Evolution Its Nature, its Evidences and its Relation to Religious Thought [Paperback]

A leading nineteenth-century American evolutionist explores the possibility of reconciling his scientific convictions with his religious faith.The geologist Joseph Le Conte founded the palaeontology program at Berkeley and was a leading American proponent of evolution. This book, first published in 1888 but expanded in the second edition reissued here, is his attempt to reconcile his evolutionist convictions with his religious faith. His concerns remain surprisingly topical today.The geologist Joseph Le Conte founded the palaeontology program at Berkeley and was a leading American proponent of evolution. This book, first published in 1888 but expanded in the second edition reissued here, is his attempt to reconcile his evolutionist convictions with his religious faith. His concerns remain surprisingly topical today.Joseph Le Conte was the first geologist, natural historian and botanist to be appointed to the University of California in 1869. He founded the successful palaeontology program at Berkeley and acquired important collections of fossils. He also lectured and wrote on evolution, of which he was the leading American proponent. This book, first published in 1888 but revised and expanded in the second edition reissued here, is his attempt to reconcile his evolutionist convictions with his religious faith. Such a synthesis, he felt, was impeded by dogmatism on both sides, and he makes a case for 'a combining, reconciling and rational view.' He considers three questions: What is evolution? Is it true? and What then?, intending to address 'the intelligent general reader' without being superficial or unscientific. Concepts such as 'neo-Darwinism', 'materialism', and 'design' make their appearance in this wide-ranging book, whose concerns remain surprisingly topical today.Preface to the second edition; Preface to the first edition; Part I. What is Evolution?: 1. Its scope and definition; 2. The relation of Louis Agassiz to the theory of evolution; Part II. Evidencels!