Ornithology, Evolution, and Philosophy

Zusatztext

Ernst Mayr (19042005), eminent naturalist-systematist and ornithologist, - chitect of the Synthetic Theory of Evolution, leading evolutionary biologist and in?uential historian and philosopher of biology, was asked repeatedly by friends, associates, and peers to write an autobiography, but he always declined such s- gestions because he considered those of other people he knew as inadequate. Moreover, he could not very well talk about himself without bragging, which did not appeal to him. Who else has had a private dinner with the Emperor and - pressofJapan?WhoelsehashadhonorarydegreesfromtheUniversitiesofOxford, Cambridge, Harvard, the Sorbonne, Uppsala, and Berlin? And who else has been able to celebrate the 75th anniversary of his PhD? He also published several au- biographicalaccounts,dictatedcopiousautobiographicalnotes,andannotatedhis bibliography. I had the privilege of using these notes and, in addition, of asking him numerous questions, which he answered patiently in many personal letters. He supported the plan of a biography wholeheartedly from the beginning and reviewed a ?rst draft in detail. In many ways he should be considered a coauthor of this book. As a high school student and eager birdwatcher in Germany, I read Kramers (1948) extensive review of Mayrs Systematics and the Origin of Species (1942e) and was impressed with the general evolutionary relevance of the discussions and conclusions in this book based, in large part, on his ornithological studies.

Autorenportrait

<P>Jürgen Haffer was born in 1932. He majored in geology and paleontology obtaining a PhD degree at the University of Göttingen in 1957. He became an exploration geologist and lived in South and North America, Iran, Egypt, and Norway. During these assignments he studied the bird faunas of Amazonia and Iran and has been in close communication with Ernst Mayr since the early 1960s. He also co-published a biography of Erwin Stresemann, Mayr¿s teacher and friend in Berlin, Germany.</P>

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