A Collège de France - CNEDcoproduction
Abstract
" The study of development occupies a central place in biology. For centuries, observers of nature have been fascinated by the forces that guide the development of an egg into a multicellular organism with its own unique shape, and specific biological and behavioral characteristics. The pre-Socratic philosophers, like Aristotle, worked hard to understand how animals were created. The first formal descriptions of development are attributed to Aristotle, whose ideas were to prevail until the 17th century. Biological thought has never been far removed from philosophical movements or religion - how could it ? - as shown by the age-old debates between physicalism and vitalism, the influence of Cartesianism on the laws of biology, or that of German Romanticism... "
Spyros Artavanis-Tsakonas
