J.B.S. Haldane
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John Burdon Sanderson Haldane (1892-1964) was a Professor of Genetics and Biometry at University College, London, and with Sewall Wright and Ronald Fisher, one of the principal architects of population genetics and the Modern Synthesis. Many people credit Haldane with the major contributions to defining "neo-Darwinism". He also anticipated the Miller-Urey experiments in abiogenesis.
Haldane's famous quip, that he would "...lay down [his] life for two brothers or eight cousins," is seen as an anticipation of the theory of kin selection. He is also frequently quoted from his statement that ' the nature of God is that he has "An inordinate fondness for beetles" '.
In 1924, Haldane published a remarkable work of fiction, Daedalus (available online [1]), the first book about the scientific feasibility of "test-tube babies which then inspired Aldous Huxley's novel Brave New World. Haldane was, however, a vigorous critic of eugenics and also social Darwinism.
Publications
- A mathematical theory of natural and artificial selection Part 1 (1924), Transactions of the Camrbidge philosophical society: 23 pp 19-41, available online [2]
- Animal Biology (1927)
- The Causes of Evolution, a 1932 book on evolutionary biology and one of the important books of the modern evolutionary synthesis. 1990 edition ISBN 0-691-02442-1. Review [3]
- New Paths in Genetics (1941)
- Biochemistry of Genetics (1954)
- Why I am a Materialist [4]
- Links to various writings [5]
