Lay Sermons, Addresses and Reviews

by Thomas Henry Huxley

Overview

Thomas Henry Huxley (1825–95) became known as 'Darwin's bulldog' because of his forceful and energetic support for Darwin's theory, especially at the notorious British Association meeting in Oxford in 1860. In fact, Huxley had some reservations about aspects of the theory, especially the element of gradual, continuous progress, but in public he was unwavering in his allegiance, saying in a letter to Darwin 'As for your doctrines I am prepared to go to the Stake if requisite'. In his 1870 essay collection Lay Sermons, Addresses, and Reviews, of which the title alone was designed to provoke controversy, he offers a variety of his writings, many of which were originally talks given to a range of audiences from learned societies to a working men's college, and including his own review of On the Origin of Species and a typically passionate response to two other reviews less favourable to Darwin.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781518822735
Publisher:	CreateSpace Publishing
Publication date:	11/18/2015
Pages:	162
Product dimensions:	5.98(w) x 9.02(h) x 0.35(d)

Table of Contents

Preparatory letter; 1. On the advisableness of improving natural knowledge; 2. Emancipation – black and white; 3. A liberal education: and where to find it; 4. Scientific education: notes of an after-dinner speech; 5. On the educational value of the natural history sciences; 6. On the study of zoology; 7. On the physical basis of life; 8. The scientific aspects of positivism; 9. On a piece of chalk; 10. Geological contemporaneity and persistent types of life; 11. Geological reform; 12. The origin of species; 13. Criticisms on On the Origin of Species; 14. On Descartes' 'Discourse touching the method of using one's reason rightly and of seeking scientific truth'.