LECTURE: Darwin and Huxley’s disagreement over taxonomy’s connection to evolution

From LINNEAN-NEWS:

Darwin and Huxley’s disagreement over taxonomy’s connection to evolution
Polly Winsor FLS

Lecture at the Linnean Society of London, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London, W1J 0BF
Thursday 4th December, 6.00pm

In 1857 T. H. Huxley wrote to Charles Darwin about the logical relationship between taxonomy and evolution, asserting that classification was a free-standing statement of similarities, quite independent of history, to which Darwin responded with the view that once his theory was accepted, most naturalists would prefer classifications that reflected ancestry. Their short and private exchange suggests a cascade of questions, running backwards and forwards in time and ranging from simple matters of fact to subtle matters of historiography. What was it in the reading and experience of these two men that led them to opposite sides of a basic issue in the philosophy of science? Was their disagreement known by any of their contemporaries, or did they suppress it in the interests of promoting evolution? Were their views handed down to later disputants, or do modern debates bear merely an analogical resemblance to this Victorian conversation?

Tea will be served in the Library from 5.30pm and the lecture will be followed by a wine reception. This meeting is free and open to all, registration is not necessary.