Scientists and Broad Churchmen: an Early Victorian Intellectual Network

1964 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
Walter F. Cannon

The late Victorians popularized several ideas which have tended to obscure what was actually going on in intellectual matters in the early part of the nineteenth century. One of these is the notion that, whenever science and religion came into contact, some degree of scientific excellence was sacrificed, if only because the scientists themselves believed in the theological ideas. Another is the judgment that Dean Stanley, a “passive peaceable Protestant” always seeking compromise, was the typical Broad Churchman. And a third is the acceptance of Leslie Stephen's description of an arid “Cambridge rationalism” not only as enlightening (which it is) but also as complete.These and other similar misconceptions could be propagated because the later Victorian intellectual “aristocracy” or “self-reviewing circle,” as described so well by Noel Annan, was not continuous with that of the earlier period. Such physical descendants as did remain, notably Matthew Arnold and Leslie Stephen, played quite different roles in the new circle from those which their fathers had filled in the older, looser, grouping. The founders of the new aristocracy selected their mythic figures with an eye to current usefulness rather than with strict attention to the history of the earlier generation. This was to be expected. One could not expect Thomas Huxley to emphasize the great abilities of the geologist Adam Sedgwick when it was just such a reputation which supported “the old Adam” in his attack on Darwin's theories.In order to indicate the inadequacy of the three conceptions listed above, and others like them, it is the purpose of this article to use the indirect method of sketching the coming together of those men who were the mentors not only of Darwin but also of Stanley, of Tennyson, of Frederick Denison Maurice, of Lord Kelvin, and of James Clerk Maxwell.

1969 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. R. Dinwiddy

Several British statesmen have also been historians: Clarendon, Russell, Rosebery, Churchill—and Charles James Fox, although he produced only one volume. His History of the early part of the Reign of James II is a fragment of what might have been a much larger work; it was published posthumously, with a preface by his nephew Lord Holland, in 1808. Although it was given a mixed reception by the critics, it was regarded for several decades as something of a classic. It was translated into French, German, and Dutch; and was republished several times in England during the nineteenth century (most recently as a threepenny paperback in Cassell's National Library in 1888).


1988 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 161-179 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Vernon Jensen

One hundred and twenty-eight years ago in the historic city of Oxford a relatively brief impromptu verbal exchange at a scientific convention occurred. It is still vividly remembered in and out of academia. This so-called ‘debate’ between the Bishop of Oxford, Samuel Wilberforce, and the young scientist, Thomas Henry Huxley, a simple and concrete episode, has continued to symbolize dramatically the complex and abstract phenomenon of the conflict between science and religion in the late nineteenth century. while that symbol may be somewhat inaccurate, or its relevance may have shifted from a century ago, it still is a powerful image, one which continues to be an important part of the religious, scientific and rhetorical history of the late Victorian era. Moore recently wrote: ‘No battle of the nineteenth century, save Waterloo, is better known.’ It is, as Altholz put it, ‘one of those historical events the substance and significance of which are clear, but whose specifics are decidedly fuzzy around the edges.’ It is the purpose of this paper to present a full and balanced view of the specific ingredients, permitting a better insight into the event's symbolism and significance.


1974 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 119-125
Author(s):  
Susana S. Macesich

AbstractThe history of the Illyrian Provinces belongs not only to the history of the Napoleonic Era in Europe, but also to that of the development of Yugoslav history in the early part of the nineteenth century. The Provinces can be studied from several aspects: political, social, economic and cultural. This paper will emphasize only one of the offered aspects-namely the impact of the Illyrian Provinces on the concept of Yugoslavism. Three features are of singular importance: first, the effects of the ideas of the French Revolution on the Yugoslavs (development of modern nationalism, use of the vernacular, secularism, abolition of feudalism); second, the effects of the political unification of Dalmatia, Slovenia and part of Croatia under French rule, which brought Croats, Slovenes and Serbs under one political and administrative unit; third, the correlation between French rule in the Western Balkans with the national-revolutionary movements of that period, such as the Serbian uprising of 1804 and its effect upon other Yugoslavs.1


Author(s):  
Ian Campbell Ross

This chapter surveys the history of Irish crime fiction, a genre whose contemporary popularity tends to obscure its origins in the works of nineteenth-century writers including Gerald Griffin, Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, Oscar Wilde, and L. T. Meade. The discussion highlights some of the most significant works that lie along the broad spectrum of writing that ‘crime fiction’ occupies and, in so doing, reveals the plurality of ‘Irish’ crime fiction over the course of 180 years. Among the topics covered are the features that distinguish nineteenth-century Irish crime writing from its British counterpart; the emergence of Irish-language crime fiction in the early part of the twentieth century, and the defining features of contemporary Irish crime fiction, which has flourished domestically and internationally since the 1990s.


1977 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 341-377 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Harnetty

In the opening chapter of his study of Agricultural Trends in India, 1891–1947, George Blyn explains the double significance of determining crop production trends in a society where agriculture is the largest single sector of the economy. Firstly, crop trends reveal the nature of changes in production and provide the basis for estimating changes in consumption. Secondly, since availability of crops for consumption depends not only on output but also on foreign trade, changes in cropping patterns provide a basis for estimating the pace and direction of commercialization of the economy. Blyn's study covers the fifty-six years before Indian independence and provides detailed analysis of such topics as aggregate crop trends for the eighteen crops that constituted most of India's agriculture. More recently, there have been a number of studies concerned with the agricultural history of nineteenth-century India. My own work is concerned with the social and economic history of the Central Provinces for the period 1861–1921. Within this broad subject an important specific topic is that of cropping patterns. This paper provides data on crop trends in this part of India for a period of fifty-four years from 1867 to 1921 and evaluates and analyzes this data. Its object is to establish the broad trends in cropping patterns and to shed some light on methods of agriculture in the Central Provinces in the later nineteenth century and the early part of the twentieth century. (Provincial data are given in Tables 1.1 and 1.2 at the end of the paper.)


2012 ◽  
Vol 57 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Анжелика Штейнгольд

Как хорошо известно, пословицы и поговорки (в более общем смысле т. наз. паремии) являются не только художественными миниатюрами — анонимными произведениями устного народного творчества, употребление которых в речи диктуется потребностью в точности и выразительности, но также неписаным сводом этических норм и правил. Их назидательность и дидактичность во многом предопределяет существование особой “паремической” логики, на языковом уровне выражающейся в присущей пословицам и поговоркам специфической синтаксической оформленности. На поверхности лежит их семантическая многлоплановость, о чем в свое время писали А. Дандис [1978], А. Крикманн [1978; 1984], Ю.И. Левин [1984], Г.Л. Пермяков [1988] и др....Anzhelika ShteingoldOn the Early History of Proverb Studies (Proverb as an Object of Ethnolinguistics)It is often not clear what exactly is meant by certain words and constructions in a proverb, even though its actual (metaphorical) sense is understood. The origins of some historical proverbs might be grasped only by employing the data of cultural anthropology. In the present article a short overview of early proverb studies in Russia is given. In the nineteenth century and in the early part of the twentieth century there were many scholars in Russia who dealt with proverbs. For instance, I. Snegiryov, V. Dahl, F. Buslaev, A. Afanasyev, A. Potebnya, S. Maksimov. During the 1930’s this tradition was continued in the scientific papers of the academician J. Sokolov. Despite their methods of proverb studies not being contemporary, these researchers gave examples of etymology that would later receive support and approval from the scholars of our time.Keywords: Russian proverbs, ethnolinguistics, etymology, history of proverb studies.


2020 ◽  
Vol 53 (4) ◽  
pp. 521-548
Author(s):  
Fabio Forgione

AbstractFranco Andrea Bonelli, a disciple of Lamarck, was one of the few naturalists who taught and disseminated transformism in Italy in the early nineteenth century. The explanation of the history of life on Earth offered by Lamarck’s theory was at odds with the Genesis narrative, while the issue of man’s place in nature raised heated debates. Bonelli sought to reconcile science and religion through his original interpretation of the variability of species, but he also focused on anthropological subjects. Following Blumenbach’s studies, he investigated the differences within the human species and explored the topic of humans’ alleged superiority over animals. The origin of human beings, their history, and their relationship with the rest of life were thus read in light of transformism. According to Bonelli, such questions would not do irreparable damage to the new theory. On the contrary, he considered evolution not only acceptable but even necessary to protect the Holy Texts from certain dangerous trends in anthropological and zoological research.


2012 ◽  
Vol 20 (6) ◽  
pp. 50-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael W. Davidson

Leeuwenhoek was born in Delft, Holland on October 24, 1632. His father was a basket maker, and although Leeuwenhoek did not receive a university education and was not considered a scholar, his curiosity and skill allowed him to make some of the most important discoveries in the history of biology.James Clerk Maxwell was one of the greatest scientists of the nineteenth century. He is best known for the formulation of the theory of electromagnetism and in making the connection between light and electromagnetic waves. He also made significant contributions in the areas of physics, mathematics, astronomy, and engineering. He is considered by many as the father of modern physics.


Author(s):  
David Hutchings ◽  
James C. Ungureanu

This book is a popular-level study of the conflict thesis: the notion that science and religion have been at war with each other throughout history, and that humanity must ultimately make its choice between the two. The origins of the conflict thesis are usually given as two works by nineteenth-century Americans, John William Draper and Andrew Dickson White, who wrote History of the Conflict Between Religion and Science (1876) and A History of the Warfare Between Science and Theology in Christendom (1896), respectively. In these volumes, Draper and White relate stories such as the Church’s suppression of the sphericity of the Earth and of heliocentrism; its banning of dissection, anesthetic, and inoculation; its persecution of scientists; its dedication to irrationality in the face of reason; and much more. Yet their thesis has been thoroughly debunked in the literature, and their tales largely found to be myths. Despite this, they still circulate today, and many still believe that we must pick a side: God or science. This book uses accessible stories and anecdotes to analyze Draper, White, their true motivations, their books, their thorough debunking, the modern persistence of their flawed views, and the possibility of moving beyond them—toward true reconciliation. It is a history of science and religion, and of how, despite the common acceptance of the contrary, the latter has actually been of great benefit to the former. Rumors of a centuries-old war between God and science, it turns out, have been greatly exaggerated.


1960 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margaret Priestley ◽  
Ivor Wilks

In studying the early history of the West African states, one of the difficulties encountered is that of establishing a reasonably precise framework of chronology. Eighteenth-century Ashanti, however, would appear to be an exception to this in that the reigns of its kings are dated, although with some degree of variation, in all the standard works dealing with the area. Their authors, from this point of view, have followed either Thomas Edward Bowdich or Joseph Dupuis, both of whom were in Kumasi, the Ashani capital, in the early part of the nineteenth century. In their treatment of traditions and customs, the writings of Bowdich and Dupuis are of great interest and value; the chronologies of the two authors, however, although they contain major differences, can in neither case be regarded as reliable. Fortunately there are in existence written records, hitherto little used, which make it possible to draw up a new and amended chart of the reigns of the eighteenth-century kings, and which furthermore give rise to interesting questions. These are the records of the various European companies engaged in trade on the coast, notably the English Royal African Company (1672–1750), its successor the Company of Merchants trading to Africa (1750–1821), and the second Dutch West Indies Company (1674–1791). Their agents in the forts and settlements were much interested in local developments especially in so far as trade might be beneficially or adversely affected. As a part of their duties, they kept diaries of events and dispatched reports, often of a very detailed nature, to their Companies in London and Amsterdam.


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