In this paper, I argue that the German morphological tradition made a major contribution to twentieth-century study of form. Several scientists paved the way for this research: paleontologist Adolf Seilacher (1925–2014), entomologist Hermann Weber (1899–1956), and biologist Johann-Gerhard Helmcke (1908–1993) together with architect Frei Otto (1925–2015). All of them sought to examine morphogenetic processes to illustrate their inherent structural properties, thus challenging the neo-Darwinian framework of evolutionary theory. I point out that the German theoretical challenge to adaptationist thinking was possible through an exchange and transfer of practices, data, technologies, and knowledge between biologically oriented students of form and architects, designers, and engineers. This exchange of practices and knowledge was facilitated by the establishment of two collaborative research centers at the beginning of the 1970s. Hence, by showing the richness of topics, methods, and technologies discussed in German-speaking morphology between 1950 and the 1970s, this paper paves the way to a much broader comprehension of the shifts that have shaped twentieth-century evolutionary biology.

中文翻译：

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挑战适应主义范式：形态发生、约束和结构

在本文中，我认为德国形态学传统对 20 世纪的形式研究做出了重大贡献。几位科学家为这项研究铺平了道路：古生物学家 Adolf Seilacher (1925–2014)、昆虫学家 Hermann Weber (1899–1956) 和生物学家 Johann-Gerhard Helmcke (1908–1993) 以及建筑师 Frei Otto (1925–2015)。他们都试图检查形态发生过程以说明其固有的结构特性，从而挑战新达尔文进化论的框架。我指出，通过生物学导向的形式学生与建筑师、设计师和工程师之间的实践、数据、技术和知识的交流和转移，德国对适应主义思维的理论挑战是可能的。1970 年代初两个合作研究中心的建立促进了这种实践和知识的交流。因此，本文通过展示 1950 至 70 年代德语形态学中讨论的主题、方法和技术的丰富性，为更广泛地理解塑造 20 世纪进化生物学的转变铺平了道路。