The Philosophy of Zoology Before Darwin

Beschreibung

This long-overlooked survey of the development of evolutionary theory is by far the most thorough and balanced account of its kind. Unlike most of the recent Anglo-centric literature that tends to focus almost exclusively on Darwin and natural selection, it follows the work of naturalists of many nationalities who used paleontology, comparative anatomy, and embryology in order to establish a linear continuity of evolving life though the long span of geological time. Thorough historical survey of the development of the concept of evolution before the publication of Darwin’s 'The Origin of Species'. Providing an alternative view of the recent literature and journal articles commemorating Darwin’s 200th birthday and the 150th anniversary of publication of 'The Origin of Species'. Richly annotated with up to date information and explanations of the changing concepts and terminology as well as featuring an extensive Glossary and Biographical index.
Jean Octave Edmond Perrier was a French zoologist who lived through the tumult of British Darwinism and Lyellism, and reminds us in this revealing account that French scientists had much to contribute to such perennial topics as evolution, catastrophism and creationism. While very much a product of the Third Republic, Perrier’s account also aimed to outline timeless issues and permanent advances in taxonomic and developmental biology since classical Greece and Rome. In this aim he succeeds with surprisingly modern perspectives for a book first published in 1884. Perrier was born May 9, 1844 at Tulle, the son of the principal of a school which now bears his name, Lycée Edmond Perrier. In 1864 he was accepted to the École Normale Supérieure, where he was strongly influenced by Louis Pasteur and Henri de Lacaze-Duthiers. After working for three years at a high school in Agen, he obtained a post of naturalist-aid at the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle (1868), advancing in that institution to Chair of Natural History of Molluscs, Worms and Corals (1876–1903) and then Director of the museum (1900–1919) and Chair of Comparative Anatomy (1903–1921). Previous directors of the museum included many of the scientists he discusses in this book: George Cuvier (1822–1823, 1826–1827, 1830–1831), Isidore Geoffrey St Hilaire (1860– 1861), and Alphonse Milne-Edwards (1891–1900). Perrier’s own research on echinoderms and earthworms took him on several expeditions in 1880-1885, mostly to Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts, but also to the Caribbean.
Thorough historical survey of the development of the concept of evolution before the publication of Darwin’s On the Origin of Species Providing an alternative view of the recent literature and journal articles commemorating Darwin’s 200th birthday and the 150th anniversary of publication of On the Origin of Species Richly annotated with up to date information and explanations of the changing concepts and terminology as well as featuring an extensive Glossary and Biographical index

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Alex McBirney

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From the reviews: “The 20 chapters cover a range of pre-Darwin naturalists and scholars, primarily discussing their ideas with admirable conciseness and perspective. Rarely does a relatively short opus address so much in such detail as this one. Cook and Retallack … supply a comprehensive glossary of terms and a ‘Biographical Index.’ … Summing Up: Highly recommended. All collections.” (F. S. Szalay, Choice, Vol. 47 (7), March, 2010)

The Philosophy of Zoology Before Darwin. A Translated and Annotated Version of the Original French Text by Emond Perrier is a welcome and much-needed addition to a huge volume of literature in the history of biology. As McBirney notes in his introduction to this translation, he was surprised to find Perrier’s history so ignored within the canon of history of biology. Perrier’s history provides a unique synthesis of pre-Darwinian philosophical assumptions—he traces these premises throughout the centuries and millennia of their influence in his short, informative, biographical sketches. The book is a solid reminder of a time in the history of biology when history itself carried legitimate explanatory power. Review by Lydia Pyne, PaleoAnthropology 2010

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