Biologic Constructs
Author(s): Mario Bunge and Ralph W. Lewis
Source: The American Biology Teacher, Vol. 33, No. 6 (Sep., 1971), pp. 363-364
Published by: University of California Press on behalf of the National Association of Biology
Teachers
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that gaps in the fossil record are systematic between MARTIN, C. P. 1953. A non-geneticist looks at evolution.
the higher taxa. There is not a shred of evidence for American Scientist 41: 100-106.
MAYR, E. 1967. Evolutionary challenges to the mathematical
Goldschmidt's mechanism, and, in a reference to the interpretation of evolution. In Mathematical challenges to
incredible difference in evolutionary rates postulated the neo-Darwinian interpretation of evolution, ed. by
by neo-Darwinists, G. L. Stebbins (1959) has stated: P. S. Moorhead and M. M. Kaplan. Wistar Institute Press,
"One of the major problems on which systematists, Philadelphia. P. 47-58.
MOORHEAD,P. S., and M. M. KAPLAN. 1967. [See reference just
paleontologists, ecologists and geneticists must co- above.]
operate in the future is a search for the genetic and KERKUT, G. A. 1960. The implications of evolution. Pergamon
environmental factors responsible for these great Press, New York. P. 157.
differences." Explosive evolutionary rates have been STEBBINS, G. L. 1959. The synthetic approach to problems of
organic evolution. Cold Spring Harbor symposia on quan-
proposed without any basis in fact, other than the titative biology 24: 305-311.
absence of transitional forms demanded by the THOMPSON, W. R. 1956. A critique of evolution. Introduction
theory. Goldschmidt looked at the gaps and said to Origin of Species, by Darwin. E. P. Dutton & Co., New
"systemic mutations"; the neo-Darwinists say "ex- York.
plosive evolution"; and the creationists point out Duane T. Gish
that the systematic absence of transitional forms is Hypersensitive Disease Research
exactly what is predicted on the basis of creation. Upjohn Co.
Which position one prefers is a matter of faith. Kalamazoo, Mich 49001
Mayr ends his letter with an appeal to authority
by stating that evolution "is accepted by every well- The following comment by William V. Mayer, of the University
of Colorado, applies to letters by Rwth V. Holt and Mike Turnage
informed biologist." It is the tiresome repetition of in the May 1971 issue. We greatly regret its accidental omission
such statements that helps to perpetuate this myth. at the appropriate place (ABT 33 [51: 303).-Editor
It is true that while the well-informed biologists
who reject the general theory of evolution con- William V. Mayer comments:
sititute a minority, they are certainly not nonex- I am greatly indebted to Holt and Turnage for
istent. I would like to acquaint Mayr and readers providing the examples of fundamentalist thinking
of ABT with a biologist who rejects evolutionary and writing characterized in my letter. I see no
theory and whose credentials are beyond dispute as necessity for further response by me, as both writers
a well-informed biologist. He is W. R. Thompson, have validated the points made in my initial pres-
F.R.S., F.R.S.C., F.E.S.A. In his "Critique of Evolution"
entation.
(1956) Thompson wrote: Biologic Constructs
Therefore, if we found in the geological strata a I cannot but applaud R. W. Lewis's campaign for
series of fossils showing a gradual transition from a more intensive cultivation of theoretical biology
simple to complex forms, and could be sure that they
correspond to a true time-sequence, then we should and of the methodology of biology. Without either,
be inclined to feel that Darwinian evolution has oc- one may have natural history but not modern bi-
curred, even though its mechanism remain un- ology. In particular I endorse most of Lewis's views
known. That is certainly what Darwin would have in his recent paper ("The Kinds of Constructs in
liked to report but of course he was unable to do so.
What the available data indicated was a remarkable Biologic Knowledge," American Biology Teacher 33
absence of the many intermediate forms required by [4]: 205-207). But I must take issue with two minor
the theory; the absence of the primitive types that points he makes in this article.
should have existed in the strata regarded as the 1. The term "construct," employed by Lewis, is
most ancient; and the sudden appearance of the
principle taxanomic groups. usually taken to designate not only statements or
propositions but also the constituents of the latter;
Later on in this same critique Thompson stated: that is, concepts. Thus "organism," "population,"
On the other hand, it does appear to me, in the
and "selection" are typical biologic concepts. One
first place, that Darwin in the Origin was not able may say they belong to the genus construct, species
to produce paleontological evidence sufficient to prove concept. The importance of this distinction will be-
his views but that the evidence he did produce was come apparent in relation to my second point, which,
adverse to them; and I may note that the position is unlike the first, is conceptual, not just terminological.
not notably different today. The modern Darwinian
paleontologists are obliged, just like their predeces- 2. Ernst Mayr, quoted with approval by Lewis, is
sors and like Darwin, to water down the facts with mistaken in asserting that a classification is a sci-
subsidiary hypotheses which, however plausible, are entific theory. Classing consists in grouping in-
in the nature of things unverifiable.
dividuals into species and species into higher-order
References taxa: it is relating concepts without building hypo-
BERNHARD, R. 1967. Heresy in the halls of biology: mathe- theticodeductive systems. Surely lots of theories,
maticians question Darwinism. Scientific Research 2(11): such as the theory of evolution, may go into taxon-
59-66. omy: in this case one may speak of theoretical
GRENE, M. 1969. Notes on Maynard Smith's "Status of neo-
Darwinism." In Towards a theoretical biology, 2: sketches,
systematics as opposed to pre-theoretical system-
ed. by C. H. Waddington. Edinburgh University Press. P. atics. But in either case the outcome is a system of
97-98. concepts that fails to constitute a theory because
LETTERSTO THE EDITOR 363
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it is not possible to select from it a subset of state- DO TEACHERS FAVOR GIRLS?
ments that will entail all the remaining statements In a study of the relationship between grades and
by sheer force of logic. For a detailed treatment of standardized tests, the Fairfax County, Va., public
this problem in the light of contemporary logic and schools found that boys generally score higher on
methodology I may refer to ch. 2 and 3, vol. I, of my scholastic-aptitude tests but receive lower grades
treatise Scientific Research (1967: Springer-Verlag, than girls.
New York). The data in the Fairfax report represent a random
Mario Bunge, professor of philosophy sample of students from the spring 1970 senior class:
Foundations and Philosophy of Science Unit 25 boys and 25 girls selected from each high school,
McGill University for a total of 950 in the sample. Each school provided
Montreal 110, P.Q., Canada transcripts for the 50 students selected. The study
used final course-grades from the junior year, and
Ralph W. Lewis comments: the test data included College Board (SAT) and
I am pleased to have Professor Bunge's comments School and College Ability Test (SCAT) scores.
on my paper, because he brings to the subject a vast "Girls tend to get higher grades than boys," the
range of knowledge and thought from the philosophy study revealed. "It is generally true in all the sub-
of science. I bow to his usage of "constructs," but I ject areas that boys tend to score higher on scholastic
will stall awhile with his views of classification. Per- aptitude tests, yet tend to get fewer As and Bs and
haps other biologists may wish to argue the point at more Ds and Fs." The grade distribution between
this time. the sexes was most marked in foreign languages.
Professor Bunge's books are of much interest to Fairfax school officials said the report tended to
biologists because he, unlike most authors of books confirm what the schools were already worried
on the philosophy of science, uses a wealth of ex- about, and that efforts were under way to redesign
amples from biology. In addition, his books are writ- the curriculum to make it more interesting to boys.
ten in a lively, readable style. Acting school superintendent S. Barry Morris
speculated that the curriculum may be "loaded in
favor of the girls," who seem to do better in the
kinds of things schools tend to emphasize-like do-
ing their homework, maybe . . .
Report on Education Research
TEACHER EVALUATION STUDIES NEEDED
Educators are taking heed of the fact that they
may be held accountable for "the real objective of
teaching, which is learning," reports the Clearing- PEOPLE AND PLACES
house on Teacher Education of the Educational
How do people react to their physical surround-
Resources Information Center (ERIC). The Clear-
ings? Do they work better in a room painted bright
inghouse has been swamped with requests for infor-
red, royal blue, or battleship grey? What are people's
mation about teacher evaluation, and ERIC has
responses to such design factors as dimensions, light-
noted "an increasing reluctance to rely on subjective ing, partitioning, materials, views, furniture, acous-
assessment and unwillingness to perpetuate the un- tical barriers, room sizes, and room access?
proven." To help architects understand the human con-
Although much has been written to support the siderations involved in design and to plan better
need for evaluation, relatively little is currently facilities for public use, the National Science Founda-
available concerning hard facts about innovative tion has funded the development of a graduate cur-
techniques and approaches toward evaluating teach- riculum in methods of learning how people respond
ers' performance. For example, what criteria shall to design factors.
be used? What specific behavior shall be examined? The grant, awarded to the department of architec-
What minimum standards shall be applied? How ture of the University of California, Berkeley, for a
may such techniques be built into teacher programs? period of 20 months, totals $66,380 and funds the de-
These are but a few of the many important questions velopment of a graduate course on methods of con-
raised by the prospect of accountability. ducting research in behavioral responses to architec-
In order to serve the educational community by tural factors.
disseminating information about teacher evaluation,
the Clearinghouse on Teacher Education needs up-
to-date information on any aspect of performance
accountability and evaluation. Persons with experi-
ences, methods, or recommendations should forward The Pygmy Owl
two copies to the Clearinghouse on Teacher Educa- The pygmy owl, found in most mountain ranges
tion, One Dupont Circle, Suite 616, Washington, in the western United States and Canada, is scarcely
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Report on Education Research bigger than itself.
364 THE AMERICANBIOLOGYTEACHER,SEPTEMBER1971
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