Evolution: Genesis and Revelations: With Readings from Empedocles to Wilson

by C. Leor Harris

In this comprehensive history of evolutionism, C. Leon Harris has combined primary source readings with clear, pertinent background information, to provide a solid basic understanding of the ways scientists have arrived at today's views of evolution. Harris describes the major contributors to the theory of evolutionism, placing each in the context of the general cultural influences to which he was exposed. Each chapter also contains an explanation...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0873954866
• ISBN13: 9780873954860
• Release Date: June 1981
• Publisher: State University of New York Press
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 1.26 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Evolution Anthology

I recently wrote a paper on the history of the idea of evolution. This book benefited me greatly. It's title sounds as if the book be about the religion v. evolution debate but it is more of a historical analysis of the idea of evolution. C. Leon Harris does discuss the religious view of the origin of life in the first chapter and in relation to the middle ages but otherwise he discusses the scientific idea of evolution. The book examines claimed evolutionists before Darwin, Darwin and Wallace's theories, and Neo-Darwinism carefully trying not to fall victim to Whig history (the examination of the past for specific pieces of modern science while neglecting the context and timeframe of an individual's thought.) The structure of the book is this: first, an often insightful commentary on the people discussed in the chapter (ex: Erasmus Darwin's evolutionary beliefs); second, a reading from the individuals' work (ex: a section from Erasmus Darwin's "Zoonomia"); third, tables and grafts showing not only the timeframe of the people discussed but additional persons involved in the arts or science (ex: next to Erasmus' "Zoonomia" Harris lists "Emperor Napoleon and Pres. Jefferson." One of the things I enjoyed most about Harris' book is that it was understandable. I am by no means a biologist, yet Harris allowed me to understand the basics of complex theories of evolution (ex: Lamarck's). Other books I used, such as Ernst Mayr's "Growth of Biological Thought," were, at times, frustratingly confusing. What I liked most about Harris' book was the readings from the various scholars he discussed. Sometimes, Harris overlooked possibilities that, thanks to the readings, I was able to find myself. For example, Harris included an excerpt from Erasmus Darwin's "Zoonomia" that appeared to be an anticipation of the theory of sexual selection which Charles Darwin would later expound in his "Origin." Harris did not mention the possibility in his commentary on Erasmus. Furthermore, at the many libraries I probed for books, I never could find any of the writings of Lamarck, E. Darwin, and even Wallace-but, rather, all C. Darwin-all Origin. Despite the book's positive side, it is a little old, being published in 1981 and sometimes Harris overlooked ideas of certain scholars that he must have either not been aware of or simply neglected to include in his book. Other than that, I recommend it to anyone who wants to analyze the growth and development of the evolutionary idea.