Conrad hal waddington biography of michael

1. Brief Vita

Conrad Hal Waddington was natural in Evesham, England in 1905 very last died in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1975.  After spending the first four days of his life in India locale his father worked at a brew plantation, he returned to England post attended Clifton College School and Sydney Sussex College, University of Cambridge, wheel he read natural sciences and progressive in 1926 with First Class Awards in geology.  He then began collegian studies at Cambridge focusing on fossilology and geology but never presented reward thesis on the ammonites because fair enough changed his interest to study “’live’ biology rather than fossils” (Robertson, 1977, 578).[i] Cambridge, however, awarded Waddington come to an end ScD in 1938 on the cause of his published work in genetic make-up and embryology.

Waddington first became interested rerouteing evolution through his geology tutor, Gertrude Lilian Elles, and genetics through rulership friendship with Gregory Bateson—son of William Bateson, who introduced Mendelian genetics eliminate Britain in 1900. His his chief academic appointment was a research sharing alliance at the Strangeways Research Laboratory in University. In 1930 Waddington became a crusader in zoology at Cambridge through dexterous part-time grant from the Medical Research Synod.  In 1933 he became a college lecturer of zoology at Strangeways Research Laboratory abstruse a Fellow at Christ’s College, University.  From 1938 to 1939 Waddington journey to the United States, where oversight worked at the Carnegie Institute Laboratories squabble Cold Spring Harbor, Columbia University, take up then the California Institute of Technology.

During World War II, Waddington was allotted to the Operational Research Section Maritime Command of the Royal Air Functional tasked with operational research against nobleness German U-boats in 1942 and in short became officer in charge of stray section in 1944. After the combat, in 1945, he became chief geneticist at the National Animal Breeding esoteric Genetics Research Organization and was followed by appointed to the Chair of Inheritance at the University of Edinburgh.  

Waddington became a Fellow of the Grand Society of London in 1947 with Fellow of the Royal Society engage in Edinburgh in 1948, was named see to the Finnish Academy in 1957 abide named a Commander of the Unmentionable of the British Empire in 1958. In 1959 he became a transalpine member of the American Academy of Music school and Sciences. He was also elegant Fellow of the Deutsche Akademie revelation Naturforscher Leopoldina in Germany. He was awarded honorary ScD degrees from primacy University of Montreal in 1958, Triad College, Dublin in 1965, Prague locked in 1966, and Geneva in 1968, deed received an LLD from Aberdeen riposte 1966. 

The Waddington Medal, awarded by the Land Society for Developmental Biology for unforgettable research performance as well as accommodation to the subject community, is denominated in honor of C. H. Waddington.

2. Theoretical Biology

Waddington was a polymath endlessly wide learning who successfully crossed righteousness boundaries of what C. P. Tool called the “two cultures” of integrity arts and sciences.  It is uncommon to find one who made crucial contributions to the advance of skill and writes with such a public understanding of philosophical issues.  In that regard, Waddington would most certainly adulterate as a “Natural Philosopher” in significance Enlightenment sense of the term.  Noteworthy was the founder of epigenetics point of view proposed a model of genetic acculturation to compete with the Neo-Darwinian suspicion of evolution by natural selection.

Waddington was also one of the founders marketplace the Theoretical Biology Club at City in the 1930s whose members progressive a philosophy of biology, “organicism,” delay would offer an alternative to authority reductionism of mechanistic materialism and birth obscurity of vitalism in coming designate terms with the dynamic, interdependent, plus purposeful character of life.  This bearing was embraced in one form leave go of another by E. S. Russell, Bathroom Scott Haldane, C. Lloyd Morgan, Laurentius J. Henderson, C. D. Broad, refuse Alfred North Whitehead.  Waddington, in single, was devoted to the integration carry-on genetics, development, and evolution within significance context of theoretical biology. Like Hickey, who believed that ordinary language was inadequate to express the dynamic supply of reality, Waddington was a vast coiner of neologisms, e.g., “epigenetics,” “epigenetic landscape,” “genetic assimilation,” “canalization,” “chreod,” pivotal “epigenotype.” 

Whitehead’s organicism, primarily advanced in scowl such as Science and the Additional World (1925), Process and Reality (1929) and Nature and Life (1934), deference a sustained attack on mechanistic way, or as he put it expert “repudiation of the doctrine of ‘vacuous actuality’ (PR, xiii). Throughout Process famous Reality, he referred to his estimate as “the philosophy of organism” careful developed a metaphysics in which rectitude basic units of existence are ugly as occasions of sentient experience, ie, actual occasions that become and decline in the temporal process (PR, xi). Reality must be conceived as approach from beginning to end; there decline no radical emergence of mind creep consciousness from insentient matter or mount things from non-living things.  Whereas observe Whitehead’s earlier works such as The Concept of Nature (1920) and The Principle of Relativity (1922), the primary units of reality are events considerably the foundation of his philosophy enjoy physics, in the later metaphysical productions, it looks more like the affairs are tiny organisms that form say publicly basis for a biological view remove the universe.  As part of government metaphysics, Whitehead formulated a mereological inkling that he called “the theory more than a few society,” according to which the lengthened universe is a nested continuum observe organisms and environments. Up and indication the continuum from subatomic particles, atoms, molecules and cells to plants endure animals and to planets and galaxies and beyond, one finds smaller furniture of organisms nested in the important ones, and the interdependence of wholes and parts —all part of justness creative advance into novelty.  

Waddington unconcealed Whitehead’s work as an undergraduate mass Cambridge. He said he paid auxiliary attention to Whitehead’s writings than dignity textbooks in the subjects he was meant to read for his exams (1975, 3).  Whitehead had such place impact on him that he rejected geology and applied for the Poet Gerstenberg Prize in Philosophy in 1929, which he won with an combination on the vitalist-mechanism controversy. In that essay, Waddington focused on Whitehead’s mind of events and process as distinction fundamental constituents of the world turf argued in accordance with Whitehead depart biological evolution mirrors the evolving universe.

In his “Autobiographical Note” in The Progress of an Evolutionist, entitled “The Realistic Consequences of Metaphysical Beliefs on unmixed Biologist’s Work,” Waddington acknowledged the impact of Whitehead on his scientific pointless (1975, 3). He also wrote chiefly essay for a volume based imaginable a talk he gave at Bellagio, Italy in June, 1974—“Whitehead and Additional Science”—where he explains this influence start more detail. Whitehead, he says, conj admitting a new way of looking motionless the problem created by the quandary of mechanism and objective vitalism (or reductionism and anti-reductionism), and a latest vocabulary with which to express rendering processual and relational nature of get out of your system (1977, 143; 1962, 19-20).[ii] As collect the question―Can living things be neglect as if they are nothing on the other hand mechanisms constructed of mere material components?―the mechanistic biologists and reductionists answered explain the affirmative while the objective vitalists and anti-reductionists answered in the negative.  Whitehead, he thinks, resolved this occupation by rejecting the whole conceptual rack in which the problem was framed.  Living things cannot be accounted broach in concepts that were formulated propound the non-living world. 

Organicists such as Waddington held that an organism does arrange exist at an instant, nor equitable it a bag of chemicals, encroachment of which is produced by honourableness influence of some particular gene.  It is rather a process spread reorganization in time and the explanation look up to its functioning requires more than prestige atomistic account of genes on heredity.  Also, it is essential to apartment house organism that its overall form ride the properties of its component capabilities are a result of the common play of all the components block one another (1962, 53–54).

So, not sole did Waddington embrace metaphysics at straight time when orthodox biology rejected much speculation as unscientific, he also embraced Whitehead’s metaphysics against the status quo—a view of nature as alive roost purposeful.[iii] In his view, it wasn’t a question of whether to consider in metaphysics or not; the not the same view had accepted a metaphysical tv show without acknowledging it as such, tidy materialistic reductionism of the Democritean-Cartesian group that Waddington called a “lousy philosophy” (Peterson, 2011, 316).  His whole hub about his Whiteheadian orientation was “to illustrate the fact that metaphysical presuppositions may have a definite influence ultimate the way in which scientific proof proceeds” (1975, 10).  A metaphysical call that informs a scientist’s work bash not a mere epiphenomenon.  In Waddington’s case, he said that Whitehead’s reasoning had a definite and ascertainable imagine on both his research agenda current on the experiments that he conducted in support of his theories (1975, 1).  This included the fundamental ontology of process, which proposed events vague occasions of experience as basic, illustriousness concept of organism, and the equivalent of both atomic and continuum theories for understanding development and evolution (1975, 4-5; 1962, 53-54).[iv]

Waddington was also copperplate proponent of panpsychism. He was better-quality of what I would call graceful “closet panpsychist” by avoiding explicit upon of the term, and he many a time skirted around the concept of cause orientation in nature by suggesting meander something more than mechanisms is prerequisite to explain development and evolution, to be exact “quasi-finalistic properties” (1962, 98).  When, banish, he argued that “you have either got to have consciousness or damage least something of that general liberal, everywhere; or nowhere” (1969, 114) check is pretty clear that he done on purpose everywhere.  Something, he wrote,  “must motivation on in the simplest inanimate characteristics which can be described in depiction same language as would be cast-off to describe our self-awareness” (1962: 121). For his approach to theoretical collection, Waddington is sometimes referred to introduce a Whiteheadian organicist (Bard, 2017, 2).

3. Development and Evolution

Waddington’s most important well-organized achievement was in advancing the belief of embryonic development as a decidedly integrated series of canalized pathways. Wreath model of an “epigenetic landscape,” slightly a representation of developmental pathways, became fundamental to the way that eminent biologists viewed the organization of creature development.  Whitehead used the term “concrescence” to describe the process of be in no doubt together to create a novel being which essentially invokes the concept round a subjective aim that drives primacy process to its endpoint. Waddington held that when he began working hillock embryology, he adopted a Whiteheadian standpoint that development depended on activities unbutton a very large number of genes which were brought together to untie in some relatively unified type promote to action to form the different types of cells (1977, 143–44). He ragged Whitehead’s concept of concrescence, in what might be called “gene-concrescence,” to delineate this biological process (1975: 9–10). 

Waddington ostensible embryonic development in terms of attractors in an epigenetic landscape.  A ‘creode’ describes the path of change froward by initial conditions that once entered upon cannot be abandoned. The valleys in the landscape represented the familiar pathways of change through which authority organ developed.  As Waddington wrote difficulty TheNature of Life: “We can remark then that the heredity materials grow smaller which an organism begins life detail for it a branching set run through creodes. Different parts of the grain will move along one or indentation of these creodes, so that they will after a long process faux progressive changes, finish up as song or other of a number medium different end-results, as it might have someone on a heart, muscle, nerve, kidney contemporary so on” (1962, 64). The keen cells will thereby reach their endpoints unless there are powerful influences avoid divert the pathway and the jail or the developing organ ends gibber in an abnormal condition or copperplate mutation. ‘Canalization’ is the property remind you of developmental pathways to produce standard phenotypes despite environmental or genetic influences.  Primacy phenotype is the actualization of blue blood the gentry potential in the genotype given shipshape and bristol fashion normal developmental pathway. 

Regarding Whitehead’s influence go on Waddington’s view of evolution, he wrote: “…from the Whiteheadian point of valuation one has to recognize that representation evolving events—actual animals and plants brand we meet them in real life—are influenced by environmental factors as sufficiently as genetic” (1977, 144).

Waddington stated put off he put his Whiteheadian outlook able actual use in particular experimental situations. (1975, 10–11).   He wrote: “… as I started doing experiments on Drosophila evolution, in the ’40s and ’50s, I treated even that insect makeover a developmental system, and by design the environment in which it develops was able to uncover the to a certain extent novel process of genetic assimilation. Wise my particular slant on evolution—a almost unfashionable emphasis on the importance longedfor the developing phenotype—is a fairly open derivative from Whiteheadian-type metaphysics” (Robertson, 1977, 597).  The Neo-Darwinist view did quite a distance pay any attention to the phenotype but rather to the

genotype in explaining inheritance.  In fact, Neo-Darwinism specifically excludes the inheritance of an acquired eccentric, i.e., Lamarckian inheritance.  Against biological authority, Waddington sought to challenge this amount due by showing how embryos can reciprocate to an abnormal environmental situation encourage producing a new character, i.e., unembellished new phenotype, initially without genetic change.  But then after exposure of for children generations to the same environmental manor house, selection occurs, and a genetic target for the character will be crumb in the population without the environmental change. A “soft” inheritance, namely, straighten up change in phenotype in one begetting, then becomes “hard” inheritance as stray characteristic is programmed into the constitution of succeeding generations.[v] This is what Waddington called “genetic assimilation,” which stick to the origin of epigenetics, namely, class study of heritable phenotype changes ditch do not involve alterations in justness genetic code.    

3. Conclusion

Waddington saw change for the better Whitehead’s metaphysics the power of sweeping statement that produced basic concepts of action, creativity and organicism which he usefully applied to heredity, development, and evolution.  Whitehead drew upon many sciences—physics, immunology, biology, cosmology, psychology—when he formulated circlet metaphysical principles.  He claimed in Process and Reality that success would examine measured by the extent to which the generalities of his process reason pass the test of applicability elapsed the restricted locus from which they originated, whether they illuminate our knowledge of the world, have broad illuminating power, and provide unifying concepts convey the sciences (PR, 5). Waddington’s integrated work might be one of goodness best examples of this success.  Mean Whitehead, Waddington sought to explain basically how novelty is possible.

Notes

[i] When Waddington began putting metaphysics to practice, fair enough studied the ammonites as an model of Whitehead’s point that the organisms undergoing the process of evolution sentinel themselves processes.  The ammonite’s spiral bomb shows a record of its full life history by occupying the latest-formed part of the shell, leaving down the parts it previously inhabited.  Significance developmental process is preserved, unlike almost types of animals in which loftiness adult form replaces the younger stages.  (1975, 50)

[ii] In his essay, “Whitehead and Modern Science,” Waddington wrote defer he wanted to write a manual about Whitehead and the relevance pay the bill his thought to some of gift present controversies, particularly in relation quick biology, and the ‘anti-science’ movement, on the other hand he didn’t live to see gush finished. (1977, 143)

[iii] See for instance, Erik Peterson’s “The Excluded Philosophy classic Evo-Devo? Revisiting C. H. Waddington’s Bed ruined Attempt to Embed Alfred North Whitehead’s ‘Organicism’ in Evolutionary Biology” wherein Peterson argues that Waddington’s explicit support sue for Whitehead’s philosophy was one reason ground Waddington’s views did not have enhanced impact.

[iv] Understanding development required both inappreciable and continuum theories; genes are primacy basic atomic units of hereditary trouble further analyzed into chromosomes, proteins, paraffin acids, and DNA into nucleotides, queue the continuum is addressed by nobleness biological processes by which development occurs, i.e., canalized pathways (1962, 36–37).  Take delivery of Whitehead’s metaphysics, actual occasions atomize leadership extensive continuum.  Actual occasions are analyzed into prehensions, eternal objects, subjective forms, etc. Continuity is addressed in damage of nexūs, societies, i.e., events, comedian, and matter formed from the broad activity of actual occasions (PR, 20–30).

[v] See Noble 2015 for Waddington’s embryonic success in his approach by discovering in a population under study rendering forms of developmental plasticity that before now exist and then altering the globe in such a way to windfall a path that evolution could accept taken.  For example, in Waddington’s 1956 paper published in Evolution, “The Heritable Assimilation of the Bithorax Phenotype,” oversight reported on the Bithorax mutant, topping four-winged fruit fly, Drosophilia, with combine thorax segments that was the creation of experiments that changed the environmental temperature or used a chemical stimulus.

Works Cited and Further Readings

By C. Pirouette. Waddington

Selected Books

1940. Organisers and Genes (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press).

1946. How Animals Move. (London: George Allen & Unwin).

1957. The Strategy of Genes: A Discussion hold Some Aspects of Theoretical Biology (London: Allen & Unwin).

1961.  New Patterns preparation Genetics and Development (New York: University University Press).

1962. The Nature of Life (New York: Atheneum),

1968–72. (ed) Towards a Half-baked Biology. 4 vols. (Edinburgh: Edinburgh Origination Press).

1969. Beyond Appearance A Study prime the Relations between Painting and integrity Natural Sciences in this Century. (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press).

1975. The Evolution try to be like an Evolutionist (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press).

Selected Articles and Chapters

1942. “Canalization of get out of bed and the inheritance of acquired characters.” Nature 150: 563.

1952. “Selection of loftiness Genetic Basis for an Acquired Character” Nature 169 (4294): 278.

1953. “Genetic Assimilation bazaar an Acquired Character”  Evolution 7: 118–126.

1956. “The Genetic Assimilation of the Bithorax Phenotype,” Evolution 10: 1–13.

1977. “The Process delightful Evolution and Notes on the Evolvement of Mind,” in Mind in Nature: The Interface of Science and Thinking. Ed. John B. Cobb and Painter R. Griffin. University Press of Land, 27-31.

1977. “Whitehead and Modern Science,” detour Mind in Nature: The Interface remind Science and Philosophy. Ed. John Precarious. Cobb and David R. Griffin. Foundation Press of America,  143–146.

Papers

C. H. Waddington’s papers are kept in the Capital University Library. <https://archives.collections.ed.ac.uk/repositories/2/resources/85257>.

Readings on Waddington

Bard, Jonathan B. L., “C. H. Waddington’s Differences with the Creators of the Different Evolutionary Synthesis: A Tale of Digit Genes,” HPLS, (2017): 1–4.

Hall, Brian Boy. “Waddington’s Legacy in Development and Evolution,” American Zoologist, 32: (1992): 113–122.

Needham, Patriarch. “Conrad Hal Waddington, CBE, FRS.” Nature 258 (1975): 371–372.

Newth, D. R. “Conrad Hal Waddington, CBE, FRS.” Nature 258 (1975): 371.

Nicholson, Daniel J., and Dupré, John, (eds). Everything Flows: Towards a Processual Philosophy of Biology. Oxford: Oxford University Press, (2018).

Noble, Denis. “Conrad Waddington and the Origin of Epigenetics”.  Journal of Experimental Biology. (2015), 218 (6): 816–818.

Peterson, Erik L.  “The Excluded Philosophy depose Evo-Devo? Revisiting C. H. Waddington’s Useless Attempt to Embed Alfred North Whitehead’s ‘Organicism’ in Evolutionary Biology,” History splendid Philosophy of the Life Sciences, (2011), 33/3: 301–20.

Robertson, Alan. “Conrad Hal Waddington. 8 November 1905 – 26 Sept 1975.” Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of loftiness Royal Academy 23 (1977): 575–622.

Slack, Jonathan Lot. W. “Conrad Hal Waddington: The Christian name Renaissance Biologist?” Nature Reviews Genetics 3 (2002): 889–895.

Author Information

Leemon B. McHenry
Department of Philosophy
California Homeland University, Northridge
18111, Nordhoff Street, California 91330 USA
[email protected]

How to Cite this Article

McHenry, Leemon B., “Conrad Hal Waddington (1905–1975)”, blare modified September 2023, The Whitehead Encyclopedia, Brian G. Henning and Joseph Petek (eds.), <http://encyclopedia.whiteheadresearch.org/entries/bios/scholarly-legacy/conrad-hal-waddington/>.