The Non-Darwinian Revolution
Reinterpreting a Historical Myth
Seiten
1992
Johns Hopkins University Press (Verlag)
978-0-8018-4367-9 (ISBN)
Johns Hopkins University Press (Verlag)
978-0-8018-4367-9 (ISBN)
Timely and cogent in its aims and arguments, it should prompt debate and discussion leading to fresh critical and historiographical insights concerning all those topics that historians of science, of society, and of culture associate with 'Darwinism' and 'evolutionism.'British Journal of the History of Science
Concise and clearly written, "The Non-Darwinian Revolution" sets forth a convincing argument for a reappraisal of Darwin's importance not only for the history of science but for the history of ideas as well. Bowler finds no fault with Darwin's theory, only with the mistaken notion of its revolutionary effect on nineteenth-century thought. Examining the work of such figures as Owen, Spencer, Kelvin, Huxley, Haeckel, and Freud, Bowler discovers a near-universal tendency to accept evolutionism while rejecting Darwin's central premise: natural selection. Instead, leading scientists and thinkers stubbornly clung to the Lamarckian theory of evolution as guided, purposeful development until they were forced by the twentieth century's "rediscovery" of Mendelian law to concede otherwise.
Concise and clearly written, "The Non-Darwinian Revolution" sets forth a convincing argument for a reappraisal of Darwin's importance not only for the history of science but for the history of ideas as well. Bowler finds no fault with Darwin's theory, only with the mistaken notion of its revolutionary effect on nineteenth-century thought. Examining the work of such figures as Owen, Spencer, Kelvin, Huxley, Haeckel, and Freud, Bowler discovers a near-universal tendency to accept evolutionism while rejecting Darwin's central premise: natural selection. Instead, leading scientists and thinkers stubbornly clung to the Lamarckian theory of evolution as guided, purposeful development until they were forced by the twentieth century's "rediscovery" of Mendelian law to concede otherwise.
Peter J. Bowler is reader in the history of philosophy of sceince at the Queen's University of Belfast, Northern Ireland. His other books include The Eclipse of Darwinism: Anti-Darwinian Evolution Theories in the Decades around 1900, The Mendelian Revolution, and Theories of Human Evolution.
List of Figures
Preface
Chapter 1. The Myth of the Darwinan Revolution
Chapter 2. Darwin's Originality
Chapter 3. The Impact of the Origin
Chapter 4. Evolutionism Triumphant
Chapter 5. From Darwin to Modern Darwinism
Chapter 6. Human Evolution
Chapter 7. Social Darwinism
Chapter 8. A Cultural Revolution?
Chapter 9. Toward a New Historiography of Evolutionism
Refences
Index
| Erscheint lt. Verlag | 26.4.1992 |
|---|---|
| Verlagsort | Baltimore, MD |
| Sprache | englisch |
| Maße | 152 x 229 mm |
| Gewicht | 340 g |
| Themenwelt | Naturwissenschaften ► Biologie ► Evolution |
| ISBN-10 | 0-8018-4367-7 / 0801843677 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-0-8018-4367-9 / 9780801843679 |
| Zustand | Neuware |
| Informationen gemäß Produktsicherheitsverordnung (GPSR) | |
| Haben Sie eine Frage zum Produkt? |
Mehr entdecken
aus dem Bereich
aus dem Bereich
