De plaats van de morfologie in de Nederlandse zoölogie, 1880-1940: een terreinverkenning

Abstract

The position of morphology in Dutch zoology, 1880-1940: a pilot study From the 1880's onwards, experimental methods were introduced into many areas of biological research. This change of biology from a largely descriptive to an experimental science has been described by. among others, G.E, Allen in his Life science in the twentieth century. Inspired by this study, we try to assess the situation in Dutch zoology, especially morphology, around the turn of the century. It turns out that this situation differs considerably from the Anglo-American one. The experimental disciplines, with the exception of genetics, did not obtain a firm footing in Dutch biology until well into the twentieth century. Until 1930 at least, the workers in the descriptive disciplines, especially morphology and systematics, dominated the zoological departments of the Dutch universities. Several factors which may contribute to the explanation of this phenomenon are discussed. Prominent among these are the rather one-sided education most Dutch biologists received and the fact that most Dutch university professors were preoccupied with the description of the large collections of marine animals brought ashore by the Willem Barents and the Siboga expeditions. It is further pointed out that the dominance of morphology in Dutch zoology may have been responsible for the tardy and relatively late reception of the 'evolutionary synthesis' in Holland, The morphologists took no active part in the exploration of the mechanisms of evolutionary change and their contribution to the synthesis was negligible. Furthermore. Dutch morphologists held widely varying views about tempo and mode of evolution; there were hardly any 'straight' Darwinians among them. It is suggested that doubts about gradualism and selectionism were enhanced by the holistic beliefs, held by a considerable number of Dutch biologists in the 1920's and 1930's.