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Contents
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About this book
Thirty years have passed since scholars last surveyed the history of evolutionary thought in a collective work. The interests and interpretations of leaders in the field have undergone a fundamental shift. Today scholars have become more critical, and evolutionary ideas are now found to have diverse sources and universal scope. The thirteen original essays represent today's research and also celebrate the work of John C Greene, whose historical writings have had a unique influence on the field as a whole.
Contents
Preface; Introductory conversation; 1. Erasmus Darwin: Doctor of Evolution? R. Porter; 2. Nature's powers: a reading of Lamarck's distinction between creation and production L. Jordanova; 3. Lamarckism and democracy: corporations, corruption, and comparative anatomy in the 1830s A. Desmond; 4. The nebular hypothesis and the science of progress S. Schaffer; 5. Behind the veil: Robert Chambers and Vestiges J. A. Secord; 6. Of love and death: why Darwin 'gave up Christianity' J. R. Moore; 7. Encounters with Adam, or at least the Hyaenas: nineteenth-century visual representation of the deep past M. Rudwick; 8. Huxley and woman's place in science: the 'woman question' and the control of Victorian anthropology E. Richards; 9. Ideology, evolution, and late-Victorian agnostic popularizers B. Lightman; 10. Ernst Haeckel, Darwinismus, and the secularization of nature P. Weindling; 11. Holding your head up high: degeneration and orthogenesis in theories of human evolution P. J. Bowler; 12. Evolution, ideology, and world view: Darwinian religion in the twentieth century J. R. Durant; 13. Persons, organisms, and ! primary qualities R. M. Young; Afterword John C. Greene; Index.
Customer Reviews
Edited By: JR Moore and JC Greene
429 pages, no illustrations
...the first collective work on evolutionary thought in 30 years. Interests and interpretations in the field have undergone a fundamental shift, and the history of evolutionary thought is no longer written as a triumphal progression of scientific truth with the focus on Charles Darwin... The book is aimed at the general academic reader as well as at those concerned with the religious, moral, and political aspects of evolution. Geotimes "The present collection of essays stands along with David Kohn's earlier volume on Darwin as one of the two best series of articles on the current state of research. It should receive a wide audience not only among scholars but also in graduate and undergraduate classes on the history of science. it is required reading for scholars in any field concerned with evolutionary thought in the nineteenth century." Frank M. Turner, ISIS "The disciplined focus on a class of problems that remain, to this day, identified with the human implications of various scientific world views, is what distinguishes this collection from the usual assemblage of loosely associated essays. The essays are uniformly of the highest quality of scholarship in evolutionary studies that are being carried out today, and there is an abundant evidence of inspired editorial planning and guidance." James G. Paradis, Quarterly Review of Biology "...discuss topics that will prove particularly interesting to theologians and church historians intrigued by the recurring theme of the interdependence of science and religion...this volume is an extraordinarily valuable contribution..." Samuel C. Pearson, Church History