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Erasmus Darwin: A Life of Unequalled Achievement

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Just about all that I knew about Erasmus Darwin before reading this book was that he was Charles Darwin's grandfather and was the author of Zoonomia, a precursor to Charles' theory of evolution. Desmond King-Hele does an excellent job of putting together this comprehensive biography of Erasmus Darwin, basing much of his work on newly-donated material in the British Library. Erasmus was not merely a precuror to his more famous grandson. He was a productive scientist in his own right. One wonders what else Erasmus might have produced if he had not been obliged to work for his living as a physician. His grandson Charles lived off inherited wealth, but his output was limited by his mysterious illness. Not only was Erasmus an accomplished physician and scientist, but he also maintained contact with a wide circle of intellectual friends. And on top of all that he was a brilliant poet, cited as a precursor to the Romantics Wordsworth, Keats, Shelley, and others. Erasmus Darwin was a truly remarkable man and this biography does him fine justice.

Charles Darwin was an indifferent divinity student when he was upbraided by Dr. Robert Grant for overlooking his family's tradition of evolutionary thought, presumably Charles had bespoke himself of some Genesis convention. Erasmus Darwin was one of the great English intellectuals of the past 1,000 years, far surpassing the achievements of his grandson. His ideas were surpressed during the paranoid period of the Napoleon Wars. King-Hele's book takes some of the myth out of Darwinism finding that the modern convention is actually closer to Erasmus's theory than Charles's theory. Charles wrote a biography of Erasmus giving him his due but this was edited by Charles's daughter Henrietta. A very interesting tale about a seminal issue in modern science. This book is the cornerstone for reaching an understanding that Darwinism is a social movement not an intellectual movement, and is not about to be overthrown by historical facts. This book will not likely do well in the market since the educated public loves the old stories and trash science like the Selfish Gene. It is also interesting to note that Freudism, equally out of date, is also impossible to eradicate, even though it is under general attack. Strange business this.