Zoonomia or The Laws of Organic Life
by Erasmus Darwin
Zoonomia or The Laws of Organic Life | ||
at the College of William & Mary. |
||
Author | Erasmus Darwin | |
Edition | Precise edition unknown | |
Volumes | 3 volume set | |
Desc. | 8vo |
Erasmus Darwin (1731-1802), was a doctor, poet, inventor, and botanist, who also provided insights in physics, chemistry, geology, meteorology, and biology.[1] He was a leader in the intellectual communities, such as the Lunar Society, which contributed to many areas including industrialization.[2] Some of his intellectual peers included James Watt, Matthew Boulton, Joseph Priestly, and Josiah Wedgwood.[3] One of his greater achievements was his work in biology such as his ideas of natural selection and evolution.[4] Erasmus came up with one of the first coherent theory of evolution, a full 70 years before his grandson, Charles Darwin, which he published in Zoonomia or the Laws of Organic Life.[5]
Zoonomia or the Laws of Organic Life is made of forty sections describing different motions, anatomy, and diseases.[6] In this work, Erasmus Darwin classifies animal life into classes, orders, genera, and species through comparing them with each other.[7] Through these classifications, Erasmus is hoping to discover more about the theory of diseases.[8] Erasmus wants to provide better patient care through the betterment of the theory of diseases.[9] At the time this book was published, it was well-received, with one reviewer comparing Darwin's additions to medicine with Sir Isaac Newton's contributions to natural philosophy.[10]
Evidence for Inclusion in Wythe's Library
See also
References
- ↑ "Erasmus Darwin." Erasmus Darwin House.http://www.erasmusdarwin.org/learning/erasmus-darwin/ (accessed November 8, 2018)
- ↑ "Erasmus Darwin."; "Erasmus Darwin (1731-1802)." Erasmus Darwin (1731-1802).http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/history/Edarwin.html (accessed November 8, 2018).
- ↑ Ibid.
- ↑ Ibid.
- ↑ "Erasmus Darwin"
- ↑ Darwin, Erasmus. Zoonomia or the Laws of Organic Life. (London:J. Hohnson, 1794), v-vi.
- ↑ Darwin, Zoonomia or the Laws of Organic Life, 1.
- ↑ Ibid.
- ↑ Darwin, Zoonomia or the Laws of Organic Life,1-3.
- ↑ "Erasmus Darwin."