The Evolutionary Brotherhood: Reaction

On February 24th, I had the opportunity of listening to a lecture given by Harvard alumnus and Boston College assistant professor, Jenna Tonn. The reason for choosing to listen in on this discussion was the topic itself: what it meant to be a man of science in the 19^th century. Focusing particularly on the field of evolutionary biology over a century ago, professor Tonn used the personal correspondences of famous leading biologists as a lens to view the private and social environment that these men worked in. Interestingly, albeit not entirely surprising, the social conditions that these scientists constructed was somewhat of a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it could be viewed in a positive light like the culture of brotherhood that we typically see developed within athletic teams on college campuses. However, on the other hand, this same environment was one that potentially ostracized those that did not fit in ideally; a characteristic which continues to adhere to the previous comparison to college athletics.

Although, in the case of 19^th century zoologists, what seemed to really add fuel to the fire was the very field of study that these men were developing. Looking at the correspondences between these scientists and their loved ones, it is clear that a form of social Darwinism was infiltrating their workplace. After years of studying survival of the fittest in the animal kingdom, it eventually became commonplace for them to comment on each other’s masculinity and genetic flaws. It had even reached a point where one of their fellow researchers who had lost an arm was criticized over this fact and the quality of his work was brought into question.

Needless to say, this environment was not welcoming to women in the slightest. Between the misguided public perception of the inferiority of women at the time, and the exclusivity of their “masculine” bonds, there was little room for women in the field. This is not to say that there were no female evolutionary biologists in this period. Though, those that did stand out received their unfair share of criticism.

Now, although the slightly heartwarming and extremely problematic stories of scientific brotherhood were engaging to hear about themselves, what really made professor Tonn’s lecture fascinating was this new perspective into history that is not typically taught. Usually, we would simply hear about the discoveries and contributions these people made into the progress of science, and we would never question if there was anything more to the story. By looking at these famous names as more than a possible exam question for history students, a completely new story comes to light. Each one of these individuals had a family, friends, and relationships with each other that influenced almost everything they published. Viewing each one of these individuals under a microscope answers a ton of questions that may have been floating around, but also raises many more.

Similar to the previous unit “Collecting the World”, where we uncovered long-held truths about civilizations centuries ago by simply tracking the movement of an object throughout history, professor Tonn demonstrated that the study of history is nowhere near finished. There is still so much more we do not know about the things we think we know. Moreover, the more we learn about the past, the more we can question about the present. For example, it seems obvious that the male-dominated field of evolutionary biology has come a long way, but is there some aspect of the old culture that continues to hide in the shadows? Just as we may unintentionally feel pity towards someone physically handicapped, did these scientists a century ago feel the same way towards their colleague? Although women have gracefully and rightfully risen to the forefront of science through hard work and perseverance, can we honestly say that everyone weighs their words equally to that of a man’s? A glance at the past may give some hint as to how we should approach the future.