Hertwig, Oscar
"Die Zelle und die Gewebe (Vol. 2/2)" by Oscar Hertwig is a scientific treatise written in the late 19th century. It advances a cell-centered account of tissue anatomy and physiology and proposes a “theory of Biogenesis” that contrasts with epigenesis, germ-plasm, and mosaic-development doctrines. The work emphasizes causality in biology, division of labor and integration among cells, the roles of external and internal factors in development, and problems of heredity, all focused on how cells organize into tissues and organs.The opening of this work explains the delay since the first volume, situates the book amid contemporary debates (notably against Weismann’s Neo-Darwinism and Roux’s developmental mechanics), and states the aim: to treat the physiological side of development and ground a theory centered on the cell. A broad table of contents signals topics from levels of individuality and cell communication to causality, external and internal developmental factors, growth, form, and heredity. The first chapter sets the task of moving from the autonomous cell to cells in association, dividing the book into a general theory of multicellular organization and a special histology of tissues (structure, development, function). The second chapter defines physiological versus morphological individuals, rejects extending “individual” to organs or genealogical series, and develops three “orders” of individuality: species-cells as elemental units; second-order aggregates ranging from…
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