魅惑的な言説としての「生物発生原則」

概要

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We frequently come across the expression "ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny", which originated from "the biogenetic law" 1866 (=the principle of recapitulation). This doctrine, attempting to connect the developmental process of embryos with the historical progression of species based on the idea of Darwinism, was propounded and propagated by a famous zoologist from Germany, Ernst Haeckel (1834-1919). Bringing on vigorous polemics among scientists, it finally collapsed as Mendelian genetics repudiated its generality. Nevertheless, this idea has powerfully influenced and is still influencing many different general spheres, because it is an important method which promised to reveal the animal ancestry of man and the line of his descent. Therefore, it could also be a beguiling method in order to reveal the secret of the origin of our mental faculty. This paper aims at taking a general view of "the biogenetic law" itself, with its influences in fields far removed from biology, not only in Europe about the turn of the century, but also in Japan in the middle of this century. This Japanese case will be shown through the analysis of the literary text of Yumeno Kyusaku's novel.
東海大学の論文
2000-03-10