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Enthroning Naturalism Chapter 4

Re: On The Origin of Species.

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Enthroning Naturalism Chapter 4

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    1. Enthroning Naturalism Chapter 4 13 September 2007

    2. Re: On The Origin of Species “That this most ingenious hypothesis enables us to give a reason for many apparent anomalies in the distribution of living beings in time and space, and that it is not contradicted by the main phenomena of life and organisation appear to us to be unquestionable; and, so far, it must be admitted to have an immense advantage over any of its predecessors. But it is quite another matter to affirm absolutely either the truth or falsehood of Mr. Darwin's views at the present stage of the inquiry.” -from The Times of London, 26 December 1859 (anonymous review, written by TH Huxley)

    3. T.H. Huxley Pulled from school at age 10 Self-taught and fluent in German (often translated articles for Darwin) Took only one of 2 required exams for medical degree at the University of London, so never finished At age 20 he was broke, so joined the Royal Navy as assistant surgeon Studied marine invertebrates while at sea: Classified Hydrozoans based on 2-layered body plan Classification work with tunicates Morphological work with molluscs Fossil evidence showing affinity between birds and dinosaurs Noted fossil horse teeth from America changing from browsers to grazers Origin of the term ‘agnostic’ (as a self-descriptive term)

    4. “And as to the curs which will bark and yelp....I am sharpening my claws and beak in readiness” “Old ladies, of both sexes, consider it a decidedly dangerous book” “No competent thinker of the present day dreams of explaining these indubitable facts by the notion of the existence of unknown and undiscoverable adaptations to purpose.” From Huxley’s Times review T.H. Huxley – Darwin’s Bulldog “irreverent manner, aggressive bearing, and magnetic personality” (Larson p. 81)

    5. Darwin’s Proponents (and some differences of opinion)

    6. Larson talks about the impact of Origin on the supremacy of the church—cf. Darwin’s examples of lack of perfection and self-serving cruelty in nature BUT Darwin left out any reference to human evolution from OriginLarson talks about the impact of Origin on the supremacy of the church—cf. Darwin’s examples of lack of perfection and self-serving cruelty in nature BUT Darwin left out any reference to human evolution from Origin

    7. "In 1860 I may fairly look forward to fifteen or twenty years 'Meisterjahre,' and with the comprehensive views my training will have given me, I think it will be possible in that time to give a new and healthier direction to all Biological Science. To smite all humbug, however big; to give a nobler tone to science; to set an example of abstinence from petty personal controversies, and of toleration for everything but lying; to be indifferent as to whether the work is recognised as mine or not, so long as it is done:–are these my aims? 1860 will show“ –from Huxley’s journal, dated December 31, 1856

    8. Huxley and Wilberforce (1860) “The Lord hath delivered him into mine hands...” Dr. Hooker being called upon by the President to state his views of the botanical aspect of the question, observed that the Bishop of Oxford having asserted that all men of science were hostile to Mr. Darwin's hypothesis, whereas he himself was favourable to it, he could not presume to address the audience as a scientific authority. As, however, he had been asked for his opinion, he would briefly give it. Notes from Athenaeum report on Section D (July 1860) from the Year Book of Facts (1861) (The Huxley File: http://aleph0.clarku.edu/huxley/guide7.html)

    9. Richard Owen As a boy, identified as “lazy and impudent” Entered medical school in 1824 (age 20) - quit because of poor quality of teaching Assistant at the Royal College of Surgeons (1826) Responsible for cataloguing the Hunterian collection (13,000 anatomical specimens!) Thus was born an interest in comparative anatomy Began giving Hunterian lectures to the public (1837) Described fossil vertebrates from Darwin’s Voyage

    10. Richard Owen The “British Cuvier” – inferred prior existence of moas on New Zealand from a single ostrich-like bone fragment (1839) Named Dinosauria taxon for 3 fossil reptiles (1842) Defined “homology” (1843) Described anatomy of a newly-discovered ape (Gorilla,1849) Incorrectly argued apes differ from humans in lacking a hippocampus (Huxley enjoyed setting the record straight!) Wrote over 600 scientific articles

    11. On Disliking Owen ‘It is astonishing with what an intense feeling of hatred Owen is regarded by the majority of his contemporaries,’ Huxley observed in 1851, ‘with Mantell as arch-hater’ (Larson, p. 46) “a pity a man so talented should be so dastardly and envious” – Mantell Reminder: Mantell discovered Iguanodon and Hylaeosaurus and postulated a “geological age of reptiles” Owen’s later related publications implied Mantell’s incompetence Interpreted Iguanodon tooth as rhinocerous (later overturned by more fossil evidence by Mantell) Took credit for interpretation of pterodactylian bones found by Mantell Tried to keep the Royal Society from awarding Mantell the Royal Medal Had a section of Mantell’s spine pickled and displayed at Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons – as “the severest degree of deformity” Allegedly wrote a derisive obituary (anonomously) for Mantell Darwin: “I used to be ashamed of hating him so much, but now I will carefully cherish my hatred & contempt to the last days of my life". Denied presidency of Royal Geological Society b/c of obituary; removed from RS Zoological Council for plagiarism; Denied presidency of Royal Geological Society b/c of obituary; removed from RS Zoological Council for plagiarism;

    12. Am I satyr or man?       Pray tell me who can, And settle my place in the scale.       A man in ape's shape,       An anthropoid ape, Or monkey deprived of his tail?       The Vestiges taught,       That all came from naught By "development," so called, "progressive;"       That insects and worms       Assume higher forms By modification excessive.       Then Darwin set forth       In a book of much worth, The importance of "nature's selection;"       How the struggle for life       Is a laudable strife, And results in "specific distinction." (first 3 stanzas of “Monkeyana” from Punch, May 1861)

    13. Applying natural selection to humans Darwin’s 2 main arguments from The Descent of Man 1st: physical similarity between human and ape bodies 2nd: human abilities “differed in degree (rather than in kind) from those of other animals” (Larson p. 97) Natural selection could be used to explain and predict British dominance, social classes, etc. Used sexual selection to explain gender/race differences

    14. What makes a human? Altruism Morality Self-awareness Reasoned thought Intelligence Ability to love Language Religious devotion Empathy Social behavior

    15. Plotnik et al. 2006. Self-recognition in an Asian elephant. PNAS

    16. MSR by Happy, Maxine and Patty All 3 elephants showed repetitive mirror-testing behavior Bringing food to eat in front of it Repetitive movements in and out of mirror view Repetitive trunk and body movement Interpreted as self-directed behavior Maxine and Patty physically inspected the mirror Happy passed the mark test—MSR complete!

    17. References * Useful websites The Huxley File: http://aleph0.clarku.edu/huxley/ The JD Hooker Website: http://www.jdhooker.org.uk/ UC Museum of Paleontology: http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/history/owen.html Strange Science: http://www.strangescience.net/index.htm Darwin Correspondence Project: http://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/index.php Wikipedia: www.wikipedia.com * Interesting papers related to human evolution: Benedict, CJ, LM DeBruine, AC Little, RP Burriss, and DR Feinberg. 2007. Social transmission of face preferences among humans. Proc. Roy. Soc. B 274: 899-903. Bickerton, D. 2000. Resolving discontinuity: A minimalist distinction between human and non-human minds. American Zoologist 40:862-873. Brosnan, SF and FBM de Waal. 2003. Monkeys reject unequal pay. Nature 425: 297-299. Gangestad, SW, R Thornhill, and CE Garver-Apgar. 2005. Women’s sexual interests across the ovulatory cycle depend on primary partner developmental instability. Proc. Roy. Soc. B 272: 2023-2027. Gardner, A and SA West. 2004. Cooperation and punishment, especially in humans. American Naturalist 164: 753-764. Plotnik, JM, FBM de Waal, and D Reiss. 2006. Self-recognition in an Asian elephant. PNAS 103: 17053-17057. Wynn, T. 2002. Archaeology and cognitive evolution. Behavioral and Brain Science 25: 389-438.

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