Evolution and Society: A Study in Victorian Social Theory

by J.W. Burrow

In this 1966 text Dr Burrow investigates the reasons why Victorian pioneers of social science were habitually approaching the study of other societies with largely positivistic and evolutionary methodologies. As a result of this, anthropology appeared to be seeking affirmation of assumed laws and stages of progress, rather than looking to appreciate and understand other societies in terms of their own uniqueness and functionality. Here, the author not only studies Victorian thought on evolution in general, but also seeks to contextualise those ideas which are often classified as exclusively Darwinist within the studies and writings of other leading figures in Victorian science and social science, whose works often predate The Origin of the Species. His book also makes an incredibly important contribution to the ways in which ideas on evolution and society operated within the framework of general Victorian thought and assumption.

Genres: History, Science, Philosophy, Sociology

322 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1966

About the author

John Wyon Burrow was an English historian of intellectual history. His published works include assessments of the Whig interpretation of history and of historiography generally. According to The Independent: "John Burrow was one of the leading intellectual historians of his generation. His pioneering work marked the beginning of a more sophisticated approach to the history of the social sciences, one that did not treat the past as being of interest only in so far as it anticipated the present."

Reviews

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

A tremendous intellectual history, and among the very few in that genre that will make you laugh out loud.