MAYR,ERNST - BIOLOGIST-HISTORIAN

Ernst Mayr's historical writings began in 1935 with his essay ''Bernar d Altum and the territory theory'' and have continued up through his m onumental Growth of Biological Thought (1982) and his One Long argumen t: Charles Darwin and the Genesis of Modern Evolutionary Thought (1991 ). Sweeping in their scope, forceful in their interpretation, enlisted on behalf of the clarification of modem concepts and of a broad view of biology, these writings provide both insights and challenges for th e historian of biology. Mayr's general intellectual formation was guid ed by the German Bildung ideal, with its emphasis on synthetic and com prehensive knowledge. His understanding of how to write history was in spired further by the example of the historian of ideas Arthur Lovejoy . Some strengths and limitations of this approach are explored here th rough attention to Mayr's treatment of the French biologist J.-B. Lama rck. It is contended that Mayr's contributions to the history of biolo gy are not restricted to his own very substantial historical writings but also include his encouragement of other scholars, his development of an invaluable archive of scientific correspondence, and his insiste nce that historians who write about evolution and related subjects acq uire an adequate understanding of the principles of Darwinian biology.