Origin
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Evidence as to Man’s Place in Nature: Cambridge Library Collection. Life Sciences
In 1863, the biologist and educator Thomas Henry Huxley published Evidence as to Man's Place in Nature, a compilation of his public lectures on Darwin's theory of evolution - specifically the controversial idea of the ape ancestry of humans. An energetic supporter of Darwin, Huxley's argues that in order to understand the universe, everyone must know their place in the natural world. The book is divided into three parts, each written with the aim of persuading lay audiences. The first covers earlier human beliefs about exotic animals, especially 'man-like' apes. In Part 2, Huxley suggests that every animal on Earth is related in that all go through developmental stages from an egg, whether the animal is 'a silkworm or a school-boy'. Part 3 involves a discussion of recently discovered Neanderthal bones and compares prehistoric craniums to modern human skulls.
Human Origins
"[...]man, the son of a piromis. The first question is how far back these authentic historical records can be traced, and Egypt affords the first answer. The first step in the inquiry as to Egyptian antiquity is afforded by the history of Manetho. Ptolemy Philadelphus, whose reign began 284 b.c., was an enlightened king. He founded the great Alexandrian library, and was specially curious in collecting everything which bore on the early history of his own and[...]".
Life’s Dawn on Earth: Being the History of the Oldest Known Fossil Remains, and Their Relations to Geological Time and to the Development of the Animal Kingdom
Every one has heard of, or ought to have heard of, Eozoon Canadense, the Canadian Dawn-animal, the sole fossil of the ancient Laurentian rocks of North America, the earliest known representative on our planet of those wondrous powers of animal life which culminate and unite themselves with the spirit-world in man himself. Yet few even of those to whom the name is familiar, know how much it implies, and how strange and wonderful is the story which can be evoked from this first-born of old ocean. No one probably believes that animal life has been an eternal succession of like forms of being. We are familiar with the idea that in some way it was introduced; and most men now know, either from the testimony of Genesis or geology, or of both, that the lower forms of animal life were introduced first, and that these first living creatures had their birth in the waters, which are still the prolific mother of living things innumerable. Further, there is a general impression that it would be the most appropriate way that the great procession of animal existence should commence with the humblest types known to us, and should march on in successive bands of gradually increasing dignity and power, till man himself brings up the rear. Do we know the first animal? Can we name it, explain its structure, and state its relations to its successors? Can we do this by inference from the succeeding types of being; and if so, do our anticipations agree with any actual reality disinterred from the earth?s crust? If we could do this, either by inference or actual discovery, how strange it would be to know that we had before us even the remains of the first creature that could feel or will, and could place itself in vital relation with the great powers of inanimate nature. If we believe in a Creator, we shall feel it a solemn thing to have access to the first creature into which He breathed the breath of life. If we hold that all things have been evolved from collision of dead forces, then the first molecules of matter which took upon themselves the responsibility of living, and, aiming at the enjoyment of happiness, subjected themselves to the dread alternatives of pain and mortality, must surely evoke from us that filial reverence which we owe to the authors of our own being, if they do not involuntarily draw forth even a superstitious adoration. The veneration of the old Egyptian for his sacred animals would be a comparatively reasonable idolatry, if we could imagine any of these animals to have been the first that emerged from the domain of dead matter, and the first link in a reproductive chain of being that produced all the population of the world. Independently of any such hypotheses, all students of nature must regard with surpassing interest the first bright streaks of light that break on the long reign of primeval night and death, and presage the busy day of teeming animal existence.
Man and His Ancestor: A Study in Evolution
"Man And His Ancestor: A Study In Evolution" by Charles Morris. Published by Good Press. Good Press publishes a wide range of titles that encompasses every genre. From well-known classics & literary fiction and non-fiction to forgotten?or yet undiscovered gems?of world literature, we issue the books that need to be read. Each Good Press edition has been meticulously edited and formatted to boost readability for all e-readers and devices. Our goal is to produce eBooks that are user-friendly and accessible to everyone in a high-quality digital format.
Natural Man
"Natural Man" by Arthur B. Moss. Published by Good Press. Good Press publishes a wide range of titles that encompasses every genre. From well-known classics & literary fiction and non-fiction to forgotten?or yet undiscovered gems?of world literature, we issue the books that need to be read. Each Good Press edition has been meticulously edited and formatted to boost readability for all e-readers and devices. Our goal is to produce eBooks that are user-friendly and accessible to everyone in a high-quality digital format.
Not Paul, but Jesus: How Paul Usurped Christ
*In this edition hundreds of problems in punctuation and spelling that frustrated reading have been corrected (British spellings have been left alone).*Contains a new Forward by Tobias Skinner.*In Not Paul, But Jesus Jeremy Bentham offers solid proof that the books of the Bible ascribed to Paul could not have been divinely inspired due to the numerous fallacies and contradictions contained within them. Indeed, argues Bentham, Paul's works even contradict the teachings of Christ. It is likely the books ascribed to Paul, many of which are merely letters to early Christian churches, were added by the church because the doctrine of Paul allows the church to play a far larger role in the life of Christians than would be the case without the books included. Paul wanted the various churches he visited to practice Christianity his way. His letters tell them to do so, and apparently some influential leaders of the early and later church approved. Whatever the case, Bentham offers convincing proof that an infallible God could not have inspired the writings of Paul, which are far from infallible. In Bentham's view, Paul plays the role of an anti-Christ by making Christ subservient to Paul in the doctrine of Christianity.
Prehistoric Structures of Central America. Who Erected Them? A Lecture
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Strange Survivals: Some Chapters in the History of Man
All over the north of Europe the greatest aversion is felt to be the first to enter a new building, or to go over a newly erected bridge. If to do this is not everywhere and in all cases thought to entail death, it is considered supremely unlucky. Several German legends are connected with this superstition. The reader, if he has been to Aix-la-Chapelle, has doubtless had the rift in the great door pointed out to him, and has been told how it came there. The devil and the architect made a compact that the first should draw the plans, and the second gain the Kudos; and the devil?s wage was to be that he should receive the first who crossed the threshold of the church when completed. When the building was finished, the architect?s conscience smote him, and he confessed the compact to the bishop. ?We?ll do him,? said the prelate; that is to say, he said something to this effect in terms more appropriate to the century in which he lived, and to his high ecclesiastical office. When the procession formed to enter the minster for the consecration, the devil lurked in ambush behind a pillar, and fixed his wicked eye on a fine fat and succulent little chorister as his destined prey. But alas for his hopes! this fat little boy had been given his instructions, and, as he neared the great door, loosed the chain of a wolf and sent it through. The evil one uttered a howl of rage, snatched up the wolf and rushed away, giving the door a kick, as he passed it, that split the solid oak. The castle of Gleichberg, near R?nskild, was erected by the devil in one night. The Baron of Gleichberg was threatened by his foes, and he promised to give the devil his daughter if he erected the castle before cockcrow. The nurse overheard the compact, and, just as the castle was finished, set fire to a stack of corn. The cock, seeing the light, thought morning had come, and crowed before the last stone was added to the walls. The devil in a rage carried off the old baron?and served him right?instead of the maiden. We shall see presently how this story works into our subject. At Frankfort may be seen, on the Sachsenh?user Bridge, an iron rod with a gilt cock on the top. This is the reason: An architect undertook to build the bridge within a fixed time, but three days before that on which he had contracted to complete it, the bridge was only half finished. In his distress he invoked the devil, who undertook the job if he might receive the first who crossed the bridge. The work was done by the appointed day, and then the architect drove a cock over the bridge. The devil, who had reckoned on getting a human being, was furious; he tore the poor cock in two, and flung it with such violence at the bridge that he knocked two holes in it, which to the present day cannot be closed, for if stones are put in by day they are torn out by night. In memorial of the event, the image of the cock was set up on the bridge.
The Descent of Man – and Selection in Relation to Sex
First published in 1871, ?The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex? is a book by English naturalist Charles Darwin. In this volume, Darwin attempts to marry the theories of human evolution with evolutionary theory, exploring evolutionary ethics, evolutionary psychology, differences between sexes, differences between human races, and the relevance of the evolutionary theory to society. Contents include: ?Principles Of Sexual Selection?, ?Secondary Sexual Characters In The Lower Classes Of The Animal Kingdom?, ?Secondary Sexual Characters Of Insects?, ?Insects, Continued.?ORDER Lepidoptera.?, ?Secondary Sexual Characters Of Fishes, Amphibians, And Reptiles?, ?Secondary Sexual Characters Of Birds?, etc. This classic work is being republished now in a new edition complete with a specially-commissioned new biography of the author. Charles Robert Darwin (1809 ? 1882) was an English geologist, naturalist, and biologist most famous for his contributions to the science of evolution and his book ?On the Origin of Species? (1859).
The Last Link: Our Present Knowledge of the Descent of Man
"The Last Link: Our Present Knowledge of the Descent of Man" by Ernst Haeckel. Published by Good Press. Good Press publishes a wide range of titles that encompasses every genre. From well-known classics & literary fiction and non-fiction to forgotten?or yet undiscovered gems?of world literature, we issue the books that need to be read. Each Good Press edition has been meticulously edited and formatted to boost readability for all e-readers and devices. Our goal is to produce eBooks that are user-friendly and accessible to everyone in a high-quality digital format.