tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1647542790969230221.post3834203305516661730..comments2023-10-02T03:29:53.174-07:00Comments on The Rough Guide to Evolution: David Hume's influence on Charles DarwinMark Pallenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06911675151032525386noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1647542790969230221.post-42900016187147325732009-07-08T19:16:44.254-07:002009-07-08T19:16:44.254-07:00At any rate, I liked some of the vadlo evolution c...At any rate, I liked some of the vadlo <a href="http://vadlo.com/cartoons.php?id=74" rel="nofollow">evolution cartoons</a>!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1647542790969230221.post-39101170912924859782009-07-06T06:00:04.149-07:002009-07-06T06:00:04.149-07:00Mark,
you are correct that little has been made ...Mark, <br /><br />you are correct that little has been made of Darwin's time in Edinburgh, other than acknowledgement that several sources there did have huge influences on his later thinking. This complete lack of a cohesive assembly of these influences prompted me to collect and collate them for "Darwin in Scotland", available from all good book sellers, now :-)<br /><br />Before the book, I had been trying to foster collaboration for Darwin200 for years, but minds and doors are closed. There are some independent events, but they could have been so much more. <br /><br />I do cover Hume's major influences, but it is a nonacademic work, and the treatment is frustratingly shallow in places. Simply, the material and potential for investigation is too much for one person and one book. <br /><br />Many of the best Darwin artifacts were given to Cambridge, along with the rest of his possessions. However, what remains in the city are many buildings and places were Darwin studied and spent his time during those brief couple of years: for example, Old College and Lothian St.<br /><br />However, most importantly, it is the natural locations in Edinburgh and Scotland at large that had the largest impact on him. Therefore, any "tangible links" are already there since Darwin's day, and will be for millennia to come. They only need to be reinforced through careful research and I think this is where you and others have been lax: for example, Prestonpans where he accompanied Grant, Hutton's Section at Holyrood and the related Siccar Point, and, Glen Roy and the related Agassiz's Rock in the Hermitage of Braid.<br /><br />More indirect, but also associated there are Hume's statue and grave, the (Walter) Scott Monument, Darwin's uncle's grave, to name but a few.<br /><br />Lastly, there is the contemporary evolutionary biology taking place at the several universities in the city.<br /><br />What a shame nothing more could have been made of all this.<br /><br />atb,j.JFDerryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14763901065913994290noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1647542790969230221.post-31931122357761794762009-07-01T04:52:04.145-07:002009-07-01T04:52:04.145-07:00I have just noticed that Randal Keynes in his book...I have just noticed that Randal Keynes in his book Annie's Box (pp. 278-9) also notes parallels between the arguments in the Dialogues and in Darwin's Autobiography.Mark Pallenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06911675151032525386noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1647542790969230221.post-20179149323410864992009-06-29T23:45:58.954-07:002009-06-29T23:45:58.954-07:00JFD, I was not meaning to be aggressive. Electroni...JFD, I was not meaning to be aggressive. Electronic media for communication are rather blunt instruments in which it is hard to gauge the emotional tone. You should imagine my comments delivered with a leg-pulling smile. I can hardly get too judgmental about self-publicity on this blog when the whole blog acts as publicity for my book ;-)<br /><br />I am genuinely interested to know what your book says about Hume and Darwin. Also, I am a great fan of the beautiful city of Edinburgh and of Charles Darwin, but I could not recommend to a Darwinian tourist visiting the UK to visit Edinburgh purely for the Darwinian sights, as the tangible links are so few. Or am I missing something? Of course, the city is worth visiting on its own merits, but that is a different issue.Mark Pallenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06911675151032525386noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1647542790969230221.post-48975595817491611232009-06-29T16:12:27.132-07:002009-06-29T16:12:27.132-07:00Self-publicity in the buried comments of your blog...Self-publicity in the buried comments of your blog? Hardly Mark! <br /><br />My motivation for writing was that given your flippant comments on Edinburgh, I thought that you would appreciate being directed to a useful source that you have clearly overlooked. <br /><br />But, from your aggressive response, I guess not. <br /><br />Och well. jfdJFDerryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14763901065913994290noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1647542790969230221.post-88435286572170785782009-06-28T23:24:40.596-07:002009-06-28T23:24:40.596-07:00jfd, is this shameless self-publicity or does the ...jfd, is this shameless self-publicity or does the book actually contain discussion of the links between the Dialogues and Darwin?Mark Pallenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06911675151032525386noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1647542790969230221.post-64063367539227402242009-06-28T18:53:14.008-07:002009-06-28T18:53:14.008-07:00Perhaps a more imaginative Google search, for exam...Perhaps a more imaginative Google search, for example, "darwin scottish enlightenment" would have turned up what you were looking for: <br /><br />http://www.amazon.co.uk/Darwin-Scotland-Edinburgh-Evolution-Enlightenment/dp/1904445578<br /><br />I can see how you might shamefully conclude that, "the tangible links to Darwin in Edinburgh are rather scanty and it is probably not worth visiting the city just to see them". <br /><br />JFDerryJFDerryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14763901065913994290noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1647542790969230221.post-65141006742061187922009-06-28T03:07:51.157-07:002009-06-28T03:07:51.157-07:00I can see the creationist response to this revelat...I can see the creationist response to this revelation: "Darwin was a plagiarizer!". Anyway, good article. I have read Dialogues but never saw the connection with the works of CRD.Danny Boy, FCDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05188779170739251410noreply@blogger.com