The Tragic Sense of Life: Ernst Haeckel and the Struggle over Evolutionary Thought (Hardcover)

by Robert J. Richards (Author)
Key Phrases: Natürliche Schöpfungsgeschichte, evolutionary ethics, olynthus form, Ernst Haeckel, Generelle Morphologie, Charles Darwin (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"This is a brilliant book.... It is intellectually brilliant, offering an account of Haeckel as driven by tragic failures in love that colored his view of life. And the book is brilliant scholarship, drawing on a wide range of sources to paint a quite different picture of Haeckel's work than other scholars have achieved." - History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences "An excellent, well-illustrated, and scholarly biography of Haeckel." - Andrew Robinson, Financial Times "The Tragic Sense of Life is an immensely impressive work of biography and intellectual history, and a fitting testament to a complex and contradictory character.... Richards succeeds brilliantly in reestablishing Haeckel as a significant scientist and a major figure in the history of evolutionary thought." - P. D. Smith, Times Literary Supplement" --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Review
"The Tragic Sense of Life is an immensely impressive work of biography and intellectual history, and a fitting testament to a complex and contradictory character. . . . Richards suceeds brilliantly in re-establishing Haeckel as a significant scientist and a major figure in the history of evolutionary thought."-P. D. Smith, Times Literary Supplement (PD Smith Times Literary Supplement 20090227)

"This is an extraordinarily thorough investigation into the life of a great (and greatly maligned) scientist....This is a masterly work, and belongs in the library of anyone who has an interest in the history of evolutionary science. Highly recommended."-Choice (Choice 20090303)

"A truly engrossing and fascinating story about a man, the product of 19th century Romanticism, part artist, part scientist, who becomes by his own insight and conviction the epicenter of a powerful clash between science and religion. Even 100 years later, the repercussions of Haeckel''s actions continue to be felt in today''s scientific, popular, religious, and even political discourse. . . . Richards' exhaustive scholarship is evident throughout this brobdingnagian and revealing work of biography and history of science....this book will go a long way in recalibrating our understanding, even our appreciation, of Haeckel's position in the history of embryology and of his contributions to modern biological research."-Alejandro S�nchez Alvarado, Cell (Alejandro S�nchez Alvarado Cell 20080811)

"The Tragic Sense of Life, by Robert J. Richards, provides not only a biography of the controversial German evolutionist Ernst Haeckel (1834-1919), but also an important piece of the emerging picture of the Darwinian Revolution in its international and intergenerational dimensions. . . . Richards's analysis brings Haeckel and Darwin closer together than ever before, even for those of us who resist making Romantics of them both. By doing so, and by defending Haeckel from the excesses of his critics and bringing out the personal side of his science, this book marks a major rehabilitation of Haeckel as a mainstream Darwinian, and a full-blooded one at that. It writes Germany into the larger story of the international development of Darwinism in a new way, and it injects welcome doses of drama, romance and natural beauty into the story."-Sander Gliboff, American Scientist (Sander Gliboff American Scientist )

"In this magnificent book, Richards gives Haeckel a scientific reputation that he never quite secured during his life. The case is compelling that we should go back and look at Haeckel's scientific work, and not just at the gorgeous pictures that have often distracted historians. Thanks to Richards, we have a guide to the work and its context and impact. He has brilliantly illuminated this fascinating and tragic life."-Jane Maienschein, History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences (Jane Maienschein History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences )

"Haeckel has now found his champion in historian Robert J Richards who sets out to change forever the general perception of this man, whom he regards as one of the greatest in the history of the life sciences. . . . Thanks to Richards's magnificent biography, Haeckel will never again be discounted."-Michael Ruse, The Lancet (Michael Ruse The Lancet )

"In his characteristically rich and rolling prose, Richards weaves a compelling story of a life marked by tragedy and of an intense, larger-than-life figure whose passions drove his scientific research and philosophy. In Richards's rendering, the scientific Haeckel cannot be understood separately from the man's personality and private circumstances....One cannot leave this book without a deep appreciation for Haeckel as a tragic figure and for the force of personality in shaping the direction science may take."-Lynn Nyhart. Science (Lynn Nyhart Science )

"[Obsession]''s key new idea-that obsessional thinking generated a whole new field of medicine, which in turn affected the way we now all think-is fascinating and will hopefully stimulate any psychiatrist into some non-obsessive reflection on the significant influence, for good or ill, of our profession."-Iain McClure, British Journal of Medicine (Iain McClure British Journal of Medicine )

"This is a fascinating book. It should be read carefully and avidly." (Elof Axel Carlson Quarterly Review of Biology )

"[An] excellent, well-illustrated and scholarly biography of Haeckel."-Andrew Robinson, Financial Times (Andrew Robinson Finacial Times )

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 512 pages
• Publisher: University Of Chicago Press; 1 edition (June 15, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0226712141
• ISBN-13: 978-0226712147
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #293,948 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A portrait of a scientific and very human life, July 12, 2008

By	David A. Rintoul "Dave" (Manhattan, KS USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

(This review is an expanded version of my review in "Choice", the review magazine of the American Library Association).

This is an extraordinarily thorough investigation into the life of a great (and greatly maligned) scientist. It is exhaustively researched and the bibliography is extremely thorough. But it is much more than a scholarly tome. It is a portrait of a man driven by science and romanticism, as well as a window into the scientific enterprise during a different era.

Haeckel was an incredibly productive and insightful scientist; he was often mentioned as a likely recipient for the Nobel Prize in his later years. He coined many words still in use today, including "ecology", named thousands of species of marine animals, and mentored many students who became famous in their own right. His artistic talents were also prodigious, and his illustrations in his monographs describing new marine organisms are still used today as exemplars of scientific illustration. He was, to use a word that is commonly overused, a genius.

More importantly for the overall theme of this book, Richards also points out that Haeckel's publications promoting evolutionary theory, both popular and scientific, were much more widely read than Darwin's "Origin of Species". They were translated into more languages, and sold many more copies during his lifetime. Furthermore, Haeckel's blunt criticisms of religiously-motivated critics of Darwin set the stage for the current political struggles between evolution and religion in modern America. Even T.H. Huxley, no stranger to the barbed insult, is quoted in this book as telling Haeckel that he needs to rein in the polemics in his popular writings! Indeed, a good case can be made that without Haeckel's antagonism toward muddled theological criticism of science in general and evolution in particular, religion and science might have come to a better understanding than we seem to observe today. This is another, less benign, legacy of a man whose zealotry extended to all things.

Finally, Richards thoroughly debunks the thesis that Darwin's ideas, via Haeckel, were an important source for Nazi political or scientific thinkers, and thus a root cause of the Holocaust. In that regard, it is worth quoting his concluding statement, on the last page of the book. "It can only be a tendentious and dogmatically driven assessment that would condemn Darwin for the crimes of the Nazis. And while some of Haeckel's conceptions were recruited by a few Nazi biologists, he hardly differed in that respect from Christian writers, whose disdain for Jews gave considerably more support to those dark forces. One might thus recognize in Haeckel a causal source for a few lines deployed by National Socialists, but hardly any moral connection exists by which to indict him." Richards documents that the spurious Darwin-Haeckel-Hitler connection has its ultimate roots, unsurprisingly, in the religious objections to evolution that Haeckel fought against throughout his scientific career.

The tragedies in Haeckel's life, and the influence of these tragedies on his zealous scientific and political activities, add a poignant touch to the work. Haeckel's scientific output, and his championing of Darwin's theory, were driven by a tragedy of coincidence that happened early in his career, just after he read Darwin's "Origin of Species" and decided to search for experimental evidence for evolution. On his thirtieth birthday, it was announced that he had won a prestigious prize, and his wife of eighteen months passed away. His grief drove him throughout his career, and it was a powerful grief.

Beyond the narrative that gives us insight into the man and his times, and in addition to the excruciatingly well-documented historical facts, the book has one other illuminating attraction. The appendices, found both at the end of several chapters and also at the end of the work, not only enhance the reader's understanding of this specific history, but also are extremely valuable guides to reading other histories. This is a master work, and belongs in the library of anyone who has an interest in the history of evolutionary science.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Darwin's Defender in Germany and the World, January 26, 2009

By	Ronald H. Clark (WASHINGTON, DC USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This is a very fine biography of Ernest Haeckel (1834-1919), the primary interpreter and defender of Darwinian theory in 19th and early 20th century Germany and, perhaps, the world. But the book is far more than even this. Haeckel above all was a first-class scientist who made major contributions in biology, morophology, and medicine, while discovering many new species and establishing classification systems for them. So, first of all, we learn about Haeckel's life in great detail. When he reads Darwin's "Origin," he undertakes to defend and propagate evolutionary theory in Germany and elsewhere in a series of publications and presentations. The author suggests that more people learned about Darwinian ideas from Haeckel's relentless activity than from Darwin himself. However, Haeckel is more than just an empirical, data-driven scientist. As the author explains, unlike Victorian scientists during the same period, German scientists under the influence of Humboldt, Kant, Schelling and Goethe demanded that science satisfy aesthetic criteria as well, for aesthetic considerations were as important as empirical fact for human understanding. I found the author's discussion of this concept most interesting since this idea had not appeared in any of studies of Victorian science during the 19th century that I have read. So we also see from some beautiful full-color plates included in the book that Haeckel was an outstanding artist, whose scientific drawings stand as pieces of art (many are available on the internet) as well as scientific adjuncts.

Haeckel also generated quite a lot of controversy, and still does. For one thing, he was highly combative, probably eclipsing Huxley as "Darwin's bulldog." He was seen as attacking religion by his advocacy of evolutionary principles. Most importantly, Haeckel was accused of scientific fraud by his use of certain embroyo illustrations in his publications, where it was alleged he doctored the illustrations to comply with his theories. This debate has continued until the present day as well. The book, among other things, is a 540 page refutation of these allegations--a brief for the defense. Nonetheless, to me it appears at a minimum that Haeckel exercised some bad judgment in this area. Equally significant, a more damning charge continues to be asserted that because of Haeckel's interest in eugenics, he helped lay the foundation for Nazi policies. All of this is discussed analytically and carefully by the author, especially in Appendix II on the "moral grammar" of such charges against Haeckel. Finally, Haeckel alienated most everybody outside Germany by joining in defenses of Germany and attacks on England relating to who caused the First War. All and all, Haeckel was no shrinking violet and relished the opportunity to "mix it up" with opponents.

I have been able to touch upon only some of the highlights covered in this fine book. But there are many other fascinating elements as well, such as Haeckel's reliance upon the linguistic studies of August Schleicher to buttress his defense of Darwin; his interactions with Erich Wasmann, the "Jesuit evolutionist"; and his visits with Darwin himself. Only occasionally does the science get a bit heavy here; the author writes with clarity and insight in such a way that I had difficulties only in a couple of places. The book is superbly researched, including stints by the author (a professor of the history of science at Chicago) at the Haeckel Haus and the University in Jena where Haeckel spent most of his professional career. There is a 27-page bibliography of archival and printed sources and a comprehensive index. In addition to the full color pages mentioned above, there are exceedingly helpful illustrations throughout which allow the reader carefully to follow the author's discussion of points. And bless the gods, there are footnotes at the base of the page. The book is beautifuly produced by the University of Chicago Press, which has published an outstanding series of books on 19th century science/intellectual history, and is to be commended. This is quite a book and it opens many cans of interesting worms.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, but too lengthy, March 10, 2009

By	PST "A Reader from Germany" (Eislingen Deutschland) - See all my reviews

Prof. Richards tells us about the life of Ernst Haeckel in great detail - and dispells with the myth, that Mr. Heackel was directly or indirectly responsible for the advent of Nazi Germany.
Unfortunately, for the general audience, the book is too scholarly and too detailed, it is therefore not exactly easy reading.
Some important information and profound insights into how a biography should be (e.g. the moral standing of an individual has to be judged agianst the morals prevalent at his time, not against the morals of some other period) are relegated to an appendix.

All said, an excellent biography for someone who is really interested in Ernst Haeckel, but unfortunately too "heavy" for someone with a general interest