Collected Essays

A nine-volume collection of essays and lectures published in 1893–4 by one of Victorian England's most influential biologists.

Thomas Henry Huxley (Author)

9781108040518, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 29 December 2011

444 pages
21.6 x 14 x 2.5 cm, 0.56 kg

Known as 'Darwin's Bulldog', the biologist Thomas Henry Huxley (1825–95) was a tireless supporter of the evolutionary theories of his friend Charles Darwin. Huxley also made his own significant scientific contributions, and he was influential in the development of science education despite having had only two years of formal schooling. He established his scientific reputation through experiments on aquatic life carried out during a voyage to Australia while working as an assistant surgeon in the Royal Navy; ultimately he became President of the Royal Society (1883–5). Throughout his life Huxley struggled with issues of faith, and he coined the term 'agnostic' to describe his beliefs. This nine-volume collection of Huxley's essays, which he edited and published in 1893–4, demonstrates the wide range of his intellectual interests. Volume 1 begins with a brief autobiography, and examines the development and progress of scientific practice and knowledge.

Preface
Autobiography
1. On the advisableness of improving natural knowledge [1866]
2. The progress of science [1887]
3. On the physical basis of life [1868]
4 On Descartes' 'Discourse touching the method of using one's reason rightly and of seeking scientific truth' [1870]
5. On the hypothesis that animals are automata, and its history [1874]
6. Administrative nihilism [1871]
7. On the natural inequality of men [1890]
8. Natural rights and political rights [1890]
9. Government: anarchy or regimentation [1890].

Subject Areas: Western philosophy: c 1600 to c 1900 [HPCD]