Letter from Francis Crick to C. H. Waddington
- Contributor(s):
- The Wellcome Library for the History and Understanding of Medicine. Francis Harry Compton Crick Papers Waggington, C. H. (Conrad Hal), 1905-1975 Crick, Francis, 1916-2004
- Publication:
- Produced: 9 November 1967
- Language(s):
- English
- Format:
- Text
- Subject(s):
- Biology Vitalism Physics Chemistry
- Genre(s):
- Archival Materials Letters (correspondence)
- Abstract:
- Crick's letter was written in response to a review by Waddington of Crick's book, Of Molecules and Men (1966), a discourse on the relationship between science and philosophy in which Crick argued against vitalism, the belief that living beings are animated by an autonomous soul or metaphysical inner force that cannot be explained by natural laws. Instead, Crick argued that, with the major exception of evolution by natural selection (a process driven by chance mutations), all biological phenomena, including human consciousness, could eventually be reduced to the laws of physics and chemistry.
- Copyright:
- This item may be under copyright protection; contact the copyright owner for permission before re-use.
- Extent:
- 3 pages
- NLM Unique ID:
- 101584582X160 (See in Profiles in Science)
- Profiles in Science ID:
- SCBBLT
- Permanent Link:
- http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/101584582X160
- Archival Collection:
- The Francis Crick Papers (Profiles in Science)