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August Weismann Embraces the Protozoa

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Abstract

This paper examines the contents and institutional context of August Weismann’s long essay on Amphimixis (1891). Therein he presented detailed discussions of his on-going studies of reduction division and parthenogenesis, but more to the point, he included an elaborate examination of Émile Maupas’s two major publications in protozoology. To understand the relevance of this part to the other two, the author briefly reviews highpoints in earlier nineteenth century protozoology and concludes that only in the mid-1870s and 1880s did protozoa add an important dimension to heredity theory. Otto Bütschli and then Maupas provided Weismann with a deeper understanding of how conjugation and fertilization were related but not identical processes. This allowed him to integrate the two into a fuller understanding of evolution by natural selection.

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Acknowledgments

I am grateful for the suggestions and support of two anonymous and eagle-eyed reviewers, who carefully combed through my manuscript with the precision of seasoned editors. I also benefitted from the comments of two audiences who added insights to my verbal presentations of this material. The editor of the JHB has given me permission to dedicate this paper to Ronald Rainger, whose scholarship, enthusiasm and good-will have so enormously contributed to the history of science.

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  1. History and Philosophy of Science, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, 47405, USA

    Frederick B. Churchill

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Correspondence to Frederick B. Churchill.

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Churchill, F.B. August Weismann Embraces the Protozoa. J Hist Biol 43, 767–800 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10739-010-9230-z

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