This reading group, begun in 2001, continues to explore the origins of evolutionary thought and the historical context within which Charles Darwin began his analyses of the process of evolution. "Pre-Darwinian" is operationally defined as any evolutionist writings published prior to the 1859 (appearance of Origin of Species), the year when the social and scientific context of evolutionary explanation for biological diversity underwent its most significant and fundamental paradigm shift.

Years one through five of the reading group comprise a British cycle with attention to the contributions of Erasmus Darwin, Alfred Russel Wallace, Robert Chambers, Patrick Matthew, Herbert Spencer and Charles Darwin (his writings prior to 1859). Down the line: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, who (among his many other well known endeavors) founded the field of plant morphology, established the concept of serial homology, and wrote of the process of transformation of organisms over time; and Jean Baptiste Lamarck (1744-1829), who is widely credited for some of his erroneous theories on the nature of evolution, but is rarely read by current biologists or given his proper dues.

The British cycle:

more information:

I.    The Life of Erasmus Darwin

II.   The Life of Alfred Russel Wallace

III.  The Life of Alfred Russel Wallace: The Later Years

IV.  The Life of Robert Chambers

V.   Darwin's Historical Sketch

VI.  Darwin's Early Evolutionist Writings: 1837-1858

VII. Charles Lyell: Pre-Darwinian Evolutionist?