The Lysenko Controversy as a Global Phenomenon, Volume 2 by William deJong-Lambert & Nikolai Krementsov

Author:William deJong-Lambert & Nikolai Krementsov
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Springer International Publishing, Cham

Obviously the Times editorialist had not read Muller’s letter to Stalin . If he had, he would have realized that, in fact, the story was exactly the opposite. It was the scientist—not the dictator—who had believed human types could be “created to order,” and that this was, in fact, part of why the congress was not going forward.

The controversy soon boiled over in a VASKhNIL session held during December 19–27, pitting Muller, Vavilov and several Soviet geneticists against Lysenko and his followers. This session may be regarded as a precursor to the notorious July 31 to August 7 session twelve years later, in that genetics was essentially being put on trial. Among the more shocking facts is that, despite the fact that Israel Agol, another of Muller’s former students from Texas, was arrested on the first day of the meeting, Muller still went ahead and discussed his plan for a socialist eugenics . This proved unfortunate. According to what Muller later wrote to Huxley ,At the end of my anti-Lamarckist, anti-Lyssenko (sic) address, I called attention to the pro-Fascist race and class implications of Lamarckism , since if true it would imply the genetic inferiority, at present, of people and classes that had lived under conditions giving less opportunity for mental and physical development. The audience applauded wildly, but there was a terrific storm higher up and I was forced to make a public apology, while the statement I had made was omitted from the published address. 59

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