Eric Davidson (1937-2015): A Conservative Scientific Revolutionary in Systems Developmental Biology and Evolution

Using the work of Eric Davidson (1937-2015) as an example, this article challenges the idea that a revolutionary scientific discovery has to change whole scientific frameworks. Instead, it proposes the concept of the conservative revolutionary, which characterizes a scientist whose research leads to groundbreaking changes of theory and methodology, but who continues to work in the frame of their discipline and its epistemologies. The founder of molecular systems developmental biology, Davidson was the first to use large amounts of DNA sequencing in studies on development, and he also developed new mechanistic concepts in evolutionary theory. However, he placed his new methods within the framework of traditional epistemology. His philosophy and practice are of great relevance in the face of increasing use of AI in science.