Darwin's sacred cause
Subtitle: how a hatred of slavery shaped Darwin's views on human evolution
By: Adrian Desmond and James Moore.
Contributors: Moore, James R. 1947-
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Published: 2009
Place of publication: Boston
Language: eng
Number of pages: 484
ISBN-13: 9780547055268
Subjects: Darwin, Charles, -- 1809-1882 -- Ethics; Darwin, Charles, -- 1809-1882 -- Political and social views; Human evolution -- Philosophy; Slavery -- Philosophy; Slavery -- Moral and ethical aspects
Description: There is a mystery surrounding Darwin: How did this quiet, respectable gentleman, a pillar of his parish, come to embrace one of the most radical ideas in the history of human thought? Darwin risked a great deal in publishing his theory of evolution, so something very powerful--a moral fire--must have propelled him. That moral fire, argue authors Desmond and Moore, was a passionate hatred of slavery. They draw on a wealth of fresh manuscripts, correspondence, notebooks, diaries, and even ships' logs to show how Darwin's abolitionism had deep roots in his mother's family and was reinforced by his voyage on the Beagle as well as by events in America. Leading apologists for slavery in Darwin's time argued that blacks and whites were separate species, with whites created superior. Darwin believed that the races belonged to the same human family, and slavery was therefore a sin.--From publisher description.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.