Johannes Reinke
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Johannes Reinke (February 3, 1849 - February 25, 1931) was a German botanist and philosopher who was a native of Ziethen, Schleswig-Holstein. He initially studied theology at Rostock, but his interest later changed to botany. In 1879 he became a professor of botany at the University of Gottingen, where he established the institute of plant physiology. From 1885 until 1921 Reinke was a professor at the University of Kiel.
Reinke is remembered for his studies of benthic marine algae, particularly brown algae, and he described several new genera of algae in the North and Baltic seas. He postulated that the encrusting algae genus called Aglaozonia was a stage in the life history of Cutleria. Reinke also made contributions concerning the cytology, physiology and anatomy of kelp and sargassum.
Reinke was a proponent of scientific "neo-vitalism", and a critic of the Darwinian theory of evolution. In 1901 he introduced the term "theoretical biology" to define biology from a standpoint of concepts and theories, and to differentiate it from traditional "empirical biology". Reinke attempted to explain the evolutionary processes of life through a concept of morphogenesis and genetic regulation he referred to as the "Dominanten" theory. Among his written works was a book that discussed the relationship of philosophy and religion to science.
[edit] Selected publications
- Lehrbuch der allgemeinen Botanik (Textbook of General Botany), 1880
- Atlas deutscher Meeresalgen (Atlas of German Marine Algae), 1889 and 1891
- Einleitung in der theoretischen Biology (Introduction to Theoretical Biology, 1901
- Philosophie der Botanik (Philosophy of Botany), 1905
- Kritik der Abstammungslehre (Critique concerning the Theory of Evolution), 1920
- Naturwissenschaft, Weltanschauung, Religion, (1923).
- Das dynamische Weltbild (The Dynamic World View), 1926
