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C.D. Darlington and the British and American Reaction to Lysenko and the Soviet Conception of Science

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Abstract

The Anglo-American reaction to the Lysenkoaffair has been treated primarily either fromthe point of view of the political Right orLeft, or as a consequence of post-WWIIinternational relations. None of the accountshave considered the central role of the Britishcytogeneticist and evolutionist C.D.Darlington. This article considers Darlington'srole, and illustrates how, through an analysisof his divergent reaction, it becomes possibleto see the response to Lysenko as a reflectionof internal scientific and political debatesconcerning the planning, funding, utility, andfreedom of science in post-war Britain.

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Harman, O.S. C.D. Darlington and the British and American Reaction to Lysenko and the Soviet Conception of Science. Journal of the History of Biology 36, 309–352 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1024483131660

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