Cathedrals, Corals and Mycelia: Three Analogies for the History of Evolutionary Biology

In The Structure of Evolutionary Theory, Stephen Jay Gould argued that the history and structure of the evolutionary theory could be represented as a fossilized coral constituted by a central branch representing the mechanism of natural selection. In analysing Gould’s analogy—and some of the assumptions informing the traditional historiography of evolutionary biology—I defend three related points. First, while hierarchical analogies might be adequate for biologists outlining the current structure of evolutionary biology, they are not fit for historians reconstructing the history of evolutionary biology. Second, the historical reconstructions of evolutionary biology have been shaped by different approaches, purposes and questions. On that account, I distinguish between scientist and humanist historiographies of evolutionary biology, whereby the concept of “natural selection” obtains diverse connotations. Third, beyond Gould’s static historiographic analogies, I propose an alternative, more flexible, analogy for the humanist historiography of evolutionary biology: the mycelium. In fact, contrary to hierarchical analogies employed by Gould—which emphasize the search for foundations and essences—the metaphorical mycelium inspires a different kind of historical understanding.