Glass, B. Maupertuis, pioneer of genetics and evolution (1959)

Glass, B. Maupertuis, pioneer of genetics and evolution / B. Glass // Forerunners of Darwin: 1745–1859 / ed. by B. Glass, O. Temkin, W. L. Straus. — Baltimore : Johns Hopkins Press, 1959. — P. 51–83.

"Pierre Louis Moreau de Maupertuis has long been overshadowed by his more famous successors, yet his contributions to the study of heredity and the mutability of species are foundational. In this essay, I aim to demonstrate that Maupertuis, through his work on polydactyly and his speculative writings on the origin of life, anticipated core concepts of both Mendelian genetics and the modern theory of evolution. By examining his rejection of preformationism and his use of probabilistic reasoning, I argue that he deserves recognition as a true pioneer of the biological sciences."