolutionary inventions, such as physiological, ecological, or behavioral innovations that give these species improved competitive potential.
In those early years in New York when I was a stranger in a big city, it was the companionship and later friendship which I was offered in the Linnean Society that was the most important thing in my life.
Indeed, I was unable to find any evidence whatsoever of the occurrence of a drastic evolutionary acceleration and genetic reconstruction in widespread, populous species.
According to the concept of transformational evolution, first clearly articulated by Lamarck, evolution consists of the gradual transformation of organisms from one condition of existence to another.
Living in an entirely different physical as well as biotic environment, such a population would have unique opportunities to enter new niches and to select novel adaptive pathways.
New gene pools are generated in every generation, and evolution takes place because the successful individuals produced by these gene pools give rise to the next generation.