Re: [asa] Darwin's anti-slavery Sacred Cause

> I like Desmond and Moore's book, but I think they overstate their
> argument that common ancestry was more original to Darwin than was
> natural selection.

Cetainly common ancestry of humans was widely accepted based on
Genesis, and there were plenty of evolutionary ideas floating around
in Western culture the first half of the 1800's.

It's worth noting that William Wilberforce, who was the most important
person in getting slavery banned in Britain, had a son who was the
"Soapy Sam" Bishop Wilberforce widely caricatured as Huxley's opponent
in a debate on evolution. (Many years later, Huxley claimed to have
trounced him in debate, and that account has been the basis of many
popular accounts since. However, at the time, the debate had no more
effect than usual-people pretty much assessed it based on the
positions they had going in. Huxley was rather inaudible, but it is
possible that Hooker might have gotten in a good line at Wilberforce
jr.'s expense.)

-- 
Dr. David Campbell
425 Scientific Collections
University of Alabama
"I think of my happy condition, surrounded by acres of clams"
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