Erasmus Darwin [ Science / Art and Literature / Philosophy ]
… On the Origin of Species in 1851, his grandfather Erasmus Darwin had developed his own thoughts on the gradual transformation of species through time. The concept of sociability was fundamental to his theory, as Erasmus Darwin explains … such as the volvox or the polypus, he supposed that the affection of a parent to a child was the first step toward the formation of sociability: ‘this affection from the parent to the progeny existed before animals were divided into sexes, … of sympathetic society’ (Darwin, additional note XI, not paginated). The social chain is made stronger with the transformation of species: as the nervous structure (or ‘sensorium’) grows, individuals become increasingly sensitive to their …
Abolition | Affection | Community | Correspondence | Lunar society | Social Contract
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