Darwinian Heresies
Darwinian Heresies
Robert J. Richards, University of Chicago
Michael Ruse, Florida State University
Including some of today's leading historians and philosophers of science, this collection demonstrates that not all is precisely as it is too often assumed. Thus, the contributors to this volume suggest 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 evolutionary biology was not Charles Darwin at all, but his often-despised contemporary, Herbert Spencer.
- 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
Reviews & endorsements
"A provocative analysis of evolutionary concepts for those engaged in the history of ideas."
J.S. Schwartz, CUNY College of Staten Island, CHOICE
"This collection of essays is really fun."
New Biological Books
"As this volume well demonstrates, questioning the existence, source, and nature of heresy in science can not only be highly profitable but also thought-provoking."
Journal of the History of Biology
Product details
December 2010Paperback
9780521172684
210 pages
229 × 152 × 12 mm
0.32kg
Available
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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.
