Evolution in Modern Thought

by Ernst Haeckel

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Genres: Science

272 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1917

About the author

Ernst Heinrich Philipp August Haeckel (February 16, 1834 – August 9, 1919), also written von Haeckel, was an eminent German biologist, naturalist, philosopher, physician, professor and artist who discovered, described and named thousands of new species, mapped a genealogical tree relating all life forms, and coined many terms in biology, including anthropogeny, ecology, phylum, phylogeny, stem cell, and the kingdom Protista. Haeckel promoted and popularized Charles Darwin's work in Germany and developed the controversial recapitulation theory ("ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny") claiming that an individual organism's biological development, or ontogeny, parallels and summarizes its species' evolutionary development, or phylogeny.

The published artwork of Haeckel includes over 100 detailed, multi-colour illustrations of animals and sea creatures (see: Kunstformen der Natur, "Art Forms of Nature"). As a philosopher, Ernst Haeckel wrote Die Welträtsel (1895–1899, in English, The Riddle of the Universe, 1901), the genesis for the term "world riddle" (Welträtsel); and Freedom in Science and Teaching to support teaching evolution.

Reviews

[Tim McKay · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good book just doesn't relate well past it's time.

[Frederick · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is certainly a wealth of information on how the theory of evolution affected and influenced other sciences and religion in the late 19th century. Its a good place to start your understanding of modern theoretical scientific theory.