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Darwinian Heresies

Darwinian Heresies

Darwinian Heresies

Abigail Lustig, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Robert J. Richards, University of Chicago
Michael Ruse, Florida State University
December 2010
Paperback
9780521172684

    In Darwinian Heresies, which was originally published in 2004, prominent historians and philosophers of science trace the history of evolutionary thought, and challenge many of the assumptions that have built up over the years. Covering a wide range of issues starting in the eighteenth century, Darwinian Heresies brings us through the time of Charles Darwin and the Origin, and then through the twentieth century to the present. It is suggested that Darwin's true roots lie in Germany, not his native England, that Russian evolutionism is more significant than many are prepared to allow, and that the true influence on twentieth-century evolution biology was not Charles Darwin at all, but his often-despised contemporary, Herbert Spencer. The collection was intended to interest, to excite, to infuriate, and to stimulate further work.

    • Investigates work of major, but little-studied biologists who gave shape to contemporary science
    • Studies evolutionary theory of nineteenth century that is analogous to more modern biologists' work
    • Compares Darwin and his conceptions of evolution with contemporaries

    Product details

    December 2010
    Paperback
    9780521172684
    210 pages
    229 × 152 × 12 mm
    0.32kg
    Available

    Table of Contents

    • Introduction Abigail Lustig
    • 1. Russian theoretical biology between heresy and orthodoxy: Georgii Shaposhinikov and his experiments on plant lice Elena Aronova and Daniel Alexandrov
    • 2. The spectre of Darwinism: the popular image of Darwinism in early twentieth-century Britain Peter J. Bowler
    • 3. Natural theology Abigail Lustig
    • 4. Ironic heresy: how young-earth creationists came to embrace rapid microevolution by means of natural selection Ronald L. Numbers
    • 5. If this be heresy: Haeckel's conversion to Darwinism Robert J. Richards
    • 6. Adaptive landscapes and dynamic equilibrium: the Spencerian contribution to twentieth-century, American, evolutionary biology Michael Ruse
    • 7. 'The ninth moral sin': the Lamarckism of W. M. Wheeler Charlotte Sleigh
    • 8. Contemporary Darwinism and religion Mikael Stenmark.
      Contributors
    • Abigail Lustig, Elena Aronova, Daniel Alexandrov, Peter J. Bowler, Ronald L. Numbers, Robert J. Richards, Michael Ruse, Charlotte Sleigh, Mikael Stenmark