- Email: [email protected]
Jonathan Stoye
Perspectives
Historical keywords Development Development originally referred to a process of unfurling or untangling, and the word now encompasses every aspect of the fabric of modern medicine. From embryology to career progression; from prognosis to service provision; from child psychology to global health; development is seen as a guiding principle within the politics and practice of contemporary medical work. Yet the word maintains an uneasy status, since much of its normative power and organisational force is predicated upon older meanings, long rendered redundant by advances in biology and medicine. The first English uses of development occur in the late 18th century, where it signifies the revelation of a latent power or the fulfilment of some inner plan. This usage drew upon a much older Aristotelian understanding of conception, which had envisaged the process as the imposition of a form (provided by the male seed) onto the amorphous matter of the female. This faith in the masculine powers of organisation did not last long. At the beginning of the 19th century, the German poet and philosopher, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832) argued that development involved the local deviation of plants and animals from an ideal form. This process of metamorphosis was not dictated by any ingrained plan, rather it was driven by circumstance. This new understanding of development as the accumulation of local adaptations rather than the fulfilment of some preordained scheme was, of course, epitomised in the work of Charles Darwin (1809–82) who emphasised the random forces of environmental selection as the motor of transformation. In Darwin’s view, development was less a process of unfolding, and more one of repeatedly testing the cloth for its fit with the environment. The Darwinian sense of an environmentally driven process robs development of much of its evaluative potential. We are not progressing along some ascending ladder, but reacting to local events. Such a reassessment fits quite well with the new uneasiness over the imposition of western ideals of development on indigenous peoples. Yet the defence of such interventions as a process that allows people to fulfil their own latent potentials may receive some succour from genetics. Current models of DNA as a programme that regulates the pattern and process of growth return us to the old idea of development as the unfolding of a predetermined plan.
Rhodri Hayward Wellcome Trust Centre for the History of Medicine at UCL [email protected]
www.thelancet.com Vol 365 March 5, 2005
Lifeline Jonathan Stoye is Head of the Division of Virology at the UK Medical Research Council’s National Institute for Medical Research. He works on factors that influence interactions between retroviruses and their hosts and the consequences of cross-species transmission of these agents. These interests have led to roles in the risk assessment of subjects as diverse as xenotransplantation and GM crops. What do you think is the greatest political danger to the scientific profession? Putting greater emphasis on strategic considerations rather than the rigour and quality of science. Which research paper has had most effect on your work, and why? The two papers that I chose to describe in my first journal club as a graduate student. That presentation was called “The mechanism of action of the Fv-1 gene”; nearly 30 years later it could still be my seminar title. Who is your favourite politician and why? One who listens to me, but I haven’t met him or her yet. What part of your work gives you the most pleasure? Darien moments; novel visions, not necessarily profound, but facts and insights never before appreciated. If you had not entered your current profession, what would you have liked to do? Be good enough to become a serious chess player. Who was your most influential teacher, and why? Those responsible for the Biology of Cells course for Part IA of the Natural Sciences Tripos at Cambridge University, UK— it sent me down an entirely different career and life path. What is the best piece of advice you have received, and from whom? “It’s your career” and “The biggest fish hide deepest”, both from John Coffin of Tufts University School of Medicine. How do you relax? Watching ER. What is your favourite book, and why? Lord of the Rings for revealing the power of imagination. What is your greatest fear? That my research might be compared to the Emperor’s New Clothes. What are you currently reading? Seeds of Wealth by Henry Hobhouse and The Incas by Terence D’Altroy. What is your favourite country? In Spring, the UK; in Summer, Switzerland; in Fall, New England; in winter, Barbados. With which historical figure do you most identify? Sir Auriel Stein.
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Historical keywords Development Development originally referred to a process of unfurling or untangling, and the word now encompasses every aspect of the fabric of modern medicine. From embryology to career progression; from prognosis to service provision; from child psychology to global health; development is seen as a guiding principle within the politics and practice of contemporary medical work. Yet the word maintains an uneasy status, since much of its normative power and organisational force is predicated upon older meanings, long rendered redundant by advances in biology and medicine. The first English uses of development occur in the late 18th century, where it signifies the revelation of a latent power or the fulfilment of some inner plan. This usage drew upon a much older Aristotelian understanding of conception, which had envisaged the process as the imposition of a form (provided by the male seed) onto the amorphous matter of the female. This faith in the masculine powers of organisation did not last long. At the beginning of the 19th century, the German poet and philosopher, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832) argued that development involved the local deviation of plants and animals from an ideal form. This process of metamorphosis was not dictated by any ingrained plan, rather it was driven by circumstance. This new understanding of development as the accumulation of local adaptations rather than the fulfilment of some preordained scheme was, of course, epitomised in the work of Charles Darwin (1809–82) who emphasised the random forces of environmental selection as the motor of transformation. In Darwin’s view, development was less a process of unfolding, and more one of repeatedly testing the cloth for its fit with the environment. The Darwinian sense of an environmentally driven process robs development of much of its evaluative potential. We are not progressing along some ascending ladder, but reacting to local events. Such a reassessment fits quite well with the new uneasiness over the imposition of western ideals of development on indigenous peoples. Yet the defence of such interventions as a process that allows people to fulfil their own latent potentials may receive some succour from genetics. Current models of DNA as a programme that regulates the pattern and process of growth return us to the old idea of development as the unfolding of a predetermined plan.
Rhodri Hayward Wellcome Trust Centre for the History of Medicine at UCL [email protected]
www.thelancet.com Vol 365 March 5, 2005
Lifeline Jonathan Stoye is Head of the Division of Virology at the UK Medical Research Council’s National Institute for Medical Research. He works on factors that influence interactions between retroviruses and their hosts and the consequences of cross-species transmission of these agents. These interests have led to roles in the risk assessment of subjects as diverse as xenotransplantation and GM crops. What do you think is the greatest political danger to the scientific profession? Putting greater emphasis on strategic considerations rather than the rigour and quality of science. Which research paper has had most effect on your work, and why? The two papers that I chose to describe in my first journal club as a graduate student. That presentation was called “The mechanism of action of the Fv-1 gene”; nearly 30 years later it could still be my seminar title. Who is your favourite politician and why? One who listens to me, but I haven’t met him or her yet. What part of your work gives you the most pleasure? Darien moments; novel visions, not necessarily profound, but facts and insights never before appreciated. If you had not entered your current profession, what would you have liked to do? Be good enough to become a serious chess player. Who was your most influential teacher, and why? Those responsible for the Biology of Cells course for Part IA of the Natural Sciences Tripos at Cambridge University, UK— it sent me down an entirely different career and life path. What is the best piece of advice you have received, and from whom? “It’s your career” and “The biggest fish hide deepest”, both from John Coffin of Tufts University School of Medicine. How do you relax? Watching ER. What is your favourite book, and why? Lord of the Rings for revealing the power of imagination. What is your greatest fear? That my research might be compared to the Emperor’s New Clothes. What are you currently reading? Seeds of Wealth by Henry Hobhouse and The Incas by Terence D’Altroy. What is your favourite country? In Spring, the UK; in Summer, Switzerland; in Fall, New England; in winter, Barbados. With which historical figure do you most identify? Sir Auriel Stein.
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