Erasmus Darwin: A Life of Unequalled Achievement

Rating:
Summary: Darwinism: a family tradition
Review: Charles Darwin was an indifferent divinity student when he was upbraided by Dr. Robert Grant for overlooking his family's tradition of evolutionary thought, presumably Charles had bespoke himself of some Genesis convention. Erasmus Darwin was one of the great English intellectuals of the past 1,000 years, far surpassing the achievements of his grandson. His ideas were surpressed during the paranoid period of the Napoleon Wars. King-Hele's book takes some of the myth out of Darwinism finding that the modern convention is actually closer to Erasmus's theory than Charles's theory. Charles wrote a biography of Erasmus giving him his due but this was edited by Charles's daughter Henrietta. A very interesting tale about a seminal issue in modern science. This book is the cornerstone for reaching an understanding that Darwinism is a social movement not an intellectual movement, and is not about to be overthrown by historical facts. This book will not likely do well in the market since the educated public loves the old stories and trash science like the Selfish Gene. It is also interesting to note that Freudism, equally out of date, is also impossible to eradicate, even though it is under general attack. Strange business this.