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Biology Under the Influence: Dialectical Essays on Ecology, agriculture, and health
How do we understand the world? While some look to the heavens for intelligent design, others argue that it is determined by information encoded in DNA. Science serves as an important activity for uncovering the processes and operations of nature, but it is also immersed in a social context where ideology influences the questions we ask and how we approach the material world. Biology Under the Dialectical Essays on the Coevolution of Nature and Society breaks from the confirms of determinism, offering a dialectical analysis for comprehending a dynamic social and natural world.
In Biology Under the Influence , Richard Lewontin and Richard Levins provide a devastating critique of genetic determinism and reductionism within science while exploring a broad range of issues including the nature of science, biology, evolution, the environment, pubic health, and dialectics, They dismantle the ideology that attempts to naturalize social inequalities, unveil the alienation of science and nature, and illustrate how a dialectical position serves as a basis for grappling with historical developments and a world characterized by change. Biology Under the Influence brings together the illuminating essays of two prominent scientists who work to demystify and empower the public's understanding of science and nature.
In Biology Under the Influence , Richard Lewontin and Richard Levins provide a devastating critique of genetic determinism and reductionism within science while exploring a broad range of issues including the nature of science, biology, evolution, the environment, pubic health, and dialectics, They dismantle the ideology that attempts to naturalize social inequalities, unveil the alienation of science and nature, and illustrate how a dialectical position serves as a basis for grappling with historical developments and a world characterized by change. Biology Under the Influence brings together the illuminating essays of two prominent scientists who work to demystify and empower the public's understanding of science and nature.
304 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2007
About the author
Richard C. Lewontin
39 books101 followersRichard Charles "Dick" Lewontin is an American evolutionary biologist, mathematician, geneticist, and social commentator.
A leader in developing the mathematical basis of population genetics and evolutionary theory, he pioneered the application of techniques from molecular biology, such as gel electrophoresis, to questions of genetic variation and evolution.
In a pair of seminal 1966 papers co-authored with J. L. Hubby in the journal Genetics, Lewontin helped set the stage for the modern field of molecular evolution. In 1979 he and Stephen Jay Gould introduced the term "spandrel" into evolutionary theory. From 1973 to 1998, he held an endowed chair in zoology and biology at Harvard University, and from 2003 until his death in 2021 had been a research professor there.
A leader in developing the mathematical basis of population genetics and evolutionary theory, he pioneered the application of techniques from molecular biology, such as gel electrophoresis, to questions of genetic variation and evolution.
In a pair of seminal 1966 papers co-authored with J. L. Hubby in the journal Genetics, Lewontin helped set the stage for the modern field of molecular evolution. In 1979 he and Stephen Jay Gould introduced the term "spandrel" into evolutionary theory. From 1973 to 1998, he held an endowed chair in zoology and biology at Harvard University, and from 2003 until his death in 2021 had been a research professor there.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
September 24, 2013
Yay: A dialectical, marxist view on biology and science in general. In principle that's a great and interesting topic, even if I feel that some of the attacks against modeling are a bit cheap. Duh, models do not reflect reality? Well, maybe that's why they are called models and not reality? And I yet have to met a modeler who wouldn't sign 'all models are wrong, but some are useful'. But nevertheless I found the general ideas presented pretty interesting and there is a good amount of valid criticism in those essays as well.
Nay: Unfortunately one notices pretty quickly that this is a collection of essays that have been published previously, because there are absurd amounts of repetition. You can only read so often about the insulin-blood-sugar-feedback-loop and the possible reasons for the failure of post-WW2-epidemiology before you go insane and this book really tries to take your sanity.
If you are interested in the topic I'd recommend you only read 2-3 random essays out of Parts 1 and 2, that should give you basically all the info you need and then proceed with the much more diverse (and more interesting) Part 3.
Nay: Unfortunately one notices pretty quickly that this is a collection of essays that have been published previously, because there are absurd amounts of repetition. You can only read so often about the insulin-blood-sugar-feedback-loop and the possible reasons for the failure of post-WW2-epidemiology before you go insane and this book really tries to take your sanity.
If you are interested in the topic I'd recommend you only read 2-3 random essays out of Parts 1 and 2, that should give you basically all the info you need and then proceed with the much more diverse (and more interesting) Part 3.
February 17, 2019
Lewontin and Levins follow up of their brilliant 'The Dialectical Biologist' follows a similar format. It rounds up old essays from a variety of sources and on a variety of topics, held together with a loose thread of dialectical thinking. Their combined lucidity is stunning and their still undimmed commitment to the cause is inspiring. As you would expect from a collection of this sort, the essays are inconsistent and sometimes rambling and repetitive. But the best of them are little masterpieces that you want to read out loud and want to make part of your way of thinking because they ring so true.
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October 5, 2012Like it or not, every biologist should read it.
April 9, 2026
Apologists for capitalism love those scientists who claim that the inequalities, competition and conflict inherent in the capitalist system are the inevitable consequence of "human nature" and of biologically determined inequalities between people.
Those apologists will not like this book. One of the main achievements of Lewontin and Levins is to destroy scientifically the foundations of theories such as sociobiology and evolutionary psychology, which claim that everything about human behaviour and society can be explained by our genes.
The authors are not new to this battle. Over 20 years ago Lewontin co-authored "Not in Our Genes" with Steven Rose and Leon Kamin, and he is also the author of the excellent "The Doctrine of DNA". The late Stephen Jay Gould was also part of the small community of radical scientists fighting against the currently dominant trend of genetic determinism. But Lewontin and Levins are even more radical than Gould in that they are explicitly Marxists.
The other main aim of Lewontin and Levins is to show that a dialectical approach can and must be applied to science as a whole. Some Marxists are doubtful about the usefulness of dialectics, especially when applied to the natural sciences. This book ought to convince those doubters. The authors show the necessity of applying a dialectical materialist method in science if we want to gain a full understanding of the world. They argue for "a dialectical emphasis on wholeness, connection and context, change, historicity, contradiction, irregularity, asymmetry, and the multiplicity of levels of phenomena, as a refreshing counterweight to the prevailing reductionism".
This dialectical approach is reflected in the essays in this book, which cover a wide range of topics, including the relationship between disease and capitalism; the ecological threat posed by capitalism; the complex intermeshing of the biological and the social; the relationship between the natural and social sciences; the interaction between the organism and its environment; the falseness of the view of the brain as a computer; and the uses and misuses of statistics.
For Lewontin and Levins, science under capitalism has a dual nature. On the one hand it has added to our understanding of the world. But on the other hand, "as a product of human activity, science reflects the conditions of its production and the viewpoints of its producers and owners."
Two words of warning. Firstly, a few - but not many - of the 31 essays in the book are rather heavy going for non-specialists. Secondly, the authors are too uncritical of what they describe as "Cuban socialism", but which I would describe as state capitalism. But overall this is an excellent book from two Marxist scientists who believe that the goal of science should be "the creation of a just society compatible with a rich and diverse nature".
Those apologists will not like this book. One of the main achievements of Lewontin and Levins is to destroy scientifically the foundations of theories such as sociobiology and evolutionary psychology, which claim that everything about human behaviour and society can be explained by our genes.
The authors are not new to this battle. Over 20 years ago Lewontin co-authored "Not in Our Genes" with Steven Rose and Leon Kamin, and he is also the author of the excellent "The Doctrine of DNA". The late Stephen Jay Gould was also part of the small community of radical scientists fighting against the currently dominant trend of genetic determinism. But Lewontin and Levins are even more radical than Gould in that they are explicitly Marxists.
The other main aim of Lewontin and Levins is to show that a dialectical approach can and must be applied to science as a whole. Some Marxists are doubtful about the usefulness of dialectics, especially when applied to the natural sciences. This book ought to convince those doubters. The authors show the necessity of applying a dialectical materialist method in science if we want to gain a full understanding of the world. They argue for "a dialectical emphasis on wholeness, connection and context, change, historicity, contradiction, irregularity, asymmetry, and the multiplicity of levels of phenomena, as a refreshing counterweight to the prevailing reductionism".
This dialectical approach is reflected in the essays in this book, which cover a wide range of topics, including the relationship between disease and capitalism; the ecological threat posed by capitalism; the complex intermeshing of the biological and the social; the relationship between the natural and social sciences; the interaction between the organism and its environment; the falseness of the view of the brain as a computer; and the uses and misuses of statistics.
For Lewontin and Levins, science under capitalism has a dual nature. On the one hand it has added to our understanding of the world. But on the other hand, "as a product of human activity, science reflects the conditions of its production and the viewpoints of its producers and owners."
Two words of warning. Firstly, a few - but not many - of the 31 essays in the book are rather heavy going for non-specialists. Secondly, the authors are too uncritical of what they describe as "Cuban socialism", but which I would describe as state capitalism. But overall this is an excellent book from two Marxist scientists who believe that the goal of science should be "the creation of a just society compatible with a rich and diverse nature".
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February 22, 2026Lewontin y Levins no sólo no desprecian o ignoran las ciencias sociales y las humanidades sino que las aprecian y las utilizan. Y sugieren convincentemente que las ciencias sociales y las humanidades deberían hacer lo mismo con las ciencias naturales y exactas (cuánto hay en común, por ejemplo, entre la ecología y la comunicación social o, mejor dicho, cuán necesaria una lectura cruzada que no se hace; lo mismo con el evolucionismo y la historia, la agronomía y la sociología, etc, con la filosofía, por supuesto, en permanente retroalimentación; y siempre combatiendo los reduccionismos del determinismo genético, la sociobiología, etc.)
November 27, 2018
Lewontin and Levin get very political in this collection but I think in a way that makes sense: a fascinating read, particularly paired with Sylvia Wynter's analysis of Darwinian evolution.
September 13, 2020
Another one well worth reading.
April 3, 2026
Repetitive but worth it. For anyone who isn't convinced by dialectics being viable for science I'd recommend this book and Adorno's Lectures on Sociology.
Most important are essays 7, 17, 19, 24, and 26 but the rest are still worth reading, especially part 3 if you still need to see how these ideas are put into practice.
I do appreciate their insistence on a dialectic of nature that doesn't require anthropocentric domination while still acknowledging the crucial human Subjectivity in the relation.
I must mention that the sporadic mentions of Althusser made me quite sad.
Most important are essays 7, 17, 19, 24, and 26 but the rest are still worth reading, especially part 3 if you still need to see how these ideas are put into practice.
I do appreciate their insistence on a dialectic of nature that doesn't require anthropocentric domination while still acknowledging the crucial human Subjectivity in the relation.
I must mention that the sporadic mentions of Althusser made me quite sad.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews