In Praise of Darwin: George Romanes and the Evolution of a Darwinian Believer

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George John Romanes, close friend and colleague of Darwin, remains a misunderstood figure in the history of evolutionary science. Although his scientific contributions have been valued, his religious journey has been either neglected or misjudged. Scholars typically only acknowledge some of the work on theism he did at the very end of his life and usually blame his wife for doctoring the record with her pieties. Romanes's extensive poetry writing, much of it religious, has never been explored and his Memorial Poem to Darwin has been completely overlooked. The recent discovery of the original typescript of the poem, lost for more than a century and reprinted in this book for the first time, allows us to enter the mind of a major Darwinian as we watch him struggle to reconcile faith and science on a positive basis.

Reviews

This is an extraordinary book. The author, with meticulous attention to detail, traces the historical and spiritual journey of one of Charles Darwins most fervent admirers, George Romanes. But it is Romaness movement from unbelief to faith in the context of Darwins death that is, perhaps, of most significance in a post-Darwinian world plagued by skepticism about whether belief in God is ever possible. Woven into this account Pleins puts in a number of interesting details, including a reconstruction of Darwins house, the reading material that likely influenced Romanes, as well as specific struggles of more general importance. Overall, the impression one has from reading this book is that Romanes was a conflicted and complicated man, racked by an obsessive attachment to Darwin, whose death left a void that he sought to fill through many and various religious alternatives. -- Celia Deanne-Drummond, University of Notre Dame, USA * Journal of Religion volume 96/1, January 2016 *
Pleinss book doesnt focus on Romanes as an individual site of the conflict between faith and science. Instead, his book focuses on Romaness Memorial Poem, written in praise of Darwin at the time of Darwins death. The lengthy poem was lost to the public for over a century, only an abridged version published. It is reprinted here in an appendix, and Pleins spends most of the book analyzing it. -- Peter Leithart * First Things *
Pleinss lovingly attentive account of the poem is very helpful in teasing out its engagement with theological questions, Biblical sources, biographical events and Darwinian evolution. -- John Holmes * Reports of the National Center for Science Education *
Some books do not fit neatly into genre categories. J. David Pleins offers us an excellent example of a multidisciplinary work with In Praise of Darwin. It is part history, part literary critique, part philosophy, and part theology. -- Bethany Sollereder, University of Exeter, UK * Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith *
[In Praise of Darwin] will interest all Darwin scholars and anyone thinking through the wider significance of evolution for Christian belief ... David Pleins must take his share of the credit for putting this Memorial Poem into print together with his own excellent, extensive and illuminating analysis. -- E Gwyn Jordan * Faith and Thought *
[A] meticulous examination, quatrain by quatrain, of Romanes's poems ... [Pleins] presents a thoughtful and instructive reading of Victorian poetry, writing clearly and following the poem and his subject conscientiously. * Isis Journal *
This is a remarkable follow-up to the authors earlier work on Darwins journey of faith, The Evolving God. Pleins has an exceptional sensitivity to the religious struggles of sincere seekers, especially scientists. Like Tennyson, he realizes that there lives more faith in honest doubt. . . than in half the creeds. The journey into skepticism by some scientifically educated Christians was especially tormenting since it seemed to estrange them agonizingly from family members and friends. Instead of viewing the loss of faith as liberation from authoritarianism, many literate people, once they had been exposed to science and reason, remained deeply tormented that they could no longer share the comforts of faith with the people they loved most. Darwin is a good example. George Romanes may be an even better one. We could hardly expect a more careful and scholarly treatment of Romaness struggle than we have in Pleinss readable work. -- John Haught, Professor Emeritus, Science and Religion, Georgetown University, USA
In this fascinating re-investigation of the life and thought of George Romanes, the author weaves together insights from Romanes magisterial Memorial Poem with material arising from his interactions with his hero Charles Darwin, to generate a narrative that subverts any simplistic science versus religion historiography. The text is often counter-intuitive, full of surprises, and should be read by all those interested in the impact that Darwinian ideas had on the religious convictions of his contemporaries. -- Denis Alexander, Emeritus Director of The Faraday Institute for Science and Religion, St Edmund's College, Cambridge, UK
Whilst Tennysons poetic musings of Darwinian evolution in In Memoriam are now well-known enough to have passed into clich (Nature red in tooth and claw), George Romanes Charles Darwin: A Memorial Poem by contrast has faded into obscurity. Now, thanks to J. David Pleins excellent new book, Romanes poem can assume its rightfully central place in our assessment of the reception of Darwins scientific theories and their impact on religious belief. A combination of the fortuitous discovery of the original typescript of Romanes poem and meticulous historical scholarship, Pleins book guides us through the poem as key to Romanes remarkable scientific and religious thought. Detailed, nuanced and lively, the book breaks new ground in the study of Romanes and his relation to his mentor Darwin; it also contributes significantly to wider historical work on the inter-relations of science and religion in the nineteenth century, cutting through the tired metaphors of warfare and conflict towards a more subtle account of the intellectual negotiations of those, like Romanes, immersed in both modern science and modern religion. -- Russell Re Manning, Lord Gifford Fellow in the School of Divinity, History and Philosophy, University of Aberdeen, UK
The recently discovered and slightly longer Typescript of the poem provides what Pleins views as a fresh means to examine Romaness transitions from youthful faith to Darwinian skepticism, to a supposedly new belief strengthened by understanding evolution. For the author, Romanes is a champion of a particular, personal, and creative reconciliation of science and religion. The book is mostly a meticulous examination, quatrain by quatrain, of Romaness poem, including handwritten marginalia, deletions, and additions. A professor of religious studies at Santa Clara University, Pleins is writing for the theological community, not for historians of science. This of course does not mean Pleins should not be read by interested historians of science. He often presents a thoughtful and instructive reading of Victorian poetry, writing clearly and following the poem and his subject conscientiously. And is it a bad thing, when many in the United States are still trying to ban the teaching of evolution, to learn of a Darwinian who could openly grapple with his faith and seek and possibly find reconciliation, while still studying natural selection -- Sheila Ann Dean, Cornell University Library, USA * Isis: A Journal of the History of Science Society, Volume 106, Number 4, December 2015 *

Author Bio

J. David Pleins is Professor of Religious Studies at Santa Clara University, USA. He is the author of The Evolving God (2013), When the Great Abyss Opened: Classic and Contemporary Readings of Noah's Flood (2003), and served as an associate editor for Doubleday's The Anchor Bible Dictionary (six volumes, 1992).