Science as process or dogma? The case of the peppered moth

Elemente der Naturwissenschaft 70, 1999, S. 39-51 | DOI: 10.18756/edn.70.39

Zusammenfassung:

Industrie-Melanismus und Birkenspanner (Biston betularia) gelten im allgemeinen als unumstößlicher Beweis dafür, daß natürliche Selektion die Evolution der Organismen steuert. Eine kritische Untersuchung der Primärliteratur zum Thema zeigt jedoch ein viel komplexeres Bild von den Phänomenen und Prozessen wissenschaftlicher Untersuchung.

Das Beispiel des Birkenspanners lehrt, sogenannten wissenschaftlichen Beweisen gegenüber kritisch zu bleiben, und es hilft, Wissenschaft als Interaktion zwischen einem Beobachter und seinem Untersuchungsgegenstand zu verstehen. Diese Einsicht hat bedeutende Folgen für den wissenschaftlichen Unterricht an Schulen und Universitäten.

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