December 26, 1972

Dr. John R. Gregg
Department of Zoology

Duke University

Durham, North Carolina 27706

Dear John,

This is just to ask you whether you have kept up a bibliography
on the theme of "the axiomatic method in biology” and particularly
for papers after your 1964 edited volume. There is a long way to go
from the formalization of chemistry -- where we have had some success
in putting the chemist's intellectual function on the computer -- and
in biology, But I thought I should educate myself a little better about
the depth of the problen.

ob& th way, do you have any idea where Woodger's book might still
be Seabigbdeor whether a publishing house like Dover might be stimulated
to reprint it?

I would be curious to see an account of your thinking on what
the pragmatic utility of this formal approach has been so far in biology,
and in which fields thereof, and what you think may be the future outlook.
With best regards,

Sincerely yours,

a

Joshua Lederberg
Professor of Genetics

Enclosures
JL/rr

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