Evolution, Old & New by Samuel Butler
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"Evolution, Old & New" by Samuel Butler is a scholarly exploration of evolutionary theory written in the late 19th century. The book critically examines the theories proposed by notable figures such as Buffon, Dr. Erasmus Darwin, Lamarck, and Charles Darwin, analyzing their perspectives on evolution, teleology, and the purpose behind the structures of living organisms. Butler aims to affirm the idea of design and purpose in the evolution of life, arguing against
the reduction of evolution to mere chance or mechanical causes. At the start of the work, Butler presents the central question of teleology in natural history, contemplating whether the structures of animals and plants demonstrate design or purpose. He contrasts the traditional view of teleology, exemplified by William Paley's arguments, with the emergent scientific perspectives influenced by natural selection and descent with modification. Ultimately, he intends to assert that these evolutionary changes are not devoid of purposeful design, alongside an examination of historical ideas about purposiveness in biology, setting the stage for a deeper discussion that challenges contemporary evolutionary reasoning. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
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About this eBook
| Author | Butler, Samuel, 1835-1902 |
|---|---|
| Title |
Evolution, Old & New Or, the Theories of Buffon, Dr. Erasmus Darwin and Lamarck, as compared with that of Charles Darwin |
| Credits |
Produced by Stacy Brown, Marilynda Fraser-Cunliffe and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at www.pgdp.net |
| Reading Level | Reading ease score: 49.4 (College-level). Difficult to read. |
| Language | English |
| LoC Class | QH: Science: Natural history |
| Subject | Evolution (Biology) -- History |
| Category | Text |
| eBook-No. | 23427 |
| Release Date | Nov 9, 2007 |
| Copyright | Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads | 11013 downloads in the last 30 days. |
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