T.H. Huxley was greatly opposed to early evolutionary theories, such as Lamarck and Robert Chambers'. These theories were based on progression and Huxley wanted nothing to do with progressionist ideas. A biologist himself he initially believed that the ancient world had stayed much the same for as far back as its history could be traced, and that modern taxa would eventually be found in the oldest rocks. Wrong he was, however, and in Darwin's theory he found his true alliance.
Huxley was more than ready to fight for the Darwinian doctrines, and fight he did. If acceptance of Darwinian thought was spread so quickly, it was probably because of the numerous debates Huxley appeared in and the passion with which he defended the theory. "Darwin's bulldog" is what he was known as, and his most famous debate was with Archbishop Samuel Wilberforce, who ridiculed evolution by asking Huxley if he was descending from an ape on his grandfather's side or his grandmother's. Huxley's response was that he "would rather be the offspring of two apes than be a man and afraid to face the truth."
Check out http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/history/thuxley.html for more.
I think this point is very interesting. It is intriguing to see how Huxley's opinion changed so drastically from believing the world was fairly similar throughout time and then to agree with Darwin. I also really like the quote about the ape descendant, it adds to the character of Huxley. It shows that he was very tough and dedicated to Darwin's ideas
ReplyDeleteI find it very interesting that Huxley did most of the promotion for Darwin's theory of evolution instead of Darwin himself. The fact that Huxley's beliefs were not only radically changed but the fact that he was inspired to to spread the word throughout the world is an example of how powerful and influential Darwin's writings were.
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