Lancelot Law Whyte

Lancelot Law Whyte (1896–1972) was a Scottish financier and industrial engineer.^[1]

Unified field theory

He claimed to have worked with Albert Einstein on the unified field theory.^[2] He further claimed that this work was based on the theory of the 18th century natural philosopher Roger Boscovich.^[3]

Whyte proposed something he called "the unitary principle" to unify physics theories.^[4] Experimental work on this theory was carried out by Leo Baranski.^[5]

Evolution

Whyte was the author of the book Internal Factors in Evolution (1968). He proposed that Darwin's theory of natural selection is limited to external factors, and internal factors are a second directive agency in evolution.^[6] 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.^[7]

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."^[8]

Works

Scientific papers

• Zeit. f. 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.)
• Zeit. f. 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.’
• Brit. J. Phil. Sci., 1, 303, 1951. ‘Fundamental Physical Theory. An Interpretation of the Present Position of the Theory of Particles.’
• Brit. J. Phil. Sci., 3, 256, 1952. ‘Angles in Fundamental Physics.’
• Am. Math. Monthly, 59, 606, 1952. ‘Unique Arrangements of Points on a Sphere.’
• Brit. J. Phil. Sci., 3, 243, 1952. ‘The Electric Current. A Study of the Role of Time in Electron Physics.’
• Brit. J. Phil. Sci., 3, 349, 1953. ‘Has a Single Electron a Transit Time?’
• Phil. Mag., 44, 1303, 1953. ‘The Velocities of Fundamental Particles.’
• Brit. J. Phil. Sci., 4, 160, 1953. ‘Light Signal Kinematics.’
• Am. J. Phys., 21, 323, 1953. ‘Dimensional Theory: Dimensionless Secondary Quantities.’
• Brit. J. Phil. Sci., 5, 1, 1954. ‘A Dimensionless Physics ?’
• Nature, 174, 398, 1954. ‘Velocity of Electron Pulses.’ (With D. Gabor and D. L. Richards.)
• Brit. J. Phil. Sci., 4, 337, 1954. ‘Geodesics and the Space and Time of Physical Observations.’
• Ann. of Sci., 10, 20, 1954. ‘On the History of Natural Lengths.’
• Brain, 77 (I), 158, 1954. ‘Hypothesis regarding the Brain Modifications underlying Memory.’
• Brit. J. Phil. Sci., 5, 332, 1955. ‘Note on the Structural Philosophy of Organism.’
• Brit. J. Phil. Sci., 6, 107, 1955. ‘One-Way Processes in Physics and Bio-Physics.’
• Nature, 179, 284, 1957. ‘Boscovich and Particle Theory.’
• Nature, 180, 513, 1957. ‘Chirality.’
• Brit. J. Phil. Sci., 7, 347, 1957. ‘On the Relation of Physical Laws to the Processes of Organisms.’
• Notes and Records, Roy. Soc. London, 13, 38, 1958. ‘R. J. Boscovich, 1711-1787, and the Mathematics of Atomism.’
• Nature, 182, 198, 1958. ‘Chirality.’
• Nature, 182,230, 1958. Report of Bicentenary Meeting, ‘Boscovich’s Theoria Philosophise Naturalis, 1758.
• Brit. J. Phil. Sci., 9, 133, 1958. ‘The Scope of Quantum Mechanics.’

Books

• Internal Factors in Evolution (Soc. Sci. Pbs.), Lancelot Law Whyte. Tavistock Pubns. 1968
• The Unconscious Before Freud (Soc. Sci. Pbs.), Lancelot Law Whyte. Tavistock Pubns. 1967
• The Next Development in Man, Lancelot Law Whyte, et al. Transaction Publishers, U.S. 2002
• The Universe of Experience: A Worldview Beyond Science and Religion, Lancelot Law Whyte, et al. Transaction Publishers, U.S. 2003
• Hierarchical Structures, Lancelot Law Whyte (Editor). Elsevier. 1969
• Essay on Atomism: From Democritus to 1960, Lancelot Law Whyte. Nelson. 1961
• The Atomic Problem: A Challenge to Physicists and Mathematicians, Lancelot Law Whyte. Allen & Unwin. 1961

See also

• Classical unified field theories

Notes

1. PEP Web - A Biographical Note on L. L. Whyte
2. Focus and Diversions, L L Whyte, Cresset Press, London 1963
3. 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
4. The Unitary Principle in Physics and biology, LL Whyte, London, 1949
5. Scientific Basis for World Civilization: Unitary Field theory, Leo J Baranski, The Christopher Publishing House, USA, 1960
6. Clovis, Jesse F. (1968). Internal Factors in Evolution by L. L. Whyte. Castanea. Vol. 33, No. 2. p. 156.
7. Bonner, John Tyler. (1965). Internal Factors in Evolution by L. L. Whyte. American Scientist. Vol. 53, No. 2. p. 198A, 200A.
8. Hillman, Robert E. (1965). Internal Factors in Evolution by Lancelot Law Whyte. Chesapeake Science. Vol. 6, No. 2. pp. 123-124.