Principles

This program was intended to honor Charles Darwin’s 199^th birthday (he was born the same day as Abraham Lincoln). Sherrie noted Darwin’s comment in his book, The Origin of Species, characterizing it as “one long argument;” an argument which, of course, continues to the present day.
Our February speaker was Dr. Sherrie Lyons, a CDHS member who is a Professor of Evolution, Biology and Nutrition at Empire State College, and author of the book Thomas Henry Huxley: The Evolution of a Scientist. Her talk was titled “Convincing Men they are Monkeys.”
(No, this was not some sort of feminist rant.)

However, her talk actually focused on Huxley, who was called “Darwin’s Bulldog” for proselytizing Darwinism both within the scientific community and to the larger public. Huxley toured the U.S. in the 1870s and drew crowds of thousands to his lectures.

             Huxley actually had reservations about some aspects of Darwin’s theory; yet he considered it a powerful tool for biological analysis. Huxley’s main life mission was to draw a bright line between the realm of science and that of theology which, in turn, he further divided from that of religion. The latter, he maintained, involved feelings, whereas theology was a matter of intellect—and one which had no business sticking its nose into scientific questions. The great virtue of Darwin’s theory, to Huxley, was its unadulterated naturalism, and hence its helpfulness in kicking theological notions out of the realm of science.
                For example, Huxley looked for evidence in comparative anatomy and the fossil record, which he felt should be studied objectively rather than based on some preconceived theological position. He also saw connections between humans and other animals in their observed behavior, motivated by rational cerebration akin to
our own, even if on a lower level.
               Of course, Darwinism met with (and still meets) resistance because it does suggest a naturalistic rather than a divine origin for humans. Huxley tackled this explosive issue head-on, even before Darwin himself did so, authoring Man’s Place in Nature, in 1863. In a famous debate, Bishop Wilberforce taunted Huxley by asking whether he thought he was descended from apes on his father’s or mother’s side. Huxley rejoined that he’d rather be related to apes than to an ignorant clergyman who refuses to see reality.
               But Huxley did not hold resistance to evolution stupid; rather, he strove to allay people’s understandable misgivings about it. In particular he argued against the idea that ape ancestry somehow degrades humanity. Human dignity, he maintained, is not something we inherit, but something we achieve; and if we did descend from apes, that makes our achievement, in rising above our brutish origins, all the greater.
               Someday, most people will indeed accept that we are related to Chimpanzees. At least Chimps are kind of cute. The next step will be to convince people that, ultimately speaking, we are descended from-Heaven (?) help us—bacteria!

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"Convincing Men They Are Monkeys"

Dr. Sherrie Lyons