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Systematics and the Origin of Species from the Viewpoint of a Botanist: Edgar Anderson Prepares the 1941 Jesup Lectures with Ernst Mayr

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Abstract

The correspondence between Edgar Anderson and Ernst Mayr leading into their 1941 Jesup Lectures on “Systematics and the Origin of Species” addressed population thinking, the nature of species, the relationship of microevolution to macroevolution, and the evolutionary dynamics of plants and animals, all central issues in what came to be known as the Evolutionary Synthesis. On some points, they found ready agreement; for others they forged only a short term consensus. They brought two different working styles to this project reflecting their different appreciations of what was possible at this point in evolutionary studies. For Mayr, it was a focused project with definitive short term conclusions imminent while Anderson viewed it as an episode in an ongoing historical process that, while exciting and suggestive, remained openended. Thus, Mayr and Anderson represent two distinct perspectives on the Evolutionary Synthesis in formation; by understanding both of their points of view, we can grasp more fully the state of evolutionary theory at this key moment.

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Archives Consulted

  • Edgar Anderson Papers, Missouri Botanical Garden Archives.

  • W.H. Camp Papers, New York Botanical Garden Archives.

  • Ernst Mayr Papers HUGFP 14.7, Box 2, Folder 71, Harvard University Archives, Pusey Library.

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Acknowledgments

I am grateful to many people for their help on this particular paper and my broader Anderson project in general. Gar Allen and Betty Smocovitis have provided essential counsel and support as well as key editorial advice for years. I have also relied on the keen eyes and suggestions of Donna Church, Jane Cocalis, Holly Hubenschmidt, and Sam Kleinman, though, of course, I am responsible for the clunkers that remain. Peter Mickulas, Nuala Caomhanach and the JHB’s reviewers provided helpful suggestions as well. I presented parts of this paper at Washington University’s History and Philosophy of Science Brown Bag Seminar series on November 11, 2009, and at the 2010 History of Science Society meetings. Archivists Andrea Goldstein from Harvard University and Andy Colligan from the Missouri Botanical Garden provided essential help.

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    Kim Kleinman

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Kleinman, K. Systematics and the Origin of Species from the Viewpoint of a Botanist: Edgar Anderson Prepares the 1941 Jesup Lectures with Ernst Mayr. J Hist Biol 46, 73–101 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10739-012-9325-9

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