The Interaction between Thomas Huxley and Charles Darwin in Terms of Communication - Essay Example

Word count: 2,724 “If then, said I, the question is put to me would I rather have a miserable ape for a grandfather or a man highly endowed by nature and possessed of great means of influence & yet who employs these faculties & that influence for the mere purpose of introducing ridicule into a grave scientific discussion, I unhesitatingly affirm my preference for the ape.” Thomas Huxley, September 9, 1860. Charles Darwin’s on the Origin of Species was published in London by John Murray in 1859. Behind his decent work, there were many scientist who helped him to publish his piece. Soon as he published his work, reviews and articles on the Origin of Species were rapidly occurred. Huxley, who was a close friend of Darwin, wrote an article for the Macmillan’s Magazine and commented: “I observe that already the hastier sort of critics have begun, not to review my friend’s book, but to howl over it in a manner which must tend greatly to distract the public mind. No one will be better satisfied than I to see Mr Darwin’s book refuted, if any person be competent to perform that feat; but I would suggest that refutation is retarded, not aided, by mere sarcastic misrepresentation.” (Huxley, L 1921, Jensen 1988) Charles Darwin soon recognised who have written the essay and reply back to Huxley with appreciation and respect. He is well known for his debate with Samuel Wilberforce, the Anglican Bishop of Oxford, at the British Association for the Advancement of Science, which was held in the Oxford. The chairman of the place was Professor John Stevens Henslow who is known as Darwin’s mentor. During the debate, Wilberforce ridiculed Huxley whether he was related to an ape on his grandfather’s or grandmother’s side (Grigg 2009). Huxley stood up and gave a brilliant defense of Darwin’s theory, concluding with the rejoinder, “I would rather be the offspring of two apes than be a man and afraid to face the truth.” (Blinderman and Joyce 2003) Although the theory originally came from Darwin, Huxley is willing to take all the criticism and devoted his life to defend Darwin’s. It is not sure what Wilberforce really said to Huxley in the debate, but we can still derive the information that Huxley and Darwin maintained good relationship in terms of supporting Darwin’s theory of evolution. In this essay, I am going to examine the interaction between Thomas Huxley and Charles Darwin in terms of communication, how Huxley contributed and influenced on Darwin’s theory and conversely, Darwin’s contribution to Huxley’s work. Additionally, I will include a brief summary of Huxley’s biographical information. Darwin’s Bulldog Thomas Huxley was born in 1825, and he was the youngest son of seven children. He began his elementary medical studies at Charing Cross, when Darwin was already started his writing on theory of evolution. Huxley went to the navy in 1846, when Darwin had collected massive data for his publication. Like Darwin, Huxley took a voyage around the world, as the assistant surgeon on the HMS Rattlesnake from 1846 to 1850. This voyage has become his important life juncture that it resulted in some of his significant scientific work in developmental morphology and his intention to define the laws of the nature of animal form. More importantly, he becomes the first person who claims the connection between birds and reptiles. (Lyons 2010, Bibby 1972 p34) Interaction between Huxley and Darwin (Letters) Darwin mentions In Huxley’s early writings, he rarely mentions Darwin in a Rattlesnake diary note and in a Westminster Review appraisal of Journal of a Naturalist. Darwin was a top naturalist of theory on the Formation of Coral Reefs. A few years later, Huxley and Darwin started their friendship. According to Joyce, Darwin mentioned that he would be delighted if he could possibly convert Huxley to the idea of natural selection that he had been working for 15 years, as the explanation of evolution. However, Huxley did entirely consent with Darwin’s theory, and often expresses his doubt in progressive development that he attacked the idea in a lecture to the Royal Institution in 1855 (Blinderman and Joyce 2003). They have been consistently arguing each other by letters, and they have been communicated with each other fervently before Darwin published his work. Darwin argued in favor of the proposition that Natura non facit saltum, development being as gradual in biology as in geology. A letter on Huxley’s views about Darwin’s hypothesis is that Huxley presents clearly his view against gradualism in evolution: “I think transmutation may take place without transition.” The absence of any real transitions applies to the human species, for which the rocks do not necessarily hide an intermediate form between monkey and human (Blinderman and Joyce 2003). Despite of his disbelief in natural selection, when opponents were ready to attack Darwin’s theological grounds on scientific obstacles, Huxley promised his aid to Darwin: “I trust you will not allow yourself to be in any way disgusted or annoyed by the considerable abuse and misrepresentation which, unless I greatly mistake, is in store for you. Depend upon it, you have earned the lasting gratitude of all thoughtful men. And as to the curs which will bark and yelp, you must recollect that some of your friends, at any rate, are endowed with an amount of combativeness which may stand you in good stead. I am sharpening up my claws and beak in readiness.” (Huxley, L 1921 p49-50) This letter comforted Darwin. Interaction between Huxley and Darwin (Review) Darwin was able to popularize his work and communicate with Huxley from Huxley’s review in Macmillan’s Magazine and in the Times. Huxley also could express his idea and thoughts on Darwin’s work freely in his review. Thus, Huxley’s review became one of the communication methods for both Huxley and Darwin and public. In February 1860, Darwin’s controversial hypothesis was passed onto the Royal Institution. This controversial hypothesis included the content on species and Races, and their Origin examines the validity of the Darwinian hypothesis in explaining physiological and morphological distinctions among species. However, Huxley mentions that he is not supportive in the idea of natural selection and he considers it as failure. His fourth review of Darwin’s book, The Origin of Species appeared in the April 1860 issue of the Westminster Review. According to Joyce (2003) “Huxley finds natural selection as the best explanation available of evolution, but imperfect because its analog, artificial selection or breeding, had not yet produced a species and because Darwin had insisted too much on gradualism, disregarding too much the probability of saltation.” Even Darwin did not make it clear about natural selection to make Huxley understood. Darwin mentions his defender T.H. Huxley only once in his autobiography and describe him as a clever wit. Far less knowledgeable than Huxley on embryology, anatomy, and paleontology, Darwin often tinged his praise with a bit of hostility, as for example, in a letter to Joseph Hooker, on June 28, 1873, Darwin commented that Huxley made him "understand several points far clearer than I ever did before. It is quite unfair that any one should be so sharp as he is" and in a letter to Huxley accused Huxley of being "so terribly sharp-sighted and so confoundedly honest! But to the day of my death I will always maintain that you have been too sharp-sighted on hybridism; and the chapter on the subject in my book I should like you to read; not that, as I fear, it will produce any effect, and be hanged to you." It can be seen that Huxley is positioning himself that Darwin will never convince him unless he comes with experimental verification (Joyce 2003, Review November 25, 1891 and April 29, 1892). It is observable in their letters that Huxley is encouraging Darwin to prove his theory with experimental verification, which he thinks that is crucially important. This will bring him great success in explaining paleontology later in this essay. Huxley’s influence on Darwin Without help of Thomas Huxley, Darwin’s theory would not have been disseminated effectively. Huxley was the right person who can clearly describe the work of Darwin’s and make it easier to understand to the public. There are several supporters for Darwin’s theory such as Lyell Charles and Asa Gray that Asa Gray was one of the important people for Darwin when he developed his theory of evolution by natural selection. Lyell Charles was Darwin’s friend and mentor. His theory of uniformitarianism was a foundational principle of Darwin’s theory of descent by modification. He also encouraged Darwin to work on his theory about the origin of species in the early 1850s. Among all these great scientists, Thomas Henry Huxley was an enthusiastic defender of Darwin’s theory of evolution in the British scientific community. He became so captivated by Darwin’s theory that he spent a lifetime defending Darwinism and he is known as “Darwin’s bulldog” (Francis 2007). One of the Darwin’s problems was that he did not make it clear with his arguments in public. It is true that the subject was sensitive and vulnerable that some traditionalists remark that evolution by descent was “a theory which the originator does not see his way clear to apply to man” (Popular Science Review 1862-3, p517). According to the guardian, “Mr. Darwin’s silence on the subject seemed to favour the idea that he himself…shrank.. from publishing his theory to its legitimate issue” (Ellegard 1958). Darwin was cautious to avoid confrontation with religion; however, it was not enough to persuade opponents. His work paves its way when he started to share his work with Thomas Huxley. Thomas Huxley was regarded as one of the most influential colleague who was responsible for publicising Darwin’s theory in Europe, especially in the Western World. Huxley did a crucial role of bring out the messages of evolution to public as well as to the learned societies such as the Royal Institute and the Geological and Zoological Societies of London. Additionally, he constantly works on writing many articles on evolution for the popular press (Blinderman and Joyce 2003). Huxley’s lectures on evolution were distributed in the New York Times when he toured America and later it appeared in popular science monthly. Huxley’s work clearly represented Darwin’s theory of evolution and he made it easily understandable to the layperson that made him important for Darwin (Lyons 2009). Furthermore, Huxley’s contribution on Darwin’s work is appeared in December, Time and Life: Mr. Darwin’s “Origin of Species” in Macmillan’s Magazine and The Darwinian Hypothesis in the Times. Huxley was delighted to advocate Darwin’s piece and hoping that his piece can educate people who derive their ideas from the Times. Darwin deeply appreciates Huxley’s effort on expressing Darwin’s theory and he firmly believes that he is the only person who can represent the best of its idea. Darwin states, “he writes and thinks with quite uncommon force and clearness; and what is even still rarer, his writing is seasoned with most pleasant wit.” (Blinderman and Joyce 2003) Darwin’s influence on Huxley And in May of 1880, two years before Darwin’s death, Huxley thanked Darwin for the good word on The Coming of Age of “The Origin of Species” and informed him about a series of lectures he was giving to the Royal Institution on the topic of the dog, a representative not only of the profundity of human affection, but also of the mammalia-May 10, 1880. Huxley saw the development of canines as making a strong case for “Darwinismums” by revealing “a regular gradual progression.” Small dogs developed from jackals, big ones from wolves. “On Dogs and the Problems connected with them” was one of many Huxley papers never published, though the Proceedings of the Royal Society and Nature published On the Epipubis in the Dog and Fox and the Proceedings of the Zoological Society published “On the Cranial and Dental Characters of the Canidae.” One of the core contributions to many biological papers from Huxley during the 1860s and early 1870s can be seen from his research on the relationship between reptiles and birds. His findings and research work gave a clear evidence for both proving Darwin’s theory and his own thesis. Huxley’s great achievement of finding new evidence of paleontological discoveries surely boosted his argument (Huxley 1869, 1871). However, it was not simple to find anatomical connections between birds and reptiles despite the fact that Huxley did not clarify a direct line of descent (Switek 2010). Charles Darwin also showed similar problems of providing still-nascent evolutionary hypothesis in paleontology although paleontology was a young science in that period. The debate has been heated when Owen has discovered the first skeleton of Archaeopteryx in 1861. It was the oldest skeleton of a bird yet discovered so far and was no common sparrow or finch but possessed both avian and reptilian characters. Wagner (1861) argued that Archaeopteryx was one isolated from there was no evidence shown of intermediates that threatened Darwin’s theory (Switek 2010). The controversial debate over transition between birds and reptiles had carried onto Huxley and he tried to solve the problem by pointing to the diminutive Compsognathus. He was not sure whether Compsoganathus was in the Dinosauria or in a new, but soon he finds out that it was of the same age as Archaeopteryx. Huxley has found that Compsongnathus was a persistent form of an actual creature in the line of descent from reptile to bird, and taking up to the flightless ratites from which the carinate birds would be brought up. Therefore, Huxley was able to confirm Darwin’s theory by providing an illustration of the hypothetical evolutionary arc as Compsognathus  ratites  carinates (Huxley 1868 p. 366, Switek 2010). Therefore, Huxley concluded the evolution of birds from reptiles by drawing anatomical connections of Compsognathus. In Paleontology and the Doctrine of Evolution (1870), Huxley notes that investigations of “the extinct reptilian forms of the Ornithoscelida (or Dinosauria and Compsognatha) have brought to light the existence of intercalary forms between … in many of these Ornithoscelida, the hind limbs and the pelvis are much more similar to those of Birds than they are to those of Reptiles, and that these Bird-reptiles were more or less completely bipedal. … At the present moment, we have, in the Ornithoscelida, the intercalary type, which proves that transition to be something more than a possibility.” Moreover Huxley has assumed the possibility that dinosaurs had bones and organs like those of birds and warm-blooded like other animals. (Blinderman and Joyce 2003) In Huxley’s Croonian lecture on the vertebrate skull, given at the Royal Society, he opposes the idea against his mentor, Professor Richard Owen, on human evolution. Professor Owen shares argument made by Cuvier that the disappearance of the squamosal is enough to assume that retrogression of the alisphenoid behind the exit of the fifth nerve, which is the essential consequence of his identification of the true petrosal with the alisphenoid (Huxley 1857-1859, p435). However, Huxley states that he is firmly assure that it does not disappear in the lower vertebrata. Huxley faulted Professor Owen being an idealist as oppose to a naturalist that Owen believes that the archetype describes a divine platonic pattern rather than mechanical laws (Ruse 2009). Conclusion It is widely known that Charles Darwin’s work on the Origin of Species had brought massive influence on society, religion, science and many other aspects. His work on variation under domestication, variation under nature, natural selection and laws of variation would not been floated onto public if there were no friends or colleagues who advocated him to publish his theory. As indicated earlier, Huxley did not believe the idea of natural selection, and strongly resisted gradual progression. Because he believed that there were lack of evidence to prove natural selection. He emphasized the importance of empirical proof over hypothesis that possibly strengthened the theory of the origin of species.In this essay, I closely investigated Thomas Henry Huxley, because I firmly believe that Huxley had influenced Darwin in many aspects and without him, it could have not received attention from public. With his considerable work, Darwin was able to sharpen his theory such as paleontology and human evolution. Reference Bibby, C. 1972. Scientist Extraordinary; The life and scientific work of Thomas Henry Huxley 1825 – 1895 Blinderman and Joyce , L. 2003. The Huxley File Ellegard, A. 1958. Darwin and the General Reader: The Reception of Darwin’s theory of Evolution in the british Periodical Press, 1859-1872. Francis, K. A. 2007. Charles Darwin and The Origin of Species Grigg, R. 2009. What did Wilberforce really say to “Darwin’s bulldog?” Huxley’s debate with Wilberforce – Setting the record straight Huxley, L. 1921. Charles Darwin; Life-Stories of Famous Men Lyons, S. 2009. Evolution and Education: Lessons from Thomas Huxley Huxley, T. H. 1868. Remarks upon Archaeopteryx lithographica. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, XVI, 243-248 Huxley, T. H. 1857-1859. The Croonian Lecutre: On the theory of the vertebrate skull. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Vol. 9 Jensen, J. V. 1988. Return to the Wilberforce – Huxley Debate Ruse, M. 2009. The Darwinian revolution: Rethinking its meaning and significance Switek, B. 2010. Thomas Henry Huxley and the reptile to bird transition Bibliography Darwin, C. 1859. On the origin of species by means of natural selection or the preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life. London: John Murray Desmond, A. 1997. Huxley: Evolution’s High Priest Jones, S. 1999. Almost like a whale: the Origin of Species updated Vanderpool, H. Y. 1973. Darwin and Darwinism; Revolutionary Insights concerning Man, Nature, Religion and Society White, P. 2003. Thomas Huxley; Making the man of science Read More