Is The Dialectical Biologist Dialectical? Reexamining the Legacy of 20th Century ‘Marxist’ Biology

Abstract

Since its publication in 1985, evolutionary biologists Richard Levins and Richard Lewontin’s book The Dialectical Biologist has remained a key reference in the history and philosophy of biology. Nevertheless, one of the book’s central claims, that it embodies a Marxist dialectical materialist approach to biology, and to science in general, has remained contested, being treated as confused or ambiguous at best. Addressing this common reaction to the The Dialectical Biologist, this paper seeks to make explicit the ways in which the book, on the level of both form and content, can be considered to embody a genuine dialectical approach to science. It outlines Levins and Lewontin’s commitment to a clearly defined version of dialectical materialism, related to the principles put forward by Friedrich Engels. It then situates this version of dialectical materialism within the context of debates on the relation between dialectics and the natural sciences within Marxist theory. Against this theoretical background, the The Dialectical Biologist is cast as an attempt to embody just the kind of dialectical analysis of the natural sciences demanded by its philosophical commitments. Importantly, this dialectical aspect only becomes clear through close attention to the text on the multiple levels of content, style, and argumentative structure. This paper’s reading of the dialectical approach to science aims to facilitate fruitful engagement with an important text in the history of 20th century biology, particularly in a time where Lewontin’s work and legacy is being remembered and re-examined.