Evolution, Old & New / Or, the Theories of Buffon, Dr. Erasmus Darwin and Lamarck, / as compared with that of Charles Darwin

Opening of the book

Evolution,
Old & New
"The want of a practical acquaintance
with Natural History leads the author
to take an erroneous view of the
bearing of his own theories on those
of Mr. Darwin.—Review of 'Life and
Habit,' by Mr. A. R. Wallace, in
'Nature,' March 27, 1879.
"Neither lastly would our observer be
driven out of his conclusion, or from
his confidence in its truth, by being
told that he knows nothing at all
about the matter. He knows enough for
his argument; he knows the utility of
the end; he knows the subserviency
and adaptation of the means to the
end. These points being known, his
ignorance concerning other points,
his doubts concerning other points,
affect
not
the
certainty
of
his
reasoning.
The
consciousness
of
knowing
little
need
not
beget
a
distrust of that which he does know."
Paley's 'Natural Theology,' chap. i.
Evolution, Old & New
Or the Theories of Buffon, Dr. Erasmus Darwin and
Lamarck,

as compared with that of Charles Darwin
by
Samuel Butler
New York
E. P. Dutton & Company
681 Fifth Avenue
Made and printed in
Great Britain
NOTE
The demand for a new edition of
"Evolution, Old and New," gives me an
opportunity of publishing Butler's
latest revision of his work. The
second edition of "Evolution, Old and
New," which was published in 1882 and
re-issued with a new title-page in
1890, was merely a re-issue of the
first edition with a new preface, an
appendix, and an index. At a later
date, though I cannot say precisely
when, Butler revised the text of the
book in view of a future edition. The
corrections that he made are mainly
verbal and do not, I think, affect
the
argument
to
any
considerable
extent.
Butler,
however,
attached
sufficient
importance
to
them
to
incur
the
expense
of
having
the
stereos of more than fifty pages

Keep listening free