Burian R.M. and Zallen, D.T., 2009, 'Genes'. In Bowler P.J. and Pickstone, J.V. (eds.), Cambridge History of the Life and Earth Sciences, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 432-450. (original) (raw)

In this chapter,we describe traditional historical accounts of the gene and gene concepts and raise some issues from recent revisionist historiography dealing with this topic. Histories of the gene and genetics are still in their infancy. Until the mid-1970s, most historieswere written by scientists and reflected the viewpoints of the victors in scientific controversies. Only recently have professional historians contested traditional accounts and probed deeply into lost aspects of the history of the gene. Recent biological work has raised doubt whether there is such an entity as “the” gene. Historians now disagree about whether the gene should count as an invention or a discovery, whether the history involved is fundamentally continuous or discontinuous, and how technical and theoretical developments in genetics are connected to larger social issues, including eugenics, genetic medicine, and biotechnological “interference” with nature.