The genotype conception of heredity

Abstract

BIOLOGY has evidently borrowed the terms “heredity” and “inheritance” from everyday language, in which the meaning of these words is the “transmission” of money or things, rights or duties—or even ideas and knowledge —from one person to another or to some others: the “heirs” or “inheritors.” The transmission of properties—these may be things owned or peculiar qualities—from parents to their children, or from more or less remote ancestors to their descendants, has been regarded as the essential point in the discussion of heredity, in biology as in jurisprudence. Here we have nothing to do with the latter; as to biology, the students of this science have again and again tried to conceive or “explain” the presumed transmission of general or peculiar characters and qualities “inherited” from parents or more remote ancestors. The view of natural inheritance as realized by an act of transmission, viz., the transmission of the parent's (or ancestor's) personal qualities to the progeny, is the most naive and oldest conception of heredity. We find it clearly developed by Hippocrates, who suggested that the different parts of the body may produce substances which join in the sexual organs, where reproductive matter is formed. Darwin's hypothesis of “pangenesis” is in this point very consistent with the Hippocratic view, the personal qualities of the parent or the ancestor in question being the heritage. Also the Lamarckian view as to the heredity of “acquired characters” is in accordance with those old conceptions. The current popular definition of heredity as a certain degree of resemblance between parents and offspring, or, generally speaking, between ancestors and descendants, bears the stamp of the same conceptions, and so do the modern “biometrical” definitions of heredity, e.g., as “the degree of correlation between the abmodality of parent and offspring.” In all these cases we meet with the conception that the personal qualities of any individual organism are the true heritable elements or traits! This may be characterized as the “transmission-conception” of heredity or as the view of apparent heredity. Only superficial instruction can be gained by working on this basis. Certainly, medical and biological statisticians have in modern times been able to make elaborate statements of great interest for insurance purposes, for the “eugenics-movement” and so on. But no profound insight into the biological problem of heredity can be gained on this basis, for the transmission-conception of heredity represents exactly the reverse of the real facts, just as the famous Stahlian theory of “phlogiston” was an expression diametrically opposite to the chemical reality. The personal qualities of any individual organism do not at all cause the qualities of its offspring; but the qualities of both ancestor and descendant are in quite the same manner determined by the nature of the “sexual substances”—i.e., the gametes—from which they have developed. Personal qualities are then the reactions of the gametes joining to form a zygote; but the nature of the gametes is not determined by the personal qualities of the parents or ancestors in question. This is the modern view of heredity. The main result of all true analytical experiments in questions concerning genetics is the of the transmission-conception of heredity, and the different of as as have in that to the same point of view, the as we may the conception of heredity just Here we can not the of the ideas concerning heredity, not even in the but it be as a that a very great of the terms by the modern biological have been the of the and that the of and are not from that old may be words as “transmission” and The science of genetics is in a an science just as the in the times of who the an in chemical The as have the modern view of heredity, not from the old “transmission-conception” as but it from the of and who with more or less tried to the the great of the for the in of more in of and in of but have suggested that the elements for inheritance elements of or of the different or of the individual from the in question. has an elaborate hypothesis of heredity, that of the are of in the of a in the of a being in some the of an or a of that in the to organs, and that of the are of parts of the inheritance in question are the or ideas may have some interest as of the but they have no in the of is evidently the a view of heredity any The of the by and but as an expression of the insight by and is in the degree a all the of and it may is a that is not we to even to but that it may be by of the to the current This is the it is to a in all cases where or are being developed. terms are by their in or and from which they of not to the have the terms and and some as and to be in the science of The is nothing but a very with and it may be as an expression for the or in the by modern is the of all the in a or in a a is by the of this is in one point and the of the gametes in question in one point from to the nature of the it is as of no to any but that the a is from The have the great of being in their In accordance with this quite natural the of the may be to the of the We do not a but we are able to or in these the and The very by as may be with in so as the is the of the of the in question. these are is by the as of The the and the in the of the individual the organism is a and its reactions are determined by its with the of all may it be or the is with the The can be by the qualities and reactions of the in question. that some of are different then these produce more or less as to the personal qualities of the individual of of different it be quite to they have or have not the same we to be We may find that the in question so that they to the same the current of this or we may in cases that they a so that or more different may be of by or by of or may be characterized as are real the or of are again and again the for in the are and the of the of as to and characters of the has been the of natural which was a science of by the of the has of with in its concerning The of by from one to another have and the of are the in very but that is an point may be in one which the the view the of the in different are the main and the transmission-conception we may this conception as a in to the the has been gained in and The to an of the or the may an of the of the The of has its most in all where the are where with the or by to one this being characterized by the of the of any of and so This is to the all between the different in question the of and and have the point for as a of may be as the from one by is a nothing as to the qualities of the in question. to be (or even the of a of can be as as are very of be quite in and in to one and the same the was but The of the is a main point in the of of nature is not at all a for the of with is the of which the of have some The of from has been the for the that is not able to the nature of The of the of a by from to in the by the to the a of in the a great of those is for the of the of any be for the result of the no or have been at a in which is no as to the in have no This result has in been by in Here may the experiments of with experiments which have been quite of and which have been of great for the and of the The of these experiments has been on the that the but this matter to of no in the The that of and of in the of as a is a of the Also experiments with the of and the of as to may be as for this has at the same as to the by The famous of and its by to have the of in by the of the of in these of correlation have been in their of may be in but they have nothing at all to do with genetics or general are for insight into the nature of heredity. to heredity, it is a expression for a The are the in but generally the in is In no of the can be all of the as to the of and may even a that the is in in heredity speaking, a of the “transmission-conception” and nothing The characters of ancestors as as of are both in quite the same manner reactions of the of the gametes in question. between an ancestor and one or more of as heredity is in the as we have to the is not a of the personal of any The of a or a may be with a This in of its realized but not in of the of its it may be with the of gametes and its is its which are determined by its In the in are in of are The it is to by of any individual the to which it the the as as in the no The is an view of the reactions of as as true heredity is This view is an to the chemical view, as chemical have no is and in the same may be the of its or the of its that it is to this of heredity in its to the to the of we meet with true viz., the of and all of is a very great but is quite different from heredity. may be of and the of is not an is in to as of some of or in their of the of from more Certainly, of of and of all on by of with the not the but their But all this has nothing at all to do with the biological of heredity. is of to that the of by has in but this nothing as to for which is The very form of the may be to be in all its in cases of experiments in In nature and even in the chemical the chemical are not to be in quite The of a may be by to the with the we the question the of a may not be by some or from the individual organism in which the was developed. Here we meet with the cases of heredity, e.g., the of the gametes or as may be in certain cases of and of heredity may have the of or but they do not at all with the of heredity. In cases as that by viz., the “heredity” of a form of by “transmission” the of the not this may at the be as we have to do with a of the or the in and that may be the for the of heredity the which no or a The of being as quite it may be very to clearly from determined which the form of heredity both and The and not to be in with of any may be to in the and consistent of the that may be characterized as by or it be that as as are no between and of is but not is a The of or, is of for the question of the inheritance of “acquired and are in the most both the of the with the the with the of the of the in question. The of with and the experiments of that of the are by as no with has any for the Lamarckian view, the most to the experiments by for the of their have not but have the of some by and are at the same the in personal qualities being to the in are their of it is that their in biology as ideas has been most some cases of apparent of may have with Lamarckian e.g., of by as “the that has of the was that with analytical that has the great But at the the from the is in on the of for are for the the that the was not at all the of to point the of as to the of in The and more the The of or of in may be for the of not to we have an times by viz., the of with as it has been that we have the essential The in have been the the been from the and to the result be a of the those The to to no for the The are a to of with and in the of this are to any questions of and they make as to the nature of heredity and has the of as a be an in heredity. to the of it has been by e.g., that is a old and This is quite not in a manner the of but even tried a to But it can not be that the of as a true analytical as an of in as a at any and of a from this analytical been in the times of or it even been in by the the real of have been by the of The may then be characterized as and may to a certain with the most of of with a of for a a we may even that the may be as of the or ideas may as be but they are by the of The of a in question is the conception at by and is a between different This has been by may be as an In very on experiments with as that was as a of of and experiments to the Lamarckian view have as even these may be as all the of experiments is in quite in of But we in and that for a of the the is a The of in question is to this can not statements just as to their but accordance with conception the famous words from the be from and some very of have the for the is that we different as different in This is an essential but no in the to that view be In a very manner be for are the in the degree or of any as it different e.g., the of by and may be very as of the of the in and they a in The of the in question between the but this is not the e.g., with or even with very some of the are the between the may or may even with of as to the in the and is no as to their But that these are with the of between the to have the the of the the reactions of the may different all of or has nothing at all to do with or of of genetics to some may to has great the of in all of from to may be with different in of the to not from that be of may in one be different in e.g., the of the that of In another may or their may be of may produce and it is to that some of on the reverse is realized on In of both characterized by a degree of to produce in the the in of The are the of the in as as in the just are of just as as the of different chemical as to chemical it may be to that different chemical or of which are to be and may quite to point the of for different of and in different or in with The essential point in the matter of that a in the same manner all chemical or in as in chemical or are not to at less to do so in the same all even quite may be for the of as some are to a This is a in as in the of has the of this point for the the of as to the and are a of the and we find in current this of with and we even have with the that the of a may in in different or but that in they into one In this of the of the in a is that view has been by in this but be in the is not for an to with questions of and between the are the of and the of and is We have with some of the it is to at The of this of has an of and cases that at with the have been more on a and have quite in accordance with The of a of this of it may be that the most of the essential point in the of the personal in heredity. the same it the of as being by the of the that the personal qualities of the organism in are the of the reactions of the The of one of may have the the of for any to be even in cases where no of to as to the cases of it is not to of the in the or for their and being reactions of that may have in the be a of to the of different as as Here we meet with the questions of correlation and of can not into a discussion as to the of with its in a discussion is to be may point that cases of presumed correlation may be cases of or more characters to the even one The and even the that they are reactions of different The of and as to the are in some with of correlation and of The discussion of the for and as to may the of may be has in as to in a of the the of we an between the of and the the in manner may be able to of the the main of the a on this it may be suggested that the or of a may be more to from its the from the of the may be of any as working as to the of is the nature of these can not as a discussion be in that the is and and even have this the in their and has clearly that it may be quite to a is to or to the of a in the that can as be determined in this by is the of between the gametes a may be The facts, that a may be in some but in and that in different cases may be very that are The famous of as to the form of may be as an In the is in it is and in both cases the one has that is a of and from in one as with But from in with as in and in the with this it is as not to or is the form of for the of which the of are to be the most is the most may even be an expression for a of in the The of the by in all cases be and it is quite to that the of the in are in cases in but in as to with chemical reactions it be in that a may be the of of any as as the of any in the in question. The elaborate of of has very and the most is the most of any in question. The or in are quite the of in the it may be that for one may be elements for the of quite this be the then the of characterized by the of in the of different able to may be by a in which be any is no to that the the of into The of by of the of are a of interest in this to cases of in which and do not the it at be that some apparent are by of the for The experiments of and have to that may and be or as to the of the is no for or In inheritance we meet with of the same nature as in the of as the for the more or less of the different of in may the as has in cases the different degree of with which the of gametes is realized may the of in the as has Here we can not the in a of the a of concerning this Only one of may be viz., the to or In cases of inheritance the in question be to by the act of or, in accordance with the and the to the in some manner be In this which is very with the conception of as be of to be in the of the modern some cases in the of as to the of to be a the insight by experiments as as by concerning the of has the question in a The of and have to quite as to the of In cases no is no is in cases is no for any or of as to this has the in question. But cases of these as to the of the of are the most and most has in a and manner that the in with the be of cases to these and gained an with and was in But even this may with The for is has clearly of the concerning the of the with the of the of that of and in is a The is determined by different in the same and the of by and of these a of in be these the of the in question. we have to and we for the the which is between as and as in of no a as an and it is not to find that the of the of the be the of the so it is in the of experiments with as has clearly of heredity in concerning both and may be with in question. in that certain in for the view that we have no inheritance but true as as in the cases of as we may in the cases of may then in a more manner the true nature of the apparent in as we can that this not with be in that have been very between the in these experiments are with great and parts of the those may have can not be to it is that in may have great the and in a which into and to be into has a very the and form of the in question. Here are not the the of viz., that or characters may be determined by different and that one of may have different it that is in a very but may be even very for this the may be into But is to do in the as as to the is as the of be a with But all the of the of do not as to to the that the of and so on may be regarded as or of the and of all things in the as their This view is even in those cases where can be In the discussion as to the of true the have of a as characters of in cases where the elements of the in question are as it may be is not at all for the of But the of for is quite different from the that elements have for the of heredity. The question of as the presumed of to be an not able to any for “the of the in the The organism is in its and by its parts of the individual are as to In has been no as to this and as to has for a the same view the of and who have suggested that is determined or at any by a of the we the in the of the The of and the of parts in the individual may their the of the But these as a not or the of the in question. on we the problem of by Here we have to point the that with a more those substances or the reactions of which we of characterized by the of The of the of their to that this as as the and of in the some of the of The discussion of to the question of or In the of modern of presumed of in e.g., as to in But more analytical experiments have in cases in the the characters in question to be more reactions at has the question in a quite a working the be not of but of the gametes as a not be as the by of the of a with be of of the that this be able to “the of so with in and so or by Here we again the question of that the by and are more consistent with the real nature of the in question. the has not been able to that cases of are of but even the as to in and by as a not to any real for cases as has viz., nature being for in some may at the of being to or to different of in the in question. But a to the real of The very of as to the of certain characters in have clearly a or a in of any be in that a of are in and these concerning all and a to the of all it be suggested that in parts of the some of may or even the of which the The to be to the of by e.g., the of and of Here we the of in or with so by be a for the of the in e.g., for the nature of the of the (or for the in not be produce at are to point that may have a as to but that this question is in of the problem of or may be but the in modern genetics in the of as the we the of as an essential for the of matter in and for the or of we in of to find in the of and the of the and in be But this is not the The experiments of in a manner the of in the a degree of and in things it we may in modern genetics be of the and of that things in nature may be and the in heredity we may the in nature as as in more of the famous of and the of to the modern of and all as to point the of the in question. Here we not the it is to that the essential point is the or of of the The experiments of as to have in the most manner that the which produce the in this viz., the and of are able to act in a manner the of the and has the of in with the may in some cases be certain to be by but it is that in all is the in the of to the of which may the of of be that are from by in be with But is no for this in the between the in characters may be a of as it be is not at all with has the between the of in and in and as the in nature have all as in experiments with The chemical to may be the of and so on. The may be by more But are of very for the of The by the great of experiments as to and not personal as a of any as by and been are meaning from point of of characters gained to an of and the may the of as to may be as to the old question of this problem in the famous cases of has in a most manner been into terms by the and experiments of and This of the and has been for for the The not to a true or of heredity, but may be regarded as an for an that in its may be to be and even all may some to But as it to be the most in may then be as the of in ancestors and descendants, or, as in accordance with this heredity for those of the that find their expression in the and developed it is to this for its real but for the and of the great problem of heredity. In this the of famous as in as in has been the for the and the old in This is a in the of the of it at and to ideas of and in and a great of the of But just these qualities have the of for the analytical of modern which has in a true in