Charles Darwin and psychology at the bicentennial and sesquicentennial: An introduction.

This article provides an introduction to the special issue on Darwin and psychology at the bicentennial of his birth and the sesquicentennial of his publication of On the Origin of Species. His core contributions, as viewed today, were his theory of natural selection, his naturalistic philosophy, and his mass of evidence for evolutionary change. A brief summary of Darwin's life is also presented. Among Darwin's contributions to psychology were his demonstration of the continuity of species, a model for the study of instinct, a book on the expression of the emotions, and a baby biography. Previous celebrations of Darwin and the changing perceptions of his work since its publication are described. Darwin's theory remains an important part of psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Heredity as transmission of information: Butlerian 'Intelligent Design.'

In the 1870s, Ewald Hering and Samuel Butler provided what was, for that time, a scientifically coherent foundation for the Lamarckist view that positive adaptations to the environment acquired during an individual's lifetime can be transmitted to the offspring. Observing that heredity was a form of memory (involving stored information), they distinguished what are now known as genotype and phenotype and proposed that cognitive abilities present in the the most elementary organisms might mediate a transmission of acquired adaptations. While compatible with the then-available facts of evolution, this Butlerian version of 'intelligent design' was rendered less credible by subsequent appreciations of the discrete (discontinuous) inheritance of many phenotypic characters (Mendelism) and of the separation of germ line from soma (Weismanism). However, it can now be seen that 21st-century bioinformatics has 19th-century roots.     

Re-imagining City Waterfronts: A Comparative Analysis of Governing Renewal in Adelaide,Darwin and Melbourne

Urban waterfront regeneration is one of the largest changes to the structure of Australian and many world cities over the last two decades. There is no comparative research which evaluates their governing with particular attention to the relationship and responsibility of quasi-public agencies and local government. This study advances the competitive-city paradigm from a focus on global cities to an examination of inter-city urban competition between differently located cities in the urban hierarchy by comparing waterfront renewal projects located in Adelaide, Darwin and Melbourne. Through interview, policy and document analysis, the article offers preliminary insights on current and emergent governance arrangements involved in urban waterfront renewal. In an era of increasing inter-urban competition, the study reveals hybrid forms of urban governance are driving the planning and delivery of these three waterfront renewal projects. Further, there exists a ‘knotty’ tension between these models of urban governance and the capacity for meaningful consultation and participation between governments.     

数字出版中的DITA技术

研究了达尔文信息类型架构的设计思想和总体结构,以反映在数字出版中应用达尔文信息类型架构的优势。达尔文信息类型架构中面向主题的基本原则,其映射结构及内容重用特性满足了数字出版物内容深度利用的需求,实现了"一次制作,多元发布"。其领域专门化的特性解决了数字出版中针对特定领域的出版专业化问题。达尔文信息类型架构在国内外已经出现很多典型应用,随着数字出版产业的飞速发展,达尔文信息类型架构在数字出版领域将会进一步发挥作用。     

"An historical note on Darwin and nonhuman drug self-administration": Clarification to Higgins (2003).

Reports a clarification in "An historical note on Darwin and nonhuman drug self-administration" by Stephen T. Higgins (Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, 2003[Nov], Vol 11[4], 317). It is noted that Charles R. Schuster served as the Action Editor for this article. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2003-09137-009.) This note brings to the attention of readers a quote from Charles Darwin on the scientific implications of nonhuman drug self-administration. The quote is from The descent of man; and Selection in relation to sex (2nd ed.; C. Darwin, 1874/1998). Consistent with Darwin's prescience in many areas of science, he discerned potential scientific importance in voluntary nonhuman drug self-administration almost a century before that potential was realized in any substantive or systematic manner. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An Historical Note on Darwin and Nonhuman Drug Self-Administration.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 12(1) of Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology (see record 2007-16877-001). It is noted that Charles R. Schuster served as the Action Editor for this article.] This note brings to the attention of readers a quote from Charles Darwin on the scientific implications of nonhuman drug self-administration. The quote is from The Descent of Man; and Selection in Relation to Sex (2nd ed.; C. Darwin, 1874/1998). Consistent with Darwin's prescience in many areas of science, he discerned potential scientific importance in voluntary nonhuman drug self-administration almost a century before that potential was realized in any substantive or systematic manner. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The problem with a Darwinian view of humanity.

Comments on the special issue on Charles Darwin and psychology (Dewsbury, February–March 2009) (see record 2009-01602-013), in which the authors present evidence supporting the validity of Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution and how generations of psychologists have viewed the natural world through its light, taking Darwinian theories for granted as being a literal interpretation of the origins of species and attempting to make human nature conform to the picture of evolution as Darwin conceived it. In certain terms, Darwinian evolutionary theory, as conventionally held, has played an important negative role in present world conditions. There is no possibility of spiritual survival as far as evolutionary theory is concerned, because evolutionary Darwinian man and woman are not created with souls. All psychological activity is scaled down in between life and death. Death becomes an affront to life and comes to imply a certain kind of weakness, for is it not said that only the strong survive? Unfortunately, there are just not many good alternative theories to choose from. From the point of view of a transpersonal psychologist, however, Darwin’s theory ignores too much. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Scientific cousins: The relationship between Charles Darwin and Francis Galton.

This article traces the personal as well as the intellectual and scientific relationship between Charles Darwin and his younger half-cousin Francis Galton. Although they had been on friendly terms as young men, and Darwin had in some ways been a role model for Galton, the two did not share major scientific interests until after the publication of Darwin's On the Origin of Species in 1859. That work precipitated a religious and philosophical crisis in Galton, which he gradually resolved after conceiving and developing the basic ideas of "hereditary genius" and eugenics. More mathematically inclined than Darwin, he subsequently contributed to the Darwinian evolutionary discussion, and to the future science of psychology, by proposing the basic concept of the nature-nurture dichotomy, the conceptual and statistical foundations for behavior genetics, and the idea for intelligence testing. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

More on evolution and psychology.

Comments on the critiques of Tryon (2009a, this issue) (see record 2009-18110-013) and Cunningham (2009, this issue) (see record 2009-18110-014). These critiques provide an interesting contrast: one favoring greater reductionism and one favoring less. I consider each in turn. Tryon (2009a) again has addressed the issue of mechanisms in these pages (cf. Tryon, 2009b). The concepts of function and mechanism are two of the most slippery in the biological sciences. One approach to this problem is to suggest that one person’s mechanism is another person’s function. The real issue may be the level of reductionism that is appropriate for the issue at hand. Cunningham (2009) presented many misunderstandings and misrepresentations of the current state and history of evolutionary theory. First, psychologists and biologists have not been taking Darwinian theories for granted. There is a long history of questioning and refinement of Darwin’s proposals. As I noted in my article (Dewsbury, February–March 2009, p. 68) (see record 2009-01602-013), evolutionary theory is indeed “just” a theory, but it is a dynamic one that is supported by a massive body of evidence. Theories cannot be proven in principle. the unifying theory of all of the biological sciences, has played and can continue to play an important, though surely not the only, part in developing a balanced and comprehensive understanding of humans. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Darwin Among the Machines

In the mid-19th century, Samuel Butler in his article ‘Darwin among the Machines’ provided a theory for the iterative development of machines over time. Here, London-based architect, theorist, editor and writer Jack Self casts ‘the modern city’ as ‘a multiplex superposition of network infrastructures’, defined by hierarchical systems of information and material exchange. He argues that current informational technologies have the power to conversely hyper-centralise or hyper-localise the city, thus either encouraging disengagement or nurturing engagement with the emergent social practices of the city's inhabitants.