The Third Lens

[Reynolds] sets out to delineate a field that is heretofore un- or underexplored: the metaphor-rich field of cell-signaling and cell-to-cell communication. Historians and philosophers of science should take note of this untapped field. . . . Recommended. --CHOICE Brief, admirably lucid. . . . His example should be an encouragement to explore other fields in the same way. --Times Higher Education A rich and engaging tour of the role of metaphor in the history of cell biology. --Evelyn F. Keller, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Reynolds has done an outstanding job teasing out the many varieties of metaphors that have been applied in cell biology since the seventeenth century. Particularly insightful is the explication of how various metaphors fashioned the very epistemic foundations of biological theory--how various cell biologists have tried to understand (and explain) cell structure and function. The Third Lens makes us think seriously about metaphors not just as useful figures of speech for conveying ideas about particular phenomena, but as part and parcel of how we formulate understandings and indeed our very construction of the natural world. --Garland E. Allen, Washington University Reynolds manages to weave together a panoramic and expansive view of the history of cell biology with philosophical reflections on metaphors and their value to the science. He plants some topics sometimes viewed as more biochemical or molecular than cellular firmly in the context of the 'redoubtable' cell and, in this way, expands our understanding of cell biology. . . . Overall, The Third Lens is a valuable survey of the history of nineteenth and twentieth century cell biology. It is also a resource to guide further exploration of not only this history but also the power of metaphors in shaping the discipline. --Journal of the History of Biology Reynolds has synthesized here the grand overview of the history and philosophy of cell metaphors. . . . the strength of Reynolds's analysis is not merely cataloguing the range and variety of metaphors deployed. His greatest contribution is exploring at a deep level metaphors' ability to both enable and constrain the very conceptualizing of what a cell is and how they point our attention to what cells can do for us. . . . [an] extremely useful and readable volume. --British Journal for the History of Science