Die Entdeckung des Verhaltens: Eine Geschichte der Verhaltensforschung by Franz M.WuketitsReview by: Richard W. Burkhardt, Jr.Isis, Vol. 87, No. 3 (Sep., 1996), pp. 571-572Published by: The University of Chicago Press on behalf of The History of Science SocietyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/236046 .

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BOOK REVIEWS-ISIS, 87: 3 (1996) BOOK REVIEWS-ISIS, 87: 3 (1996)

respondence rules must be found to connect this representation with experimental facts. Schro- dinger's project during this mature phase was to create a new ontology of T-waves that accorded with the highly symbolic system of quantum me- chanics. He argued that the uncertainty relations precluded the possibility of a particle having a definite trajectory, and, hence, he wanted to re- place a particle ontology with a '-wave one in which there is lawlike evolution of this wave function. But now the measurement problem be- came central because the actually occurring events in the world cannot be connected uniquely with the Y-wave. That is, there would be no one "reality." Schrodinger was against "collapse" of the wave function upon measure- ment because this would undercut the centrality of a single, fundamental lawlike evolution. He developed a highly sophisticated formalism for quantum mechanics and gave a clear statement of the measurement problem, but he never man- aged to solve that central problem of his repre- sentation of quantum mechanics.

While this small volume is undoubtedly a use- ful archival addition to the history of quantum mechanics, since it gives us a window into the thinking of a major figure in quantum mechan- ics, the material here does seem to fall into two rather different categories. Chapters 1-4 (the "Dublin seminars") present Schrodinger's argu- ments against a particle ontology and in favor of a P-wave one, a "primer" (in lecture 2, the long- est one in the volume) on the rather technical, mathematical formalism of (standard) quantum mechanics, and discussions on the interpretation of this formalism of quantum mechanics. How- ever, the last chapter (which consists of previ- ously unpublished notes for three lectures to have been given at Harvard in 1954) addresses the question of how values-both ethical and es- thetic-are in principle excluded from science. This theme, though interesting, fits in perhaps somewhat tenuously with the earlier part of the volume.

JAMES T. CUSHING

Franz M. Wuketits. Die Entdeckung des Ver- haltens: Eine Geschichte der Verhaltensfor- schung. viii + 187 pp., illus., figs., tables, bibl., indexes. Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchge- sellschaft, 1995. DM 39.80, Fr 39.80, OS 311.

This brief, informally written book is designed for the general reader and for practicing etholo- gists and behavioral scientists who would like to know more about the history of ethology. As-

respondence rules must be found to connect this representation with experimental facts. Schro- dinger's project during this mature phase was to create a new ontology of T-waves that accorded with the highly symbolic system of quantum me- chanics. He argued that the uncertainty relations precluded the possibility of a particle having a definite trajectory, and, hence, he wanted to re- place a particle ontology with a '-wave one in which there is lawlike evolution of this wave function. But now the measurement problem be- came central because the actually occurring events in the world cannot be connected uniquely with the Y-wave. That is, there would be no one "reality." Schrodinger was against "collapse" of the wave function upon measure- ment because this would undercut the centrality of a single, fundamental lawlike evolution. He developed a highly sophisticated formalism for quantum mechanics and gave a clear statement of the measurement problem, but he never man- aged to solve that central problem of his repre- sentation of quantum mechanics.

While this small volume is undoubtedly a use- ful archival addition to the history of quantum mechanics, since it gives us a window into the thinking of a major figure in quantum mechan- ics, the material here does seem to fall into two rather different categories. Chapters 1-4 (the "Dublin seminars") present Schrodinger's argu- ments against a particle ontology and in favor of a P-wave one, a "primer" (in lecture 2, the long- est one in the volume) on the rather technical, mathematical formalism of (standard) quantum mechanics, and discussions on the interpretation of this formalism of quantum mechanics. How- ever, the last chapter (which consists of previ- ously unpublished notes for three lectures to have been given at Harvard in 1954) addresses the question of how values-both ethical and es- thetic-are in principle excluded from science. This theme, though interesting, fits in perhaps somewhat tenuously with the earlier part of the volume.

JAMES T. CUSHING

Franz M. Wuketits. Die Entdeckung des Ver- haltens: Eine Geschichte der Verhaltensfor- schung. viii + 187 pp., illus., figs., tables, bibl., indexes. Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchge- sellschaft, 1995. DM 39.80, Fr 39.80, OS 311.

This brief, informally written book is designed for the general reader and for practicing etholo- gists and behavioral scientists who would like to know more about the history of ethology. As-

serting that the problems and theoretical frame- work of modem animal behavior studies cannot be understood without knowing the broader his- torical context in which these developed, Franz Wuketits proceeds to define context primarily in intellectual terms. He cites Ernst Mayr's Growth of Biological Thought (Belknap, 1982) as his model in this regard. The present work lacks the weight of Mayr's, however, both in its physical heft and in the depth and force of its analysis. It is an introductory work that identifies in a text- book-like fashion the main themes of animal be- havior studies.

This is the first book on the history of ethology to be written in German. It also offers a char- acteristically Germanic view of that history. Konrad Lorenz receives pride of place in the story, and the author follows Lorenz's own re- construction of ethology's history with little qualification. Ethology is thus presented as the natural outcome of applying the questions of Darwinian biology to animal behavior; as an in- ductive science based on detailed, comparative, empirical studies of closely related groups of or- ganisms; and as the science that steered its way past the great controversies of vitalistic versus mechanistic explanations of behavior and innate versus learned behavior. The more limited ap- proaches of Ivan Pavlov, the American behav- iorists, and the purposive psychologists are men- tioned on the way to a discussion of the more satisfactory ethological "synthesis." The book concludes with brief discussions of sociobiol- ogy, evolutionary epistemology, and ethology and ethics.

In the course of this broad survey, the author does not linger long over any subject. On the much-discussed question of Lorenz's activities in the Third Reich, there are only two para- graphs. Wuketits says that Lorenz's unfortunate statements from the late 1930s and early 1940s must not be excused. He then observes, however, that Lorenz was politically naive, that he sub- sequently acknowledged his error in not distanc- ing himself from the Nazis, and that in endorsing the Darwinian idea of man's descent from an ape, he held a view that Nordic supremacists de- nied. To illustrate the "pirouettes" performed by German researchers in this period, Wuketits cites the case of the psychologist Erich Jaensch, who maintained that differences between Northern and Southern races of chickens paralleled differ- ences between Northern and Southern races of humans. But Wuketits does not say whether he regards Jaensch's case as comparable to Lo- renz's or a contrast to it. Nor does he mention whether Jaensch's and Lorenz's careers ever in-

serting that the problems and theoretical frame- work of modem animal behavior studies cannot be understood without knowing the broader his- torical context in which these developed, Franz Wuketits proceeds to define context primarily in intellectual terms. He cites Ernst Mayr's Growth of Biological Thought (Belknap, 1982) as his model in this regard. The present work lacks the weight of Mayr's, however, both in its physical heft and in the depth and force of its analysis. It is an introductory work that identifies in a text- book-like fashion the main themes of animal be- havior studies.

This is the first book on the history of ethology to be written in German. It also offers a char- acteristically Germanic view of that history. Konrad Lorenz receives pride of place in the story, and the author follows Lorenz's own re- construction of ethology's history with little qualification. Ethology is thus presented as the natural outcome of applying the questions of Darwinian biology to animal behavior; as an in- ductive science based on detailed, comparative, empirical studies of closely related groups of or- ganisms; and as the science that steered its way past the great controversies of vitalistic versus mechanistic explanations of behavior and innate versus learned behavior. The more limited ap- proaches of Ivan Pavlov, the American behav- iorists, and the purposive psychologists are men- tioned on the way to a discussion of the more satisfactory ethological "synthesis." The book concludes with brief discussions of sociobiol- ogy, evolutionary epistemology, and ethology and ethics.

In the course of this broad survey, the author does not linger long over any subject. On the much-discussed question of Lorenz's activities in the Third Reich, there are only two para- graphs. Wuketits says that Lorenz's unfortunate statements from the late 1930s and early 1940s must not be excused. He then observes, however, that Lorenz was politically naive, that he sub- sequently acknowledged his error in not distanc- ing himself from the Nazis, and that in endorsing the Darwinian idea of man's descent from an ape, he held a view that Nordic supremacists de- nied. To illustrate the "pirouettes" performed by German researchers in this period, Wuketits cites the case of the psychologist Erich Jaensch, who maintained that differences between Northern and Southern races of chickens paralleled differ- ences between Northern and Southern races of humans. But Wuketits does not say whether he regards Jaensch's case as comparable to Lo- renz's or a contrast to it. Nor does he mention whether Jaensch's and Lorenz's careers ever in-

571 571

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BOOK REVIEWS-ISIS, 87 : 3 (1996) BOOK REVIEWS-ISIS, 87 : 3 (1996)

tersected. Closer investigation of the period re- veals that the careers of these men did intersect, that Jaensch was enthusiastic about Lorenz's studies of "domestication" phenomena in ani- mals and humans, and that Lorenz reviewed the chicken studies of the politically powerful Jaensch as if these were a positive contribution to science. Lorenz's alleged political naivet6 in the Nazi period ought not be uncritically ac- cepted.

The author notes some interesting national differences-for example, that Gestalt and holis- tic psychology had a large effect on German an- imal behavior theorists but very limited influence outside the country. He says little, however, about the institutional, social, and po- litical contexts in which animal behavior studies were conducted or the material practices on which these studies were based. The reader is thus left with an incomplete sense of why dif- ferent concepts were promoted and contested in particular times and places. The book succeeds in identifying many of the intellectual stakes in modem animal behavior studies, but as a histor- ical contextualization of these ideas it leaves much to be done.

RICHARD W. BURKHARDT, JR.

Norbert Gilson. Konzepte von Elektrizitdtsver- sorgung und Elektrizititswirtschaft; Die Entste- hung eines neuen Fachgebietes der Technikwis- senschaften zwischen 1880 und 1945. 475 pp., figs., tables, app., bibl., index. Stuttgart: GNT Verlag, 1994. DM 120.

Between the 1880s and the 1930s, the new en- gineering-science discipline of power-system economics developed. Little unanimity existed among those designing, building, and operating lighting and power systems until around 1910, when Georg Klingenberg initiated a second phase by developing tools for designing efficient large-scale supply projects. Developed in close connection with the growth of generating sys- tems, Klingenberg's ideas provided the basis for planning systems during and after World War I and then, increasingly, for managing systems. This phase ended in the mid 1920s, after Kling- enberg's "paradigm" of large-scale supply be- came widely accepted. A third phase began in 1925. As large systems increasingly intercon- nected, power-system economics moved from being taught as part of other courses to being a discipline with its own chairs at technical uni- versities. The one-time director of a mixed, pub- lic-private company in Saxony and Anhalt, Rup-

tersected. Closer investigation of the period re- veals that the careers of these men did intersect, that Jaensch was enthusiastic about Lorenz's studies of "domestication" phenomena in ani- mals and humans, and that Lorenz reviewed the chicken studies of the politically powerful Jaensch as if these were a positive contribution to science. Lorenz's alleged political naivet6 in the Nazi period ought not be uncritically ac- cepted.

The author notes some interesting national differences-for example, that Gestalt and holis- tic psychology had a large effect on German an- imal behavior theorists but very limited influence outside the country. He says little, however, about the institutional, social, and po- litical contexts in which animal behavior studies were conducted or the material practices on which these studies were based. The reader is thus left with an incomplete sense of why dif- ferent concepts were promoted and contested in particular times and places. The book succeeds in identifying many of the intellectual stakes in modem animal behavior studies, but as a histor- ical contextualization of these ideas it leaves much to be done.

RICHARD W. BURKHARDT, JR.

Norbert Gilson. Konzepte von Elektrizitdtsver- sorgung und Elektrizititswirtschaft; Die Entste- hung eines neuen Fachgebietes der Technikwis- senschaften zwischen 1880 und 1945. 475 pp., figs., tables, app., bibl., index. Stuttgart: GNT Verlag, 1994. DM 120.

Between the 1880s and the 1930s, the new en- gineering-science discipline of power-system economics developed. Little unanimity existed among those designing, building, and operating lighting and power systems until around 1910, when Georg Klingenberg initiated a second phase by developing tools for designing efficient large-scale supply projects. Developed in close connection with the growth of generating sys- tems, Klingenberg's ideas provided the basis for planning systems during and after World War I and then, increasingly, for managing systems. This phase ended in the mid 1920s, after Kling- enberg's "paradigm" of large-scale supply be- came widely accepted. A third phase began in 1925. As large systems increasingly intercon- nected, power-system economics moved from being taught as part of other courses to being a discipline with its own chairs at technical uni- versities. The one-time director of a mixed, pub- lic-private company in Saxony and Anhalt, Rup-

pert Schneider, took the chair in Darmstadt and became a key figure in consolidating power-sys- tem economics. In the 1930s, problems of tech- nical and economic planning were replaced with system management. At the same time, the elec- trical engineering community and the electric supply systems integrated themselves into the Third Reich.

Norbert Gilson describes that development. He has surveyed relevant technical jourals and used archives at German technical universities, as well as several company, municipal, and state archives. He demonstrates close connections be- tween those building and operating power sys- tems and those developing concepts necessary for analyzing the economics of those systems and hence for planning and managing them. An- alyzing these issues should involve an applica- tion of recent approaches in the history and so- ciology of technology that investigate engineers struggling to resolve technical, scientific, social, economic, and political problems. Instead, Gil- son develops a framework based on Thomas S. Kuhn, as modified with concepts drawn from Ludwik Fleck. He describes the formation of an "engineering community" and its "thought style" as he traces the development of the engineering science and its power-system context. A prepar- adigmatic phase existed before Klingenberg, who began spreading the dogma of centraliza- tion. By the 1930s, a group of engineers was arguing that technical choices could replace po- litical ones, while Schneider argued that two dif- ferent kinds of choices, based on different pa- rameters, were involved.

Gilson sides with Schneider. He argues that denying the difference between the technical and the social is the basis for technocratic thinking, which subsumes the social to the technical. Gil- son's rhetorical style suggests that he believes that choices in both realms are data driven rather than constructed. Thus, he devotes about one- third of his volume to appendixes, presenting facts in various forms, and some two-thirds of the written text to footnotes, describing sources (often with extensive quotations). He provides, however, evidence of less unanimity concerning the benefits of large-scale systems and centrali- zation than the concept of "paradigm," even as modified by Fleck, would allow. The ability to centralize, technically and politically, was also a good deal less developed than the author's three phases of economic discourse imply. It may be more useful to treat attempts to separate power- system economics from its context as part of the political effort necessary for building power sys- tems, establishing a new discipline at technical

pert Schneider, took the chair in Darmstadt and became a key figure in consolidating power-sys- tem economics. In the 1930s, problems of tech- nical and economic planning were replaced with system management. At the same time, the elec- trical engineering community and the electric supply systems integrated themselves into the Third Reich.

Norbert Gilson describes that development. He has surveyed relevant technical jourals and used archives at German technical universities, as well as several company, municipal, and state archives. He demonstrates close connections be- tween those building and operating power sys- tems and those developing concepts necessary for analyzing the economics of those systems and hence for planning and managing them. An- alyzing these issues should involve an applica- tion of recent approaches in the history and so- ciology of technology that investigate engineers struggling to resolve technical, scientific, social, economic, and political problems. Instead, Gil- son develops a framework based on Thomas S. Kuhn, as modified with concepts drawn from Ludwik Fleck. He describes the formation of an "engineering community" and its "thought style" as he traces the development of the engineering science and its power-system context. A prepar- adigmatic phase existed before Klingenberg, who began spreading the dogma of centraliza- tion. By the 1930s, a group of engineers was arguing that technical choices could replace po- litical ones, while Schneider argued that two dif- ferent kinds of choices, based on different pa- rameters, were involved.

Gilson sides with Schneider. He argues that denying the difference between the technical and the social is the basis for technocratic thinking, which subsumes the social to the technical. Gil- son's rhetorical style suggests that he believes that choices in both realms are data driven rather than constructed. Thus, he devotes about one- third of his volume to appendixes, presenting facts in various forms, and some two-thirds of the written text to footnotes, describing sources (often with extensive quotations). He provides, however, evidence of less unanimity concerning the benefits of large-scale systems and centrali- zation than the concept of "paradigm," even as modified by Fleck, would allow. The ability to centralize, technically and politically, was also a good deal less developed than the author's three phases of economic discourse imply. It may be more useful to treat attempts to separate power- system economics from its context as part of the political effort necessary for building power sys- tems, establishing a new discipline at technical

572 572

This content downloaded from 195.78.108.92 on Fri, 9 May 2014 11:53:53 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions