Of Apes and Ancestors: Evolution, Christianity, and the Oxford Debate
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.96 (636 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0802092845 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 144 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2014-11-30 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
'Hesketh does an effective job of summarizing current historical thought on the Oxford debate. It might usefully provoke them to think about the relationship between the present and the past, about the practice of history, and about the cultural role of the historian.’ (Piers J. It would be particularly valuable at the undergraduate level, where it would serve as an engaging introduction to Charles Darwin, his theory of evolution, and the controversy it created in mid-nineteenth-century England.’ (Todd Webb, Canadian Journal of History: Winter 2010)‘Ian Hesketh has given us a handy treatment of the well-known Oxford debate… He has gathered everything needed for a more balanced view of events into one convenient little volume.’ (Frederick Gregory Journal History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences; vol 33:03:2011)‘Ape
"The God of Science on the Neck of her Enemies" according to J. Ungureanu. Over the holidays, I had the chance to read a couple of different things. The first was Ian Hesketh’s Of Apes and Ancestors: Evolution, Christianity, and the Oxford Debate (2009). At 128 pages, including notes, it is a quick read. Although short, Of Apes and Ancestors aptly synthesizes a remarkable amount of scholarship on the famous (or infamous) Huxley-Wilbe
Ian Hesketh is a research associate in the Department of History at Queen’s University.
The latter's triumph, amid quips about apes and ancestry, has become a mythologized event, symbolizing the supposed war between science and Christianity. By reconstructing the Oxford debate and carefully considering the individual perspectives of the main participants, Ian Hesketh argues that personal jealousies and professional agendas played a formative role in shaping the response to Darwin's hypothesis, with religious anxieties overlapping with a whole host of other cultural and scientific considerations. The Bishop of Oxford, "Soapy" Samuel Wilberforce, clashed swords with Darwin's most outspoken supporter, Thomas Henry Huxley. An absorbing study, Of Apes and Ancestors sheds light on the origins of a debate that continues, unresolved, to this day