A Study Guide for D'Arcy Thompson's "On Growth and Form"
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A Study Guide for D'Arcy Thompson's "On Growth and Form" - Gale
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On Growth and Form
D'Arcy Thompson
1917
Introduction
On Growth and Form, first published in 1917 and then republished in 1942 by Cambridge University Press, is D'Arcy Thompson's radical departure from standard zoology. Looking outside the scope of comparative morphology and evolution, he sought to study nature from a mathematical perspective. He looked to both ancient as well as modern texts to pull together his observations on the development of form and structure in living things. The resulting text is a poetic treatise dedicated to the wonders of nature.
What makes his observations so rich is his careful consideration and blending of philosophy, literature, and mathematical principle. The reader may hope to encounter the philosophy of Goethe or Hegel or perhaps the mention of Darwin (who was a personal acquaintance of Thompson's) or Galileo, among others. But what makes the text so remarkable is the melding or blending of the literary and the mathematical. In addition to being a brilliant mathematician and scientist, Thompson was a thoughtful teacher. When discussing the relationship of a sphere to its volume, for example, Thompson looks to Swift's character Gulliver and to the everyday world to illuminate his ideas.
What shines through and adds value to the work as a whole is the author's love of and deep respect for nature and the pursuit of knowledge. As a zoologist, scientist, and philosopher, Thompson leaves very little to chance in his rich and multifaceted approach to biological study, exploring the concepts of growth and form with objectivity that is persuasive to any audience.
Author Biography
Sir D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, on May 2, 1860. He was raised in a family active in medicine, science, and the arts. His father, who held positions first as a classical master at Edinburgh Academy and then as a professor of Greek at Queens College, Galway, was influential in his life, as was his maternal grandfather, who provided him with a scientific background.
Thompson attended Edinburgh Academy and studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh, publishing papers in scientific journals on hydroid taxonomy, or the classification of invertebrate animals, at age nineteen. Eventually leaving Edinburgh, Thompson attended Trinity College, Cambridge, where he tutored Greek to pay for his tuition. He also translated Herman Müller's German work The Fertilisation of Flowers,
which was published with a preface by the naturalist Charles Darwin.
Thompson began his career as a professor of biology at the University College in Dundee in 1884. He worked at the university throughout his life, establishing a teaching museum of zoology and writing papers on various zoological subjects. In 1896, Thompson traveled to Alaska to