History without Time: Buffon's Natural History as a Nonmathematical Physique

History without time: Buffon's natural history as a nonmathematical physique.

While "natural history" is practically synonymous with the name of Buffon, the term itself has been otherwise overlooked by historians of science. This essay attempts to address this omission by investigating the meanings of "physique," "natural philosophy," and "history," among other terms, with the purpose of understanding Buffon's actual objectives. It also shows that Buffon never claimed to...

Introducing Books/ Dagestan: A Natural History, Mehrnaz Shirazi Adl

Natural history , life history , and

We report on basic natural history, life history, and diet of Priapella chamulae (Poeciliidae) from Arroyo Tres, a small creek in Tabasco, southern México. The tertiary (adult) sex ratio was heavily female-skewed, female P. chamulae produced medium-sized offspring (~2.3 mg), one clutch at a time (i.e., showed no superfetation), and relied predominantly on yolk for embryo provisioning (Matrotrop...

A Patient with Acroangiodermatitis Without a History of Vascular Disease: A Case Report

Acroangiodermatitis (AAD), also known as Pseudo-Kaposi’s sarcoma, is a rare benign angioproliferative disease associated with chronic venous insufficiency (CVI) or other vascular disorders. We present an 81-year-old male with plaque-like cutaneous lesions, which had progressive erythematous margins, severe pain, and intense pruritus, as well as bilateral swollen and painful feet. It was around ...

Natural history and temporalization: reflections on Buffon's Natural history.

This article presents a rereading of Buffon's Natural History in the light of the concepts of temporal reversibility and irreversibility. The goal is to determine to what extent Buffon introduces a transformationist concept of natural forms in this work. To that effect, the main points of classical natural history and the doctrine of preformed germs are analyzed. Subsequently, Buffon's use of t...