Lectures and Lay Sermons by Thomas Huxley

Huxley, Thomas

Published by J.M. Dent & Sons, 1913

About this Item

LECTURES AND LAY SERMONS BY THOMAS HUXLEY (Everyman?s Library, Science, edited by Ernest Rhys), introduction by Sir Oliver Lodge, hardcover, illustrations, 1913. BOOK CONDITION: Fair. The text block and drawings are in fine condition with no tears, dog-ears, or marks. There is no bookplate nor signature of a prior owner. This is not a library book nor a remainder. The hinge between the back cover and last free endpaper is cracked, but the beige boards are in good condition (still intact and not detached). 7 x 4 ¼, 294 pages, 13 ounces XX [from Wikipedia] Thomas Henry Huxley (4 May 1825 ? 29 June 1895) was an English biologist and anthropologist specializing in comparative anatomy. He is known as "Darwin's Bulldog" for his advocacy of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. The stories regarding Huxley's famous debate in 1860 with Samuel Wilberforce were a key moment in the wider acceptance of evolution and in his own career, although historians think that the surviving story of the debate is a later fabrication. Huxley had been planning to leave Oxford on the previous day, but, after an encounter with Robert Chambers, the author of Vestiges, he changed his mind and decided to join the debate. Wilberforce was coached by Richard Owen, against whom Huxley also debated about whether humans were closely related to apes. Huxley was slow to accept some of Darwin's ideas, such as gradualism, and was undecided about natural selection, but despite this he was wholehearted in his public support of Darwin. Instrumental in developing scientific education in Britain, he fought against the more extreme versions of religious tradition. Originally coining the term in 1869, Huxley elaborated on "agnosticism" in 1889 to frame the nature of claims in terms of what is knowable and what is not. Huxley states Agnosticism, in fact, is not a creed, but a method, the essence of which lies in the rigorous application of a single principle. the fundamental axiom of modern science. In matters of the intellect, follow your reason as far as it will take you, without regard to any other consideration. In matters of the intellect, do not pretend that conclusions are certain which are not demonstrated or demonstrable. Use of that term has continued to the present day. Much of Huxley's agnosticism is influenced by Kantian views on human perception and the ability to rely on rational evidence rather than belief systems. Huxley had little formal schooling and was virtually self-taught. He became perhaps the finest comparative anatomist of the later 19th century. He worked on invertebrates, clarifying relationships between groups previously little understood. Later, he worked on vertebrates, especially on the relationship between apes and humans. After comparing Archaeopteryx with Compsognathus, he concluded that birds evolved from small carnivorous dinosaurs, a theory widely accepted today. The tendency has been for this fine anatomical work to be overshadowed by his energetic and controversial activity in favor of evolution, and by his extensive public work on scientific education, both of which had significant effects on society in Britain and elsewhere. Seller Inventory # 001709

Bibliographic Details

Title: Lectures and Lay Sermons by Thomas Huxley

Publisher: J.M. Dent & Sons

Publication Date: 1913

Binding: Hardcover

Condition: Fair

Dust Jacket Condition: No Jacket