Jacques Ruffié
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Jacques Ruffié (22 November 1921,
Limoux Limoux (; oc, Limós ) is a commune and subprefecture in the Aude department, a part of the ancient Languedoc province and the present-day Occitanie region in southern France. Its vineyards are famous for being first to produce sparkling wi ...
,
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
– 1 July 2004) was a French
haematologist Hematology ( always spelled haematology in British English) is the branch of medicine concerned with the study of the cause, prognosis, treatment, and prevention of diseases related to blood. It involves treating diseases that affect the produc ...
,
geneticist A geneticist is a biologist or physician who studies genetics, the science of genes, heredity, and variation of organisms. A geneticist can be employed as a scientist or a lecturer. Geneticists may perform general research on genetic processe ...
, and
anthropologist An anthropologist is a person engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropology is the study of aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms and ...
. He founded a discipline, called
blood typing Blood compatibility testing is conducted in a medical laboratory to identify potential incompatibilities between blood group systems in blood transfusion. It is also used to diagnose and prevent some complications of pregnancy that can occur whe ...
, which allowed the study of blood characteristics to find the history of the people, their migration and their successive interbreeding. He was a colleague and great personal friend of
Michel Foucault Paul-Michel Foucault (, ; ; 15 October 192625 June 1984) was a French philosopher, historian of ideas, writer, political activist, and literary critic. Foucault's theories primarily address the relationship between power and knowledge, and how ...
at the
College de France A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering v ...
; Foucault mentions him in a newly discovered essay review of a book that Ruffié published in 1976, entitled ''De la biologie à la culture'' (''From Biology To Culture'').Foucault Studies October 2014 ''Bio‐history and Biopolitics'' 1976


Contributions and works

Ruffié studied at St. Stanislaus College of Carcassonne, and obtained medical degrees from medical schools in Toulouse, Montpellier and Paris and Toulouse Sciences Faculty. Doctor of Medicine, PhD, Associate Professor of the University. Professor of Hematology chair at the Toulouse Faculty of Medicine from 1965 to 1972. Director General of the Regional Blood Transfusion Centre in the region Midi-Pyrénées. Professor of physical anthropology at the Collège de France in 1972, based in Toulouse on blood typing center of the CNRS, he led in parallel. Research Professor at the University of New York. Member of the National Academy of Medicine. He deepened his study of life from three main disciplines:
hematology Hematology ( always spelled haematology in British English) is the branch of medicine concerned with the study of the cause, prognosis, treatment, and prevention of diseases related to blood. It involves treating diseases that affect the produc ...
,
genetics Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms.Hartl D, Jones E (2005) It is an important branch in biology because heredity is vital to organisms' evolution. Gregor Mendel, a Moravian Augustinian friar wor ...
, and
anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of behavi ...
. He created in 1960 the blood typing, which allows to find an individual by his blood characteristics and is a major contribution to modern
forensic science Forensic science, also known as criminalistics, is the application of science to criminal and civil laws, mainly—on the criminal side—during criminal investigation, as governed by the legal standards of admissible evidence and criminal ...
that later spread and led to DNA testing. This technique also later allowed for the studies of kinship of human populations, as well as the movement of people. He wrote several books on the subject of biologizing thesis, like "From biology to culture" or "Sex and death". It went against the established ideas of his time establishing this method of what was considered as tracing two facts in anthropology: According to Ruffié the concept of race had a meaning in primitive humanity. Also, the concept Convergence was well established in humans for about six thousand years, probably related to the development of long-distance trading. This long-term influence of cultural biology had later influenced
Stephen Jay Gould Stephen Jay Gould (; September 10, 1941 – May 20, 2002) was an American paleontologist, evolutionary biologist, and historian of science. He was one of the most influential and widely read authors of popular science of his generation. Gould sp ...
, who he mentions in his public works ('' The Panda's Thumb: More Reflections in Natural History''). It illustrates a co-development of humanization a humanization mentioned by
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin Pierre Teilhard de Chardin ( (); 1 May 1881 – 10 April 1955) was a French Jesuit priest, scientist, paleontologist, theologian, philosopher and teacher. He was Darwinian in outlook and the author of several influential theological and philos ...
. He was a member of the Academy of Science in Human Biology Section and medical sciences. He was also an honorary professor at the Collège de France, where he occupied the chair of
Physical anthropology Biological anthropology, also known as physical anthropology, is a scientific discipline concerned with the biological and behavioral aspects of human beings, their extinct Hominini, hominin ancestors, and related non-human primates, particularly ...
. He was also a member of the
French resistance The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...
during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
He was a member of the Board of Royaumont Center for Science of Man


Awards

*Holder of the Military Medal *Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour


Works

*''Culture to biology'' *''The living of the Treaty'' *''Sex and death'' (in collaboration with Jean Charles Sournia ) *''The living and the human'' *''Epidemics in human history'' *''Geographic Hematology'' (in collaboration with Jean Bernard).


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ruffie, Jacques People from Limoux 1921 births 2004 deaths 20th-century French physicians University of Toulouse faculty Collège de France faculty Grand Officiers of the Légion d'honneur Commandeurs of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres French Resistance members Members of the French Academy of Sciences Winners of the Prix Broquette-Gonin (literature)