This book offers an integrated historical and philosophical examination
of the origin of genetics. The author contends that an integrated HPS
analysis helps us to have a better understanding of the history of
genetics, and sheds light on some general issues in the philosophy of
science. This book consists of three parts. It begins with historical
problems, revisiting the significance of the work of Mendel, de Vries,
and Weldon. Then it turns to integrated HPS problems, developing an
exemplar-based analysis of the development and the progress in early
genetics. Finally, it discusses philosophical problems: conceptual
change, evidence, and theory choice. Part I lays out a new
historiography, serving as a basis for the discussions in part II and
part III. Part II introduces a new integrated HPS method to analyse and
interpret the historiography in Part I and to re-examine the
philosophical issues in Part III. Part III develops new philosophical
accounts which will in turn make a better sense of the history of
scientific practice more generally. This book provides a practical
defence of integrated HPS: the best way to defend integrated HPS is to
do it.