Literary notes about unicellular (AI summary)
The term "unicellular" has been used in literature across a range of disciplines to denote entities composed of a single cell, but its context often shifts to illuminate varying aspects of life and organization. In scientific and biological texts, such as in Darwin’s work, it is employed in a purely descriptive sense to define organisms consisting of one cell [1], while in botanical descriptions, it specifies structural characteristics of plant tissues [2]. In the realm of natural philosophy and early sociological thought, authors draw analogies between simple cellular life and more complex social forms; for instance, Burgess and Park use it metaphorically to describe the neurone as a tiny, single-celled entity [3], and Carroll distinguishes between protozoa and multicellular metazoa to underscore differences in tissue organization [4]. Moreover, Durkheim reflects on the discovery of these unicellular beings as transformative to our overall conception of life [5], highlighting the term's capacity to bridge scientific observation with broader philosophical implications.
- UNICELLULAR.—Consisting of a single cell.
— from The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection by Charles Darwin - Drupe oblong, compressed, unicellular.
— from The Medicinal Plants of the Philippines by T. H. Pardo de Tavera - The neurone, however, is a little unicellular animal, like the amoeba or the paramecium.
— from Introduction to the Science of Sociology by E. W. Burgess and Robert Ezra Park - We have first to distinguish the unicellular animals ( protozoa ) from the multicellular tissue-forming ( metazoa ).
— from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll - It is for this same reason that the discovery of unicellular beings, of which we just spoke, has transformed the current idea of life.
— from The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life by Émile Durkheim
