Nature’s prophet : Alfred Russel Wallace and his evolution from natural selection to natural theology

277 Pages·2018·25.93 MB·English

by  Flannery

Nature’s
Prophet
Frontispiece. Sketch by A. Webster of Alfred Russel Wallace that first appeared
in the Full Report of the International Workers’ Congress, London, July and August
1896; courtesy of the University of Edinburgh, Special Collections, SD 8400.
Nature’s
Prophet
ALFRED RUSSEL WALLACE
and His Evolution from
Natural Selection to
Natural Theology
MICHAEL A. FLANNERY
The University of Alabama Press
Tuscaloosa
The University of Alabama Press
Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35487-0380
uapress.ua.edu
Copyright © 2018 by the University of Alabama Press
All rights reserved.
Inquiries about reproducing material from this work should be addressed to the
University of Alabama Press.
Typeface: Janson and Corbel
Cover image: Photograph of Alfred Russel Wallace from the frontispiece of The
Wonderful Century (1898), originally taken in 1895 and first published in Border-
land, April 1896
Cover design: Michele Myatt Quinn
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Flannery, Michael A., 1953– author.
Title: Nature’s prophet : Alfred Russel Wallace and his evolution from natural
selection to natural theology / Michael A. Flannery.
Description: Tuscaloosa : The University of Alabama Press, [2018] | Includes
bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017058600| ISBN 9780817319854 (cloth) | ISBN
9780817391874 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Natural selection. | Natural theology. | Evolution (Biology) |
Wallace, Alfred Russel, 1823–1913. | Darwin, Charles, 1809–1882.
Classification: LCC QH375 .F57 2018 | DDC 576.8/2—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017058600
For Dona
The old argument from design in Nature, as given by Paley, which
formerly seemed to me so conclusive, fails, now that the law of
natural selection has been discovered. . . . There seems to be no
more design in the variability of organic beings, and in the action of
natural selection, than in the course which the wind blows.
—Charles Darwin, Autobiography
My contribution is made as a man of science, as a naturalist, as a
man who studies his surroundings to see where he is. And the con-
clusion I reach in my book [The World of Life] is this: That every-
where, not here and there, but everywhere, and in the very smallest
operations of nature to which human observation has penetrated,
there is Purpose and a continual Guidance and Control.
—Alfred Russel Wallace, New Thoughts on Evolution
For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. . . . For now we see
through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part;
but then shall I know even as also I am known.
—1 Corinthians 13:9, 12 (KJV)
Contents
Preface ix
Acknowledgments xiii
Introduction 1
1. Wallace on Man 14
2. The Spirit of Science 28
3. Darwin’s Heretic 52
4. The Science of Spirit 68
5. Wallace’s Integrated World 99
6. Divided Legacy 122
7. Wallace Today 144
Epilogue. Wallace and the Historian’s Craft 162
Appendix. The Evolution of Alfred Russel Wallace:
Three Representative Essays 167
Notes 197
Bibliography 237
Index 253

Preface
The purpose of this book is to place Alfred Russel Wallace within a context
that allows him to stand out in bold relief against the other leading biolo-
gists of his day, most particularly Charles Darwin. The argument is essen-
tially this: Wallace’s understanding of the natural and metaphysical worlds
eventually became one—an integrated whole of scientific, social, political,
and metaphysical thought—through the latter half of his life, forming a
revised natural theology over the moribund special creation of William
Paley. While some very good work on Wallace’s scientific and social ideas
has been done, far less attention has been paid to his natural theology. How
Wallace’s embrace of spiritualism and libertarian socialist views functioned
synergistically with his scientific, moral, and ethical worldviews becomes
an important part of the story.
While the focus is clearly on Wallace, he is impossible to discuss without
comparing and contrasting him with Darwin. Their association with the
theory of natural selection will forever place them on the same page of the
history of science, if only, in Wallace’s unfortunate case, often as a footnote.
Their relationship was complicated by the stratified class structure of Vic-
torian England, and the comparatively lowborn Wallace found himself ne-
gotiating a complex lifelong association with wellborn Darwin that varied
between that of mentor and protégé, professional colleague, and occasional
adversary. Wallace always regarded Darwin highly—even as the Newton of
Natural History!—and he always considered himself a Darwinian. But, as
will be discussed, this is deceptive. For all of Wallace’s adulation and praise
of Darwin, their differences were many and real.
This forces a careful and critical analysis of their respective views. As the
following chapters will make plain, I view Darwin’s evolutionary theory as
vulnerable from several standpoints. This alone will cause controversy. It