Does anybody really believe in Erasmus Darwin's theory of evolution?

Question

Don't people realize that Erasmus Darwin's theory of evolution was mostly speculation?

A reading of his 1796 book Zoönomia, which explained his theory of evolution, makes it obvious that he had very little evidence to support his theory.

Here is Erasmus Darwin:
http://jquarter.members.beeb.net/moreedarwin.htm

garwy: Instead of calling me a clown, maybe you should read the quote in the Wikipedia article from Zoönomia. It's pretty clear that Erasmus did have a theory of evolution.

In case you don't feel like reading it, here it is:

"Would it be too bold to imagine that, in the great length of time since the earth began to exist, perhaps millions of ages before the commencement of the history of mankind would it be too bold to imagine that all warm-blooded animals have arisen from one living filament, which the great First Cause endued with animality, with the power of acquiring new parts, attended with new propensities, directed by irritations, sensations, volitions and associations, and thus possessing the faculty of continuing to improve by its own inherent activity, and of delivering down these improvements by generation to its posterity, world without end!"

Answer 1

LMAO!!!!! 1796??

I guess in 1796 the DNA and carbon dating techniques were a little rare. Or how about, non existent.

Please tell me this is a joke, you are not really this stupid right!

WOW!! That guy was certainly way ahead of his time. Like Da Vinci.

Answer 2

Erasmus was also a highly respected and very popular local doctor. He didn't have a theory of evolution, but he believed in evolutionary descent, long before Charles Darwin was born (they never lived at the same time). His poetry is fanciful and whimsical (I'd say it was a long way from being "very fine", but it is interesting) and a few short sections express evolutionary ideas. But before Charles there were very few people* offering ACTUAL theories about evolution, and they were nonsensical. Those for whom evolution was intuitively obvious had no viable theory to support their idea until CD proposed natural selection in 1859 (1858, if you count his joint paper with Wallace to the Royal Society in July of that year).

* J-B Lamarck and Robert Chambers, in particular.

Answer 3

Correction - Darwin's HYPOTHESIS of evolution was based on speculation, based upon his observations, which is how every good scientific theory begins. Now that his hypothesis has been fully supported by hard scientific evidence, it has become a full-fledged scientific theory, and the best theory that fully explains the observed facts. Incidentally, it was Erasmus's grandson Charles who formally proposed the hypothesis.

Answer 4

Who is Erasmus Darwin?

I'm guessing not because he lived before Origin of Species was written.

Answer 5

erasmus darwin was a chemist, a physicist, and a very fine english poet.

his theory of evolution has never been disproven, because he never had one.

it was erasmus' grandson charles who wrote 'the origin of species'.

and you are an utter clown.

....

edit:

and instead of relying on quotes taken out of context from wikipedia maybe you should read zoonomia to find out what the book is really about.

you are a double clown. shoes and nose.

Answer 6

Yeah well Darwin has a good back up now. That does not make it the truth.
The real truth is no one knows you are all guessing.
I am guessing there is divine intervention in everything.

Answer 7

I believe they are more familar with his grandson Charles Darwin's work on evolution.

Answer 8

I don't think you know who A) Erasmus or B) Darwin were.

Answer 9

Yeah no one has ever investigated his theories since then.