Scottish philosopher, theoretical physicist, historian and financier
Lancelot Law Whyte (4 November 1896 – 14 September 1972) was a Scottish philosopher, theoretical physicist, historian of science and financier.[1]
Early life and career
Lancelot Law Whyte, the son of Dr. Alexander Whyte, was born in
Edinburgh, Scotland into the privileged childhood of a great house; Alexander Whyte was at the time a renowned Presbyterian minister. Lancelot received his education at
Bedales School in England. He was a soldier during the
First World War, returning to enter
Trinity College, Cambridge and studying physics under
Ernest Rutherford. Subsequently, he studied at
Göttingen University in Germany.[2] Whyte’s interest developed as much along lines of human evolution and philosophy as that of theoretical physics.
To earn a living, White entered industry and banking in Britain, but he returned to Germany for a year, where he met
Albert Einstein. Back in Britain, in 1935 Whyte met
Frank Whittle, one of the pioneers of the
turbojet engine, and became a backer of the development of this invention, the eventual result being the British Air Ministry's initial commitment to the development of turbojet-powered planes, nearly five years later.[3]
Whyte proposed something he called "the unitary principle" to unify physics theories.[6] Experimental work on this theory was carried out by
Leo Baranski.[7]
Evolution
Whyte was the author of the book Internal Factors in Evolution (1965). He proposed that Darwin's theory of
natural selection is limited to external factors, and internal factors are a second directive agency in evolution.[8] Whyte proposed the term "internal selection."
John Tyler Bonner in the American Scientist positively reviewed the book. According to Bonner:
[Internal selection] is simply that there are two kinds of selection; an external Darwinian one and an internal one which is independent of the adaptability of the organism to a particular environment. The internal selection takes place by the machinery of the organism passing upon whether or not a particular mutation can survive considering the nature of internal milieu.[9]
Whyte's ideas were beyond the long-established tracks but do not sound too far-fetched today. He postulated the existence of »directive factors« in the machinery of the cell. These factors control mutations as well as an »internal selection«, a particular kind of evolution separately optimizing processes in the cell. Whyte’s »internal selection« explained »the directions of evolutionary change by internal organizational factors«. His model demonstrates why some well-corroborated genes are protected, and why, on the other hand, sensible variations of certain traits are supported by well-directed mutations of the related genes. The cell is the conductor, and the genome is its score to be interpreted wisely.[10]
Other scientists have been more critical. Biologist Robert E. Hillman gave the book a negative review, commenting "in a weak and ill-supported effort to deemphasize the role of natural selection in evolution Whyte has detracted from what could have been a fine analysis and philosophical discussion of the latest advances in the chemical basis of heredity and evolution."[11]
Works
Scientific papers
Z. Phys., 56, 809, 1929. 'On the characteristics of a unified physical theory. I. The presence of a universal constant with the dimensions of a length.' (In German.)
Z. Phys., 61, 274, 1930. 'Ditto. II. Rulers, clocks, and a possible alternative to 4-co-ordinate representation.' (In German.)
Libr. of Xth Int. Congr. of Phil., Amsterdam, 1948. I. 298. 'One-way Processes in Biology.'
Nature, 163, 762, 1949. 'Tendency towards Symmetry in Fundamental Physical Structures.'
Nature, 166, 824, 1950. 'Planck's Constant and the Fine-Structure Constant.'
Br. J. Philos. Sci., 1, 303, 1951. 'Fundamental Physical Theory. An Interpretation of the Present Position of the Theory of Particles.'
Br. J. Philos. Sci., 3, 256, 1952. 'Angles in Fundamental Physics.'
Am. Math. Mon., 59, 606, 1952. 'Unique Arrangements of Points on a Sphere.'
Br. J. Philos. Sci., 3, 243, 1952. 'The Electric Current. A Study of the Role of Time in Electron Physics.'
Br. J. Philos. Sci., 3, 349, 1953. 'Has a Single Electron a Transit Time?’
Phil. Mag., 44, 1303, 1953. 'The Velocities of Fundamental Particles.'
Br. J. Philos. Sci., 4, 160, 1953. 'Light Signal Kinematics.'
^Focus and Diversions, L L Whyte, Cresset Press, London 1963
^Roger Joseph Boscovich SJ FRS, 1711 -1787 Studies of his life and work on the 250th anniversary of his birth, edited L L Whyte, George Allen and Unwin, London, 1961
^The Unitary Principle in Physics and biology, LL Whyte, London, 1949
^Scientific Basis for World Civilization: Unitary Field theory, Leo J Baranski, The Christopher Publishing House, USA, 1960
^Clovis, Jesse F. (1968).
Internal Factors in Evolution by L. L. Whyte. Castanea. Vol. 33, No. 2. p. 156.
^Bonner, John Tyler. (1965). Internal Factors in Evolution by L. L. Whyte. American Scientist. Vol. 53, No. 2. p. 198A, 200A.
^Niemann, Hans-Joachim, Karl Popper and the Two New Secrets of Life, Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck 2014, chap. I, sect. 6, subsection 'Lancelot L. Whyte', p. 36-37.
^Hillman, Robert E. (1965). Internal Factors in Evolution by Lancelot Law Whyte. Chesapeake Science. Vol. 6, No. 2. pp. 123–124.