Refiguring Life Metaphors of Twentieth-Century Biology

Series: The Wellek Library Lectures

By: Evelyn Fox Keller

160 pages

Publisher: Columbia University Press

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ISBN: 9780231102056 Paperback Sep 1996 Out of stock with supplier: order now to get this when available
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ISBN: 9780231102049 Hardback Dec 1995 Out of Print #41565

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About this book

Explores the interplay of machines and metaphor in modern scientific enquiry. The book looks at the discourse of the contemporary life sciences, the `metaphors' which allow scientific work to proceed. |Keller, a distinguished feminine historian, argues that these metaphors, as powerful as the physical technology of modern science, define the paths along which research can, and does, move.

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Biography

Evelyn Fox Keller is Professor of History and Philosophy of Science in the Program in Science, Technology, and Society at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She is the author of numerous books, including A Feeling for the Organism: The Life and Work of Barbara McClintock, Reflections on Gender and Science and most recently, Secrets of Life, Secrets of Death: Essays on Language, Gender, and Science.

Series: The Wellek Library Lectures

By: Evelyn Fox Keller

160 pages

Publisher: Columbia University Press

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The focus of these three essays is the role of language and technology in the progress of genetic science. Drawing on a broad spectrum of theoretical work, Keller shows how scientists often operate from preconceived notions in seeking evidence; how it may be possible to reconcile the stability of genetic memory with the seemingly contrary law of increasing entropy; and why terminology introduced by the computer revolution influences recent discoveries in genetic research. Science News

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