In Darwin's shadow : the life and science of Alfred Russel Wallace : a biographical study on the psychology of history

Virtually unknown today, Alfred Russel Wallace was the co-discoverer of natural selection with Charles Darwin and an eminent scientist who stood out among his Victorian peers as a man of formidable mind and equally outsized personality. Now Michael Shermer rescues Wallace from the shadow of Darwin in this landmark biography. Here we see Wallace as perhaps the greatest naturalist of his age--spending years in remote jungles, collecting astounding quantities of specimens, writing thoughtfully and with bemused detachment at his reception in places where no white man had ever gone. Here, too, is his supple and forceful intelligence at work, grappling with such arcane problems as the bright coloration of caterpillars, or shaping his 1858 paper on natural selection that prompted Darwin to publish (with Wallace) the first paper outlining the theory of evolution. Shermer also shows that Wallace's self-trained intellect, while powerful, also embraced surprisingly naive ideas, such as his deep interest in the study of spiritual manifestations and seances. Shermer shows that the same iconoclastic outlook that led him to overturn scientific orthodoxy as he worked in relative isolation also led him to embrace irrational beliefs, and thus tarnish his reputation. As author of Why People Believe Weird Things and founding publisher of Skeptic magazine, Shermer is an authority on why people embrace the irrational. Now he turns his keen judgment and incisive analysis to Wallace's life and his contradictory beliefs, restoring a leading figure in the rise of modern science to his rightful place. Virtually unknown today, Alfred Russel Wallace was the co-discoverer of natural selection with Charles Darwin and an eminent scientist who stood out among his Victorian peers as a man of formidable mind and equally outsized personality. Michael Shermer rescues Wallace from the shadow of Darwin in this biography. Here we see Wallace as perhaps the greatest naturalist of his age-spending years in remote jungles, collecting astounding quantities of specimens, writing thoughtfully and with bemused detachment at his reception in places where no white man had ever gone. Here, too, is his supple and forceful intelligence at work, grappling with such arcane problems as the bright colouration of caterpillars, or shaping his 1858 paper on natural selection that prompted Darwin to publish (with Wallace) the first paper outlining the theory of evolution. Shermer also shows that Wallace's self-trained intellect, while powerful, also embraced surprisingly naive ideas, such as his deep interest in the study of spiritual manifestations and seances. Shermer shows that the same iconoclastic outlook that led him to overturn scientific orthodoxy as he worked in relative isolation also led him to embrace irrational beliefs, and thus tarnish his reputation. As author of Why people believe weird things and founding publisher of "Skeptic" magazine, Shermer turns his judgment and analysis to Wallace's life and his contradictory beliefs, aiming to restore a leading figure in the rise of modern science to his rightful place Virtually unknown today, Alfred Russel Wallace was the co-discoverer of natural selection with Charles Darwin and an eminent scientist who stood out among his Victorian peers as a man of formidable mind and equally outsized personality. Michael Shermer rescues Wallace from the shadow of Darwin in this biography. Here we see Wallace as perhaps the greatest naturalist of his age-spending years in remote jungles, collecting astounding quantities of specimens, writing thoughtfully and with bemused detachment at his reception in places where no white man had ever gone. Here, too, is his supple and forceful intelligence at work, grappling with such arcane problems as the bright colouration of caterpillars, or shaping his 1858 paper on natural selection that prompted Darwin to publish (with Wallace) the first paper outlining the theory of evolution. Wallace's self-trained intellect, while powerful, also embraced surprisingly naive ideas, such as his deep interest in the study of spiritual manifestations and seances. Shermer shows that the same iconoclastic outlook that led him to overturn scientific orthodoxy as he worked in relative isolation also led him to embrace irrational beliefs, and thus tarnish his reputation. The author turns his judgment and analysis to Wallace's life and his contradictory beliefs, aiming to restore a leading figure in the rise of modern science to his rightful place Contents......Page 8 List of Illustrations......Page 10 Preface: Genesis and Revelation......Page 14 Prologue. The Psychology of Biography......Page 24 1. Uncertain Beginnings......Page 54 2. The Evolution of a Naturalist......Page 77 3. Breaching the Walls of the Species Citadel......Page 98 4. The Mystery of Mysteries Solved......Page 129 5. A Gentlemanly Arrangement......Page 149 6. Scientific Heresy and Ideological Murder......Page 172 7. A Scientist Among the Spiritualists......Page 196 8. Heretical Thoughts......Page 223 9. Heretical Culture......Page 246 10. Heretic Personality......Page 271 11. The Last Great Victorian......Page 292 12. The Life of Wallace and the Nature of History......Page 319 Epilogue. Psychobiography and the Science of History......Page 332 Notes......Page 350 Appendix I: Wallace Archival Sources......Page 364 Appendix II: Wallace’s Published Works......Page 372 Bibliography......Page 412 A......Page 424 B......Page 425 C......Page 426 D......Page 427 E......Page 428 G......Page 429 H......Page 430 I......Page 431 L......Page 432 M......Page 433 N......Page 434 O......Page 435 P......Page 436 R......Page 438 S......Page 439 V......Page 442 Z......Page 443 Biologism's dehumanizing effect on our view of the human conditionEvolutionary Psychology , an offspring of Sociobiology, claims to explain human mental (psychological) functions on the basis of evolution theory. Researchers in the field try to monopolize Darwin for their purpose by calling themselves Darwinists or by putting his portrait on the cover of their books. It is shown that Darwin, who actually tried to explain some human behavior, like altruistic behavior, in the context of evolution theory, found the intellectual and moral faculties to be predominantly shaped by sociocultural, not biological factors, however. It is also shown that the tendency to reduce mental functions to biological ones, biologism, affects many fields of inquiry to their detriment, such as education, criminology, psychiatry, or philology. Biologism s dehumanizing effect on our view of the human condition is the dominant topic of the book. A Biography Of The English Naturalist Covers His Work In Natural History, His Relationship With Darwin, And His Contribution To Evolutionary Theory. The year 1889 was a historically interesting one, although no more nor less than most others in the latter half of this rapidly changing century.