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Overview
English biologist Thomas Henry Huxley (1825-95) was the foremost advocate of Darwin's theory of evolution, which he was "prepared to go to the stake" to defend. The controversies surrounding Darwin in the Victorian age became a vehicle for Huxley to gain power in intellectual, institutional, and political arenas.
Yet in this investigation of Huxley's motivations in science, Sherrie L. Lyons uncovers Huxley's skepticism of two basic tenets of Darwin's theory - natural selection and gradualism. His criticism of Darwinian science as being too simplistic led to a strengthening of evolutionary theory, rather than a weakening of it. A self-appointed defender of truth, Huxley developed his own research program, examining philosophy prior to Darwin in an effort to fill the holes in evolutionary theory. Lyons also looks at Huxley's conversion from saltation to gradualism, and his views on progression and the fossil record.
As Huxley's interest in developmental morphology continues to be crucial in studying problems in comparative anatomy, embryology, paleontology, and evolution, this book is essential to students of Darwin, Huxley, and the scientific enterprise.
Synopsis
English biologist Thomas Henry Huxley (1825-1895) has long been known as the foremost defender of Darwin's theory of evolution, which he supported on numerous occasions, both public and private.. "In this investigation of Huxley's motivations in science, author Sherrie L. Lyons shows him to be, first and foremost, an advocate of scientific reasoning, his commitment to which resulted in Huxley voicing public skepticism regarding two basic tenets of Darwin's theory: natural selection and gradualism. His criticism of Darwin's view - far from what critics of evolution imagine - led to a strengthening of evolutionary theory, rather than a weakening of it. Huxley's dedication to scientific method and critical assessment of evidence spurred him to assist in confirming the evolutionary hypothesis.
Booknews
In the Victorian Age, controversies surrounding Darwin's theory of evolution became a vehicle for English biologist Huxley, one of evolution's chief advocates, to gain power in intellectual, institutional, and political arenas. Science historian Lyons uncovers Huxley's skepticism of two basic tenets of Darwin's theory, natural selection and gradualism, and reveals how Huxley developed his own research program in an effort to fill the holes in evolutionary theory. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)