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The Tragic Sense of Life: Ernst Haeckel and the Struggle over Evolutionary Thought
Prior to the First World War, more people learned of evolutionary theory from the voluminous writings of Charles Darwin’s foremost champion in Germany, Ernst Haeckel (1834–1919), than from any other source, including the writings of Darwin himself. But, with detractors ranging from paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould to modern-day creationists and advocates of intelligent design, Haeckel is better known as a divisive figure than as a pioneering biologist. Robert J. Richards’s intellectual biography rehabilitates Haeckel, providing the most accurate measure of his science and art yet written, as well as a moving account of Haeckel’s eventful life.
512 pages, Hardcover
First published June 15, 2008
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November 2, 2021
The tragic sense of life for Haeckel is also the romantic conception of life, the title of another book by Richards. The thesis of the Tragic Sense is that the biologist Ernst Haeckel shaped the public reception of evolutionary theory after Darwin more than anybody else into an anti-religious and monistic worldview because of his intellectual upbringing with the works of German romantic era writers Johann Von Goethe and Alexander Humboldt and the death of his first wife Anna which made Haeckel more militant in his views.
The Anna angle doesn't figure too much in the book which is a comprehensive history of the man and his influence/critics rather than a biography. I haven't read The Tragic Sense of Life by Miguel de Unamuno which this book is named after, though I surmise it's about preoccupation with death or other existentialist themes. The death of Anna brought Haeckel a tragic sense of life as she was an intellectual as well as romantic partner. Haeckel's militant monistic presentation of evolution was his way of transcending death and connecting man with the universe. I'll have to read Unamuno to understand this more fully.
I was a bit disappointed that Haeckel's later influence on individuals wasn't more fleshed out. HP Lovecraft, an ardent materialist, mentions Haeckel by name in Herbert West: Reanimator. "Holding with Haeckel that all life is a chemical and physical process, and that the so-called “soul” is a myth, my friend believed that artificial reanimation of the dead can depend only on the condition of the tissues; and that unless actual decomposition has set in, a corpse fully equipped with organs may with suitable measures be set going again in the peculiar fashion known as life." Haeckel's recapitulation also had a significant influence on early psychoanalysis, which Stephen Gould discusses in Ontogeny and Phylogeny (1977) as does Frank Sulloway in Freud: Biologist of the Mind (1977). Freud invokes the biogenetic law in the preface to Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality (1905). "Ontogenesis may be considered as a repetition of phylogenesis insofar as the latter has not been varied by a more recent experience." Hungarian analyst Sandor Ferenczi in Thalassa: a Theory of Genitalia (1924) extended recapitulation to the development of the womb itself, arguing that our life in the womb as embryos is reliving our evolutionary ancestry in the oceans! Haeckel has had a larger influence than perhaps Richards discusses in this book by the implicit acceptance of his theories into the twentieth century which went beyond Darwinian evolution. Another gripe is the little discussion of his well known Art Forms in Nature, the beautiful collection of illustrations for which he is still known for by non-scientists, though the copy I have has an introduction to suffice. This work is best read with the context of Roberts' previous work and Unamuno. Luckily the book reads well and can be finished quickly.
The Anna angle doesn't figure too much in the book which is a comprehensive history of the man and his influence/critics rather than a biography. I haven't read The Tragic Sense of Life by Miguel de Unamuno which this book is named after, though I surmise it's about preoccupation with death or other existentialist themes. The death of Anna brought Haeckel a tragic sense of life as she was an intellectual as well as romantic partner. Haeckel's militant monistic presentation of evolution was his way of transcending death and connecting man with the universe. I'll have to read Unamuno to understand this more fully.
I was a bit disappointed that Haeckel's later influence on individuals wasn't more fleshed out. HP Lovecraft, an ardent materialist, mentions Haeckel by name in Herbert West: Reanimator. "Holding with Haeckel that all life is a chemical and physical process, and that the so-called “soul” is a myth, my friend believed that artificial reanimation of the dead can depend only on the condition of the tissues; and that unless actual decomposition has set in, a corpse fully equipped with organs may with suitable measures be set going again in the peculiar fashion known as life." Haeckel's recapitulation also had a significant influence on early psychoanalysis, which Stephen Gould discusses in Ontogeny and Phylogeny (1977) as does Frank Sulloway in Freud: Biologist of the Mind (1977). Freud invokes the biogenetic law in the preface to Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality (1905). "Ontogenesis may be considered as a repetition of phylogenesis insofar as the latter has not been varied by a more recent experience." Hungarian analyst Sandor Ferenczi in Thalassa: a Theory of Genitalia (1924) extended recapitulation to the development of the womb itself, arguing that our life in the womb as embryos is reliving our evolutionary ancestry in the oceans! Haeckel has had a larger influence than perhaps Richards discusses in this book by the implicit acceptance of his theories into the twentieth century which went beyond Darwinian evolution. Another gripe is the little discussion of his well known Art Forms in Nature, the beautiful collection of illustrations for which he is still known for by non-scientists, though the copy I have has an introduction to suffice. This work is best read with the context of Roberts' previous work and Unamuno. Luckily the book reads well and can be finished quickly.
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March 30, 2023Professor Richards explores with excruciating detail the life and debates surrounding one of histories most polarizing scientists, Ernst Haeckel in "The Tragic Sense of Life". Famous for his biogenetic law that "ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny", Haeckel was Darwin's most ardent and aggressive supporter of the theory of evolution. Often called the popularizer of Darwinian evolution, Haeckel's monographs sold more copies than "The Origin of Species". Controversy continues to be mired around Haeckel with claims of intentional fraud, laying the groundwork for Nazi race science, and vulgarizing Darwinian evolution. Dr. Richards writing is meticulous and exacting. In thorough detail and clear argumentation Dr. Richards systematically and concisely attacks all the attempts to slander Haeckel and his accomplishments.
Richard's main thesis is that Haeckel was primarily influenced by Goethe's romanticist morphology and Spinozist metaphysical worldview ("deus sive natura" is a commonly repeated motif throughout the book) and that the tragic death of his first wife, Anna Sethe, cemented this worldview and made Haeckel an unapologetic critic of religious orthodoxy. Throughout the examination of his life and work, Richards shows us how many of the attacks against his character and biological theories were actually a pretext to discredit him due to Haeckel's religious and metaphysical views.
Coming across as a hagiography, "The Tragic Sense of Life" is an unashamed attempt to rehabilitate Haeckel into the public imagination and discourse surrounding the history of biology. If Richard's convincing attacks against the misconceptions and rumors surrounding Haeckel often read as an apologia it is because in his attempt to discredit the Haeckelian detractors he often fails to provide a genuine critical analysis of Haeckel's decisions. A great example would be the first accusations of fraud against Haeckel for his replication of the sandalwood prints in "A Natural History of Creation". Here Haeckel replicated three of the same images of embryological development as an argument in support of his biogenetic law and evolutionary theory, however, rather than use these images as a simple explanatory heuristic to describe the similarity of embryos across species Haeckel used it as an actual argument. This led to accusation of fraud buy his first and most ardent critic, Ludwig Rutimeyer (pg 278). Richards convincingly exculpates Haeckel against accusations of fraud by showing that in the second edition of "A Natural History of Creation" that he corrected his mistake, that Haeckel had no intention to deceive, and that the criticism stemmed from Rutimeyer's religious orthodoxy. It is hard to disagree with Richard's argument and defense of Haeckel but one is often left feeling as if Richards gives him the benefit of the doubt one to many times. A variety of these accusations followed Haeckel around for the rest of his life from claims that he plagiarized images from other scientists, that he doctored his drawings to support his claims, and that he was a proto-nazi eugencist. Richards exculpates Haeckel from all of them but in doing so fails to critically examine the continued poor judgment and over zealotry of Haeckel.
One of the most refreshing things about this book was its own awareness or self-reflexivity. Richards is aware of the construction of his own narrative as anyone who seeks to critically examine the construction of other narratives must be. These lead to the two most interesting section of the book, the view of moral grammar in historical narratives and an examination of whether or not Haeckel was a proto-Nazi. Richards looks at the claims by Gassman, Gould, and Richardson that Haeckel's teleological view of human development and eugenics played a significantly causal role in Nazi race science. As stated above, while Richards argues Haeckels views were common at the time as an implicit apologia of them, he thoroughly and effectively shows how Haeckel did not lay the groundwork for the Nazis. In the second appendix Richards examines how we write and construct histories by looking at causes, antecedents, and effects in the construction of our story. It is an interesting, albeit short, critical look at the examination of biographies and lets the reader use Richards own analytic definitions of causality and narratives to attack his own book.
Richard's focuses heavily on the influence of German Romanticism as influenced by Spinozist monism, and the death of his wife as the causal driver of his evolutionary doctrine and raging attacks against the orthodoxy of his days. Richards deviates little from this causal structure in the formative events of Haeckels life. Aside from some historical exposition to frame further discussion the reader is left relatively unaware of the sociopolitical context in which Haeckel wrote and how that might have shaped his views. While outside the purview of Richards argument, it would be interesting to see how the revolutions of 1848, the goal of German Reunification, the advent and popularization of Marxism, and the shifting geopolitical influences and military development of the 19th century nation state all influenced Haeckel.
Overall, this was a delightful and enlightening book about one of the most important yet forgotten scientists of the 19th century. Richards writing is concise and his arguments are crystal clear and empirically supported. Although there might be some hero-worship, one is still left in fundamental agreement with Richards main claims. In this highly detailed biography we are provided with the philosophical framework that guided Haeckel's work as well as that of his contemporaries, an encompassing history of morphology, and a small yet critical examination of our construction of moral grammar in narratives. Richards is clearly an authority in the field and this book is best read alongside supplementary material to provide further elucidation of for parts that the reader will inevitably be unfamiliar with.
Richard's main thesis is that Haeckel was primarily influenced by Goethe's romanticist morphology and Spinozist metaphysical worldview ("deus sive natura" is a commonly repeated motif throughout the book) and that the tragic death of his first wife, Anna Sethe, cemented this worldview and made Haeckel an unapologetic critic of religious orthodoxy. Throughout the examination of his life and work, Richards shows us how many of the attacks against his character and biological theories were actually a pretext to discredit him due to Haeckel's religious and metaphysical views.
Coming across as a hagiography, "The Tragic Sense of Life" is an unashamed attempt to rehabilitate Haeckel into the public imagination and discourse surrounding the history of biology. If Richard's convincing attacks against the misconceptions and rumors surrounding Haeckel often read as an apologia it is because in his attempt to discredit the Haeckelian detractors he often fails to provide a genuine critical analysis of Haeckel's decisions. A great example would be the first accusations of fraud against Haeckel for his replication of the sandalwood prints in "A Natural History of Creation". Here Haeckel replicated three of the same images of embryological development as an argument in support of his biogenetic law and evolutionary theory, however, rather than use these images as a simple explanatory heuristic to describe the similarity of embryos across species Haeckel used it as an actual argument. This led to accusation of fraud buy his first and most ardent critic, Ludwig Rutimeyer (pg 278). Richards convincingly exculpates Haeckel against accusations of fraud by showing that in the second edition of "A Natural History of Creation" that he corrected his mistake, that Haeckel had no intention to deceive, and that the criticism stemmed from Rutimeyer's religious orthodoxy. It is hard to disagree with Richard's argument and defense of Haeckel but one is often left feeling as if Richards gives him the benefit of the doubt one to many times. A variety of these accusations followed Haeckel around for the rest of his life from claims that he plagiarized images from other scientists, that he doctored his drawings to support his claims, and that he was a proto-nazi eugencist. Richards exculpates Haeckel from all of them but in doing so fails to critically examine the continued poor judgment and over zealotry of Haeckel.
One of the most refreshing things about this book was its own awareness or self-reflexivity. Richards is aware of the construction of his own narrative as anyone who seeks to critically examine the construction of other narratives must be. These lead to the two most interesting section of the book, the view of moral grammar in historical narratives and an examination of whether or not Haeckel was a proto-Nazi. Richards looks at the claims by Gassman, Gould, and Richardson that Haeckel's teleological view of human development and eugenics played a significantly causal role in Nazi race science. As stated above, while Richards argues Haeckels views were common at the time as an implicit apologia of them, he thoroughly and effectively shows how Haeckel did not lay the groundwork for the Nazis. In the second appendix Richards examines how we write and construct histories by looking at causes, antecedents, and effects in the construction of our story. It is an interesting, albeit short, critical look at the examination of biographies and lets the reader use Richards own analytic definitions of causality and narratives to attack his own book.
Richard's focuses heavily on the influence of German Romanticism as influenced by Spinozist monism, and the death of his wife as the causal driver of his evolutionary doctrine and raging attacks against the orthodoxy of his days. Richards deviates little from this causal structure in the formative events of Haeckels life. Aside from some historical exposition to frame further discussion the reader is left relatively unaware of the sociopolitical context in which Haeckel wrote and how that might have shaped his views. While outside the purview of Richards argument, it would be interesting to see how the revolutions of 1848, the goal of German Reunification, the advent and popularization of Marxism, and the shifting geopolitical influences and military development of the 19th century nation state all influenced Haeckel.
Overall, this was a delightful and enlightening book about one of the most important yet forgotten scientists of the 19th century. Richards writing is concise and his arguments are crystal clear and empirically supported. Although there might be some hero-worship, one is still left in fundamental agreement with Richards main claims. In this highly detailed biography we are provided with the philosophical framework that guided Haeckel's work as well as that of his contemporaries, an encompassing history of morphology, and a small yet critical examination of our construction of moral grammar in narratives. Richards is clearly an authority in the field and this book is best read alongside supplementary material to provide further elucidation of for parts that the reader will inevitably be unfamiliar with.
July 1, 2023
Scientist, artist, traveler, writer, romantic. What a capacity and voraciousness for learning. What an intresting thing his monistic beliefs, the evolution of paganism which can take all facts (old and new) and not dwindle but bloom as the force of life that drives us. What men europe used to produce.
September 6, 2016
This is an unapologetic work of hero worship. I don't think Richards would deny his muscular admiration for Ernst Haeckel. This work also suffers from the typical ailment which attaches itself to historical works grounded in hero worship: namely, teleology concerning its hero. Haeckel was Darwin's lead salesman in Germany in the nineteenth century. He pushed his product. He advertised. He fought any and all competition that challenged him in the marketplace of ideas. He was a useful man to have on your side. He was a particularly unpleasant man to have against you. These features have contributed to the historical Haeckel's poor reputation. Of course, Haeckel personally added to this collection himself through large personal foibles. Richards addresses all of this and more in this well-researched book concerning Haeckel, his scientific achievements, and his times. The problem with facts in historical works is that they seldom are allowed to wander onstage alone. In works saturated in hero worship facts always have a chaperon. The teleology of hero worship insists that a friendly interpretation is never far from hand to lessen the negative, accentuate the positive. Richards really does a fine job thoroughly rinsing off his mud-wrestling evolutionist, though. If Ernst still walked the globe, he would owe Richards a fruit basket. There is much to point to concerning EH & his legacy which doesn't require much burnishing. He was an amazing artist. His drawings of nature are justly still marveled at to this day. EH's debt to the romantics, especially Goethe, was repaid with interest throughout his life. He appeared to be loyal to Darwin until the latter's death, and then beyond. His devotion to his first wife was almost godlike, his commitment to scientific discovery in nature total. Unfortunately, EH's story cannot end there. His pugilistic temperament offended even his friends. He inflicted his vicious barbs without pity, he erupted volcanically over slights, whether real and self created. He co-opted his student's work on sponges, published his work on the subject right after his student had, and then jettisoned the student after the whole affair became too embarrassing or tiresome. His second wife was doomed to a loveless marriage of raising children and keeping a clean house as her husband took frequent trips to collect fossils and sexual encounters with handy natives. He committed outright fraud by reproducing a single woodcut three times in the first edition of his first popular work on evolution and claimed they represented three separate embryos from different animals to prove his particular theories of evolution. In subsequent additions he offered only one picture of this embryo. The mere fact that the man who never backed down from a fight backed down clearly demonstrates the conscious deception, attempted then withdrawn when uncovered. He moved different races up and down his stem charts according to his prejudicial whims at the time. His battle against dogmatic religions of all origin became a merciless battle that solidified his quest for learning and science into the hardness of as a fierce a dogma as any he crossed swords with. Richards does his best with all this, as best he can. Reprinting the same woodcut is offered as being a cheap substitute for the expense of three different examples. Darwin felt the Irish were knaves and women as a rule were dumber than men. If EH was a racist, everyone else was doing it, too. EH's theory concerning recapitulation is treated at length, as it should be. The study of recapitulation in embryos offered an interesting analogy, though empirically false, for real evolutionary descent. No longer, allegedly, could a wise guy retort to the evolutionary scientist that no one had ever seen anyone(or anything) evolve. Haeckel thought he had demonstrated that indeed everyone had done it by birth themselves. Too bad they weren't paying attention. EH's more whimsical predilections are touched upon, though very lightly. His brief infatuation with the lost land of Lemuria to explain gaps in the fossil record makes for entertaining reading. You won't, I should warn you, be entertained for long. Richards won't linger over these wacky nuggets. The fact he brings them up at all does demonstrate his commitment to presenting a full, though biased, history on his subject. For this, Richards deserves proper praise. This work offers Haeckel's personal story as well as his intellectual ideas. It's detail concerning both is formidable. I must say I agree with Richards that calling Haeckel a proto-Nazi is about as useful as calling anyone a proto-Nazi who has had absolutely no connection to the political regime known as the Third Reich. Haeckel's attachment to the art of science as art, as beauty, as poetry is found in the works of many naturalists to this day. It seems appropriate that this true artist of nature should have his share of worshippers today. However, if you're not the worshipping kind then this book will likely leave you as agnostic as when you began it.
January 13, 2021
Groovy
March 23, 2010
A very scholarly and extremely thorough biography concentrating on Haeckel's significant contributions to biology and his efforts to popularize Darwinian evolutionary theory in Germany. When I started this book I was much more familiar with Haeckel the artist than Haeckel the scientist. I have both "Art Forms in Nature" and "Art Forms from the Ocean" with introductions that are more focused on his artistic influence on Art Nouveau. The author doesn't really discuss Haeckel's artistic side, except for the few cases where his illustrations caused academic controversy.
The author does well to present Haeckel's own defenses against his contemporary critics (of which there were many), and paints a portrait of a fiery and brilliant man with little patience for religious doctrine and conservative science. As such, Haeckel should be considered a pillar of skeptical inquiry, along with his friends and colleagues Darwin and Huxley. But a few incidents, characterized here as missteps and personality conflicts, seem to have relegated Haeckel to a supporting role in the development and dispersal of Darwinian evolution, and in later years has been characterized as a proto-Nazi and even anti-Darwinian. I found the author's defenses of Haeckel against all of these charges very compelling, even if they did get a bit, well, defensive, at times.
I came away from this book with a profound admiration for Haeckel the man, the scientist, and the artist.
The author does well to present Haeckel's own defenses against his contemporary critics (of which there were many), and paints a portrait of a fiery and brilliant man with little patience for religious doctrine and conservative science. As such, Haeckel should be considered a pillar of skeptical inquiry, along with his friends and colleagues Darwin and Huxley. But a few incidents, characterized here as missteps and personality conflicts, seem to have relegated Haeckel to a supporting role in the development and dispersal of Darwinian evolution, and in later years has been characterized as a proto-Nazi and even anti-Darwinian. I found the author's defenses of Haeckel against all of these charges very compelling, even if they did get a bit, well, defensive, at times.
I came away from this book with a profound admiration for Haeckel the man, the scientist, and the artist.
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