- Parson-naturalist
Parson-Naturalists were a group of 19th Century
parson s, who saw the study of science as an extension of their religious work. The philosophy entailed the belief that God, as the Creator of all things, wanted man to understand his Creations, and thus to study them through scientific techniques.These techniques included the collection of natural artifacts; massive yet ordered quantities of leaves, plants, eggs, birds, insects, small mammals, etc., were gathered by the parson-naturalists for the purposes of classification and study.
Darwin and the Parson-naturalists
Charles Darwin himself aspired to be a Parson-naturalist, upon his return from his voyage on the Beagle. However, many wealthy Anglicans, who financially supported the parson-naturalists, took umbrage to his theory of natural selection. By implying that God might not actively sustain the natural and social hierarchies, it threatened the social order and could provide ammunition toChartist s and revolutionaries.Anglican clergymen / naturalists attacked the theory, revealing how many of the wealthy specialist naturalists were opposed (to Transmutation). The Revd. Adam Sedgwick who had taught Darwin geology at university predicted "ruin and confusion in such a creed" which if taken up by the working classes "will undermine the whole moral and social fabric" bringing "discord and deadly mischief in its train." Darwin scorned such reaction as showing "the dogmatism of the pulpit".The book was liked by many Quakers and
Unitarian s. Darwin's friend the Unitarian physiologistWilliam Carpenter called Darwin'sOrigin of Species "a very beautiful and a very interesting book", and helped Chambers with correcting later editions. Critics thanked God that the author began "in ignorance and presumption", for the revised versions "would have been much more dangerous". "Vestiges" paved the way for discussion, but emphasised the need for secure mastery of awkward facts.References
*Harvard reference
http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&id=hB0hEc4CN3wC&dq=parson+naturalist&printsec=frontcover&source=web&ots=Pu5Abr9yA1&sig=1k-P-CUToOzRJoWuB3_RKRLGdRg#PPA7,M1
Editor = Patrick Armstrong
Title = The English Parson-Naturalists: A Companionship between Religion and Science
Publisher = Gracewing Publishing
Pages = 234
ID = ISBN 0852445164 Retrieved on2008-02-17 Citations
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