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Research in Science Education, 1992, 22, 149 - 156

THE HISTORICAL ANECDOTE AS A CARICATURE : A CASE STUDY

Colin Gauld

University of New South Wales

ABSTRACT

Much discussion has recently taken place about uses which can be made

of historical material in science teaching. A great deal of advice, taking

advantage of the particular and unique contributions which the history of

science can make to science education, is available.

The encounter between Thomas Huxley and Bishop Wilberforce in 1860

is frequently referred to when teaching about the theory of evolution and

an investigation of the main characteristics of reports of this incident in

both educational and historical literature has been carried out. The

purposes of using this incident in the educational setting are identified and

the appropriateness of these purposes is discussed in the light of a

historical understanding of this encounter.

INTRODUCTION

Historical anecdotes have two major functions in science teaching (Gauld, 1977). The

disciplinary function of the anecdote is to help in the teaching of scientific concepts and the

historical dimension is simply a vehicle for conveying information about the meaning of

scientific terms, of providing evidence for the point of view being taught (such as Darwin's

theory) or against a view being rejected (such as Lamarck's). A more recent rationale for

using history in this way is based on the similarities which appear to exist between the

ideas of pupils and those now discarded ideas of early scientists (Gauld, 1991). Evidence

which brought about changes in the ideas of the scientific community in the past is used

to produce similar changes in the ideas of school pupils today. In some cases the

disciplinary function of historical anecdotes may be based not on their conceptual content

but simply on their motivational value - their appeal as interesting stories .

The cultural function of historical anecdotes focuses attention on the more humanistic

aspects of science - on the way people do science, on the way evidence is evaluated and

how it affects the theoretical commitments of scientists, on the interactions between science

and society and so on.

The claim that a historical anecdote represents history is more important when it functions

in the second sense than for its disciplinary function. It may convey scientific concepts quite

adequately whether or not the account is historically accurate but what it conveys in its

cultural role will be severely distorted if care is not taken to ensure a certain degree of

historical integrity.

In this paper the functions and characteristics of reports, in both the educational and

historical literature, about the encounter between Samuel Wilberforce, Bishop of Oxford,

and Thomas Henry Huxley at the 1860 meeting of the British Association, are examined.

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T H E E N C O U N T E R

Since the cen t ena ry , i n 1959, o f t he pub l i ca t ion o f Da rw in ' s Th r Or ig in o f Spec i e s much

in fo rma t ion ha s become ava i l ab l e abou t t he encoun t e r and wha t t ook p l ace . I n i t s r epo r t

o f t he mee t i ng (Sec t i on D o f t he Br it ish Assoc i a t i on con fe r ence on Sa tu rday 30 June 1860)

a t w h i c h t h e e n c o u n te r t o o k p l a c e T h e A t h e n a e u m o f 1 4 J u l y 1 8 60 r e p o r t e d s p e e c h e s b y

n i ne p e o p l e. T h e k e y n o te a d d r e s s b y P r o f e s s o r J .W . D r a p e r w a s e n t it l ed O n t h e

i nt el le c tu a l d e v e l o p m e n t o f E u r o p e , c o n s i d e re d w i t h r e f e r e n c e t o t h e v i e w s o f M r . D a r w i n

and o the r s , t ha t t he p rog re s s ion o f o rgan i sms i s de t e rmined by l aw , Wi lbe r fo r ce ' s and

H u x l e y ' s s p e e c h e s w e r e t h e f o u r t h a n d f i ft h re p o r t e d a n d J o s e p h H o o k e r ' s t h e n i n th .

A l though t he new spap e r r epo r t s we re b r ie f , re cons t ruc t i ons o f W i lbe r fo r ce ' s p r e sen t a t i on ,

b a s e d o n n e w s p a p e r r e p o r t s a n d o n h i s r e v i e w i n t h e Q u a r t e r l y R e v i e w o f J u l y 1 8 6 0

(Wilber force , 1860) , a re ava i lab le (Gauld , to be publ i shed; Jensen , 1988; Lucas , 1979;

Phelps & Coh en, 1973; W rangh am , 1979) show ing tha t i t re f lec ted the sc ien t i f ic conc erns

t h a t p e o p l e o f t h e d a y h a d w i t h D a r w i n ' s b o o k . W r i t i n g t o H o o k e r i n J u l y 1 8 6 0 a b o u t

W i lbe r fo rce ' s r ev i ew e s say o f The Or ig in o f Spec i e s Da rw in adm i t t ed I t i s unco m mo nly

c lever ; i t p icks out wi th sk i l l a l l the most conjec tura l par t s , and br ings forward wel l a l l the

dif ficu lt ies (Da rwin , 1888, V olu m e 2, p .324-5) . La te r , in a le t te r to Lye l l , D arw in

com men ted t ha t t he B i shop m akes a te l li ng ca se aga in st me , by accumula t i ng s eve ra l

i n s tances wh e re I speak ve ry doub t fu l ly (Da rw in , 1888 , Vo lum e 2, p . 332 ) . Dur ing t he

cou r se o f Wi lbe r fo r ce ' s speech he a sked a r he to r i ca l ques t i on abou t t he imp l i ca t i ons o f

D a r w i n ' s t h e o r y f o r H u x l e y ' s si m ia n a n c e s t r y a n d H u x l e y r e s p o n d e d w i t h r e f e r e n c e s t o

Wi lbe r fo r ce ' s a l l eged mi suse o f o r a to r i ca l sk i l l s and w i th commen t s on some o f t he

sc ien ti fi c i s sue s Wi lbe r fo r ce had r a is ed . The r epa r t ee caused qu i t e a s t ir a t t he mee t i ng b u t

was no t r epo r t ed i n any o f t he newspape r s . The re i s s t r ong ev idence t ha t Hux ley ' s speech

was no t su f f i c ien t ly comp e l l ing t o coun t e r ac t t ha t o f t he B i shop bu t H ook e r ' s , l a t e r i n t he

se s s ion , was much more e f f ec t i ve i n de f end ing Da rwin ' s pos i t i on aga in s t t he B i shop ' s

a rguments (Gi l ley , 1981; Huxley , 1918, Volume 1 , p .526) . Indeed the repor t , in The .

A t h e n a e u m , o f H o o k e r ' s s p e e c h o c c u pi e d a b o u t t h r e e t i m e s t h e s p a c e d e v o t e d t o t h a t o f

Hux ley (o r o f Wi lbe r fo r ce ) .

The a bov e encoun t e r cou ld be u sed t o s e rve a d i sc ip l ina ry func ti on i n t e ach ing a s a sou rce

o f c r it ic i sms o f Da rwin ' s t heo ry and o f Da rwin i an r e sp onses t o t hem wi th a v i ew to

p rov id ing a c l ea r e r a ccoun t o f t he na tu r e o f t he t heo ry o f evo lu ti on . A long w i th t h i s is t he

ro le of the encounter as the bas i s for a en te r ta in ing s tory . Al te rna t ive ly , i t could serve a

cul tura l func t ion in focuss ing on the in te rac t ion be tween sc ience and soc ie ty in the

mid -n ine t een th cen tu ryove r t he t heo ry o f evo lu t i on and on t he cou r se o f t ha t i n t e r ac t i on

in to t he ea r l y yea r s o f t he 20 th cen tu ry .

T H E R E P O R T S O F T H E E N C O U N T E R

R e f e r e n c e s t o t h e W i l b e r fo r c e - H u x l e y e n c o u n t e r w e r e f o u n d i n 6 3 b o o k s . T h e e a r li e s t

r epo r t was da t ed 1896 ( r epub l i shed i n 1960 ) wh i l e t he l a t e s t was 1991 . Ha l f we re

publ i shed a f te r 1974. The l i s t inc ludes twelve b iographies of Darwin ( inc luding one

biographica l novel ) and three o f Hu xley . Thi r teen boo ks , ident i f ied as technica l , dea l t in

dep th w i th pa r t i cu la r a spec t s o f Da rw in ' s t hough t , the na tu r e o f t he Da rwin i an r evo lu t ion ,

o r i n f l uences o f Da rwin ' s t heo ry on l a t e r gene ra t i ons . Of r epo r t s i n t he more educa t i ona l

l i te r a tu r e , 11 we re encyc lope d i a en t ri e s dea li ng w i th the l i f e o f D a rwin o r Hu x ley , 17 w e re

in re la t ive ly popular expos i t ions of the h i s tory of sc ience , h i s tory of b io logy or of the

theo ry o f evo lu t ion and 7 w e re in s choo l o r un ive r s i ty t ex ts .

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T h e s t r u c t u r e o f t h e a c c o u n t s

W o r d l e n gt h s of t h e 6 3 a c c o u n t s o f th e W i lb e r f o r c e -H u x l e y e n c o u n t e r r a n g e d f r o m 1 0 t o

a l m o s t 3 0 00 w o r d s . T h e m e d i a n l e n g t h is j u s t o v e r 2 0 0 w o r d s w h i l e t h e m e a n i s j u s t u n d e r

5 00 w o r d s . T h e l o n g e r a c c o u n t s te n d t o b e f o u n d i n th e b i o g r a p h ie s o f D a r w i n a n d H u x l e y

a n d t e c h n ic a l w o r k s w h i l e th e s h o r t e r a c c o u n t s t e n d t o b e f o u n d i n e n c y c l o p e d i a s , te x t s a n d

t h e m o r e p o p u l a r w o r k s .

S e v e n o f t h e a c c o u n t s d o n o t r e p o r t a n y t h i n g o f w h a t w a s s a i d . F i f t y - o n e m e n t i o n t h e

r e p a r t e e w h i l e o n l y 15 o f t h e 6 3 r e p o r t a n y t h i n g o f w h a t w a s s a id in t h e s p e e c h e s ( b e s i d e s

t h e r ep a r t ee ) . O f t h e se 1 1 o ccu r i n t h e b i o g rap h i ca l o r t e ch n i ca l a r ea . I n 4 5 t h e re i s n o

m e n t i o n a t a l l o f H o o k e r o r h i s c o n t r i b u t io n w h i l e in o n l y 1 0 i s t h e r e a n y s u g g e s t i o n t h a t

H o o k e r ' s m i g h t h a v e b e e n t h e m o r e e f f e c t iv e r e s p o n s e t o W i lb e r f o r c e 's a r g u m e n t s .

T h e c o n t e x t s o f t h e a n e c d o t e

I n t h e l i te r a t u r e r e v i e w e d t h e a n e c d o t e is s et in a v a r i e t y o f c o n t e x t s. T h e m o s t f r e q u e n t

se t t i n g , o ccu r r i n g i n 4 8 o f t h e 6 3 acco u n t s , i s a d i s cu s s i o n o f t h e i n i t i a l r e cep t i o n o f T h e

O r i g i n o f S p ec i e s an d t h e o p p o s i t i o n , b o t h s c i en t i f i c an d r e l i g i o u s , w h i ch i t s p u b l i c a t i o n

en g en d e red . In 2 3 o f t h e 2 8 b i o g rap h i ca l o r t e ch n i ca l a cco u n t s t h i s i s t h e m a i n s e t t i n g . A

f u r t h e r t w o a r e s e t i n a d i s c u s si o n o f H u x l e y ' s r o l e a s D a r w i n ' s d e f e n d e r ( D a r w i n ' s

b u ll d o g ) . O f t h e o t h e r t h r e e a c c o u n t s o n e e m e r g e s f r o m a d i s c u s si o n o f D a r w i n ' s h e a l t h

(h e w a s a t a h ea l t h r e so r t d u r i n g th e B r i ti sh A sso c i a t i o n m e e t i n g in 1 8 60 ) , o n e r e l a t e s t o

a n o u t l i n e o f t h e h i s t o r y o f t h e O x f o r d U n i v e r s i t y M u s e u m i n w h i c h t h e m e e t i n g w a s h e ld ,

w h i l e th e t h i r d ( i n th e b i o g r a p h i c al n o v e l ) i s a g a t h e r i n g a t D a r w i n ' s h o m e t o r e p o r t o n t h e

m e e t i n g .

I n 25 o f th e 3 5 m o r e e d u c a t i o n a l b o o k s ( e n c y c l o p e d ia s , p o p u l a r p r e s e n t a t i o n s a n d t e x ts )

t h e s e t ti n g is a d is c u s s io n o f th e o p p o s i ti o n t o D a r w i n ' s b o o k . T h e 7 r e f e r e n c e s t o H u x l e y

a s D a r w i n ' s d e f e n d e r a l l o c c u r in e n c y c l o p e d i a e n t r i e s a b o u t H u x l e y . T h e r e m a i n i n g 3

r e f e r e n c e s r e l a t e t o H u x l e y ' s lo n g r u n n i n g o p p o s i ti o n t o th e v i e w s o f O w e n t h e a n a t o m i s t

( W i l b e r f o r c e i s p r e s e n t e d a s O w e n ' s s p o k e s m a n a t t h e m e e t i n g ) , t o a c o n s i d e r a t i o n o f

H u x l ey ' s p e r so n a l ch a rac t e r i s t i c s o r t o a d i s cu s s i o n o f t h e r e l a t i v e s t a t u s o f t h r ee t h eo r i e s

f o r p r e s e n t b i o lo g i ca l d iv e r s i t y - s p e ci al c r e a t io n , s p o n t a n e o u s g e n e r a t i o n a n d t r a n s m u t a t i o n

o f sp ec i e s ( ev o l u t i o n ) . I n t h i s l a s t m en t i o n ed t ex t t h e en co u n t e r i s u sed t o i l l u s t r a t e t h e

t h e s i s t h a t

m i x i n g s c i e n c e a n d r e l i g i o n i s a l w a y s u n f o r t u n a t e , f o r i t m a k e s a n o b j e c t i v e

w e i g h i n g o f t h e e v i d e n c e p r o a n d c o n v i r t u a l l y i m p o s s i b l e ; t h e e m o t i o n a l

a t t a ch m en t i s s i m p l y t o o s t ro n g (B ak e r & A l l en , 1 9 7 9 , p . 4 5 9 ) .

C o m m e n t s o n t h e e f f e c ts o f t h e e n c o u n t e r

W h i l e t h e r e p o r t s o f t h e e n c o u n t e r a r e l a r g e l y p a r t o f a w i d e r d i s c u s s i o n o f i n i t i a l

o p p o s i t io n t o D a r w i n ' s T h e O r i g i n o f S p e c ie s , c o m m e n t s o n t h e e f f e c t s o f th i s e n c o u n t e r

a r e l e s s u n i f o r m . T e n o f t h e 6 3 a u t h o r s m a k e n o r e f e r e n c e e i t h e r t o t h e i m m e d i a t e

o u t c o m e o f t h e e n c o u n t e r o n t h e a u d i e n c e o r to t h e l o n g e r te r m o u t c o m e w i t h i n th e h i s t o r y

o f s c ie n c e in t h e s e c o n d h a l f o f t h e 1 9 t h c e n t u r y . T w e n t y - f i v e a u t h o r s m a k e s o m e r e f e r e n c e

t o b o t h t h e s e o u t c o m e s a n d a n o t h e r 2 8 t o e i th e r th e i m m e d i a t e o r t h e lo n g e r t e r m o u t c o m e

( b u t n o t to b o t h ). T w e n t y - t h r e e o f th e 4 3 c o m m e n t s a b o u t t h e i m m e d i a t e o u t c o m e r e f e r

t o H u x l e y ' s t r i u m p h o r t o W i l b e r f o r c e 's d e f e a t ( o r t o b o t h ) , w h i l e a n o t h e r 1 1 m e n t i o n t h e

e x c i t e m e n t a n d t h e u p r o a r w h i c h f o l l o w e d H u x l e y ' s s p e e c h . N i n e a u t h o r s ( a l l i n t h e

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biographical or technical area) comment that the outcome was somewhat ambiguous or

uncertain and imply that it was not clear who the audience judged to be the winner .

Sixteen of the 35 authors who comment about the long term significance of the event

(some authors make more than one comment) state that it represented a defeat for religion

(or the Church) by .science, 12 claim that it gained a hearing for evolution when the

climate of opinion was against it, while 7 see it as the beginning of the public opposition

to Darwin's theory. For 2 it established the importance of Darwin and Huxley, for 2 it

changed no one's opinions at all and for 2 it was simply a significant episode in the history

of science.

A summary of the accounts

Thus, the major emphasis in these accounts of the incident, and especially those in the

educational literature, is not so much on scientific criticisms of The Origin of Species as

on the reactions to the book and, in particular, the response f rom the Church. The

anecdote serves an almost exclusively cultural function in the educational

literaturesurveyed. In fact, any possible value which might lie in the scientific substance of

the speeches is usually nullified by references to Wilberforce's alleged ignorance, to his

scientific blunders, to his need to be coached (badly it appears) by Owen, and on his use

of oratorical techniques, scoffing tone, ridicule and insolence in place of substantial

argument. On the other hand, Huxley is portrayed as sober and grave as he succinctly

explained Darwin's ideas, exposed the Bishop's errors and demolished what few arguments

he presented. Little detail is provided about what he said because the judgement has

already been made that there was no scientific substance to what Wilberforce said.

The accounts possess an internal logic oE their own in which they play down the

importance of any substantial criticism of Darwin's theory, focus on the repartee as the

significant aspect of the event and on Huxley as the victor, and overlook the apparently

more notable contribution of Hooker to the occasion.

Even a cursory glance at reports of the encounter should make clear that Huxley' s clever

reply to Wilberforce's clever question, considered impartially, can have nothing worthwhile

to contribute to thedebate over the status of Darwin's theory. It is simply concerned with

etiquette and good manners. A rational judgement about the outcome can only be made

on the basis of what was said in the other parts of the speeches and about this most of the

reports are, unfortunately, silent.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE ANECDOTE

It is interesting that, while there were brief newspaper reports of the content of the

speeches (especially summaries in The Athenaeum, of speeches by Wilberforce, Huxley

and Hooker) there was no mention at all of the repartee. In the almost 30 years foUowing

the event, the only public reference to the repartee seems to be that in Macmillan's

Magazine of December 1860.

The accounts which form the source for most future references to the event are those by

Huxley and Hooker recalled in 1886 for the publication, two years later, of Darwin's Life

and Letters (Darwin, 1888, Volume 2, pp.320-325; see also Huxley, 1900, Volume 1,

pp.182-188; Huxley, 1918, Volume 1, pp.525-527; Volume 2, pp.300-304).

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T h e a n e c d o t e em e r g e s , t he n , as v e r y m u c h d e p e n d e n t o n h o w H u x l e y a n d H o o k e r s a w t h e

e v e n t a n d t h e f o r m i n w h i c h i t a p p e a r s t o d a y r e p r e s e n t s t h e i r r e c o n s t r u c t i o n o f t h e

o c c a s i o n ( B r o w n e , 1 9 7 8 ; G i l l e y , 1 9 8 1 ) . E v e n H o o k e r ' s a p p a r e n t l y m o r e d e c i s i v e r o l e ,

a f f i r m e d b y h i m i n a le t t e r to D a r w i n t w o d a y s a f t e r th e m e e t i n g ( H u x l e y , 1 9 1 8, V o l u m e

1 , p .5 2 6 ), w a s d o w n - p l a y e d i n d e f e r e n c e t o H u x l e y ' s v e r s io n .

T h e v i e w t h a t t h e o u t c o m e o f t h e e n c o u n t e r w a s d e c i d e d o n t h e b a s i s o f t h e r e p a r t e e

d e p e n d s o n a p r i o r c o n c l u s i o n a b o u t t h e r e l a t i v e v a l u e o f a r g u m e n t s p r e s e n t e d b y b o t h

s id e s a t t h e m e e t in g . H u x l e y , H o o k e r a n d t h o s e w h o s u p p o r te d D a r w i n , n a t u r a l l y e n o u g h ,

f o u n d W i lb e r f o rc e 's a r g u m e n t s o b j e c ti o n a b le a n d t h e y p r o v i d e th e d a t a u p o n w h i c h t o d a y ' s

v e r s io n s o f t h e e v e n t a r e b a s e d . F o r e x a m p l e , o n 2 J u l y 18 60 H o o k e r w r o t e t o D a r w i n t h a t

S a m O x o n g o t u p a n d s p o u t e d f o r h a lf a n h o u r w i t h i n i m i t a b l e s pi ri t, u g l in e s s a n d

e m p t in e s s a n d u n f a i rn e s s . I s a w h e w a s c o a c h e d u p b y O w e n a n d k n e w n o t h in g ,

a n d h e s a i d n o t a s y l l a b l e b u t w h a t w a s i n t h e R e v i e w s ; h e r i d i c u l e d y o u b a d l y

an d H u x l ey s av ag e l y (H u x l ey , 1 91 8 , V o l u m e 1, p . 5 2 6 )

T h e n e x t d a y J . R . G r e e n , a p r o - D a r w i n i a n u n d e r g r a d u a t e , d e s c r i b e d t h e p r o c e e d i n g s t o

W . B . D a w k i n s i n a l e tt e r, p a r t s o f w h i c h w e r e l a t e r p u b li s h e d in H u x l e y ' s L i f e a n d L e t t e r s

(H u x l ey , 1 9 0 0 , p p . 1 8 4 , 5 ) . H e w ro t e

. . . u p r o s e ' S a m m i v e l ' , a n d p r o c e e d e d t o a c t t h e s m a s h e r ; . . , t h e s m a s h e r g o t s o

u p r o a r i o u s a s t o p it c h i n t o D a r w i n ' s f r i e n d s - D a r w i n b e i n g s m a s h e d - a n d

e s p e c i al ly P r o f e s s o r H u x l e y . . . W h i c h b e i n g e n d e d - a n d l e t m e s a y t h a t s u c h r o t

n ev e r f e l l f ro m ep i sco p a l l i p s b e fo re - a ro se H u x l ey , y o u n g , co o l , q u i e t , s a r ca s ti c ,

s c i en t i f i c i n f a c t an d t r e a t m en t , h e g av e h i s l o rd sh i p su ch a sm ash i n g a s h e m ay

m ed i t a t e o n w i t h p ro f i t o v e r h i s p o r t a t C u d d esd o n (q u o t ed i n G i l l ey , 1 9 8 1 )

H o w e v e r , c o n t r a r y t o t h e a b o v e c o m m e n t s , W i i b e r f o r c e ' s s p e e c h , r a t h e r t h a n r e f l e c t i n g

i g n o ran ce , p r e j u d i ce an d r e l i g i o u s s cn t i m en t , i n f a c t en cap su l a t ed m an y o f t h e s c i en t i f i c

o b j ec t i o n s p eo p l e o f h i s d ay h ad t o D a rw i n ' s b o o k (G au l d , t o b e p u b l i sh ed ; L u cas , 1 9 7 9 ;

O l d ro y d , 1 9 8 0 , p . 1 3 2 ; Wran g h am , 1 9 7 9 ; s ee a l so H u l l , 1 9 7 3 ) .

T H E R E P O R T O F T H E E N C O U N T E R A S A C A R I C A T U R E

O n 3 0 J u n e 1 86 0 t h e e n c o u n t e r a p p e a r s t o h a v e h a d f e w o f th e a t t r i b u t e s a n d e f f e c t s w h i c h

cam e t o b e a s so c i a t ed w i t h i t a t a l a t e r s t ag e an d w h i ch co n t i n u e t o b e a s so c i a t ed w i t h i t

in m o r e r e c e n t t i m e s . It h a s b e c o m e a s k e t c h i n w h i c h n o n -e s s e n t ia l f e a t u r e s a r e e l i m i n a t e d

a n d t h o s e c o n s i d e r e d t o b e i ts e s s e n c e a r e e m p h a s i s e d . I n t h e l i t e ra t u r e i t is p r e s e n t e d a s

a d o g m a t ic s t a t e m e n t r a t h e r a s p a r t o f a c a s e to b e d e f e n d e d . F o r m a n y a u t h o r s t h i s s k e t c h

s e e m s t o h a v e b e c o m e a s y m b o l b y w h i c h t h e t r i u m p h o f s c i e n ce o v e r r e l ig i o u s o p p o s i t io n

is a n n o u n c e d .

A s h i s to r ic a l ly a d e q u a t e a c c o u n t s , th e m a j o r i t y o f th e r e p o r t s o f th e H u x l e y - W i l b e r f o r c e

en c o u n t e r a r e d e f i c i en t i n fo u r s i g n i f i c an t w ay s .

F i r s t l y , r a t h e r t h a n a t t e m p t i n g t o g i v e a n i m p a r t i a l a c c o u n t o f t h e o c c a s i o n a n d i t s

s ig n if ic a n c e, a p e r s p e c t iv e w h i c h h a s b e e n b a s e d a l m o s t e x c l u s iv e l y o n t h e p e r c e p t i o n s o f

H u x l e y , H o o k e r a n d t h e i r s u p p o r t e r s i s u s e d . M a n y o f t h e w o r d s u s e d t o d e s c r i b e t h e r o l e s

o f W i l b e r fo r c e a n d H u x l e y c o m e f r o m l e t te r s w r i tt e n b y D a r w i n ' s s u p p o r t e r s a n d s e l e ct e d

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fo r pub l i ca ti on f rom 1888 onw ards . The re i s l it tl e a t t em p t t op re sen t a mo re ba l an ced v i ew

of t he occas ion such a s t ha t o f C hadw ick (1970 , p .10 -11 ) o r o f Lu cas (1979 ) .

Second ly , t he r educ t i on o f t he oppos i t i on wh ich Da rwin ' s i dea s ca l l ed fo r t h t o t ha t o f a

chu rchman who had no a rgumen t s wor th cons ide r i ng be l i e t he s t r eng th o f s c i en t i f i c

c ri tic ism o f t he t heo ry w h ich was w idesp re ad i n t he 1860s. M os t o f W i lbe r fo r ce ' s

ob j ec t i ons i n h i s r ev i ew o f Da rw in ' s Th e O r io n o f Spec i e s w e re s c ien t if ic o r ph i l o soph ica l

r a the r t han r e l i g ious . Even Hux ley admi t t ed t ha t

on t he who le , t hen , t he suppor t e r s o f M r D a rwin ' s v i ews i n 1860 w e re num er i ca l l y

ext rem ely ins ignif icant . Th ere i s no t th e s l igh test dou bt tha t , i f a gene ra l counci l

o f t he chu rch s c i en ti f ic had bee n he ld a t t ha t t ime , we shou ld ha ve b een

c o n d e m n e d b y a n o v e r w h e l m i n g m a j o r i t y ( D a r w i n , 1 88 8, V o l u m e 2 , p . 1 86 )

Th i rd ly , t he t yp i ca l r epo r t i s i nadequa t e a s a symbo l o f t he r e sponse o f t he Church t o

Darwin ' s t heo ry . The r e l i g ious r e sponse was no t i n any way a s un i fo rm a s i s o f t en

po r t r ayed . Whi l e undoub t ed ly t he r e was oppos i t i on f rom Chr i s t i ans o f va r i ous t ypes ,

Moore (1979) has ident i f ied two s igni f icant groups of Chr i s t ians in the years up to 1900

wh o had l it tl e d i f fi cu lt y i n accep t i ng Da rwin ' s v i ews . The Chr i st ian Da rwin is ts , who we re

la rge ly theologica l libera l s, in te rpre ted D arw in ' s p os i t ion in a metaph ys ica l sense , wh i le the

Chr is t ian Da rwin ians , w ho we re m ore t heo log i ca ll y o r t hodo x o r conse rva t i ve , a ccep t ed

Darwin ' s pos i t ion wi th l i t t l e modi f ica t ion ( see a l so Liv ings tone , 1978) .

Four th ly , i t i s un l ike ly tha t the encounter represented the in te l lec tua l v ic tory of ten c la imed

fo r it . How eve r , i t ma y have bee n a v i c to ry fo r Da rw in i n ano the r s ense. Hux ley ' s son , h i s

b iog raphe r and ed i t o r o f h i s l e t t e r s , wro t e

The resu l t o f th i s encounter , though a check to the o ther s ide , cannot , o f course ,

be r ep r e sen t ed a s an immed ia t e and comple t e t r i umph fo r evo lu t i ona ry doc t r i ne .

T h is w a s p r e c l u d e d b y t h e c h a r a c te r a n d t e m p e r o f th e a u d ie n c e , m o s t o f w h o m

were l e s s c apab l e o f be ing conv inced by t he a rgumen t s t han shocked by t he

bo ldnes s o f t he r e to r t . . . The impor t ance o f t he Oxfo rd mee t i ng l ay i n t he open

re s is t ance tha t was ma de t o au tho r i ty , a t a mo m en t w hen even a d r awn ba t t l e was

ha rd ly l e s s e f f ec tua l t han ack now ledged v i c to ry . In s t ead o f be ing c ru shed unde r

r id icu le , the new theor ies secured a hear ing , a l l the wider , indeed , for the s ta r t l ing

na ture of the i r defence (Huxley , 1900, p .189)

In the l igh t of these shor tcomings or exaggera t ions , no t on ly does the typ ica l repor t o f th i s

encounter appear in the l i t e ra ture as a ske tch but th i s ske tch possesses a l l the

charac te r i s t ics and def ic ienc ies of a car ica ture .

C O N C L U S I O N

Us ing h is t o ri c a l anecdo t e s t o t e ach a bou t t he cu l t u r a l con t ex t o f s c ience r equ i r e s a sound

unde r s t and ing o f t h i s con t ex t wh i l e mak ing r e f e r ence t o h i s t o ry t o t e ach abou t concep t s

r equ i r e s an unde r s t and ing o f the i n t e ll e c tua l c lima t e o f t he t ime so t ha t a rgume n t s c an be

dea l t wi th in the se t t ing of the h i s tor ica l per iod in which they occur .

I n mos t r epo r t s o f t he above en coun t e r t he cu l tu r a l con t ex t is s eve r e ly mi s r ep re sen t ed and

the oppor tuni ty which i t p rovides for g iv ing c loser a t ten t ion to the c r i t i c i sms leve l led

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aga ins t Da r w i n ' s book is ove r l ooked becaus e o f a f au l t y p r ed is pos i ti on t ow ar ds t he va l ue

o f t he s e a r gum en t s .

I t has been poin ted out on a number of occas ions (Kle in , 1972; Gauld , 1977) tha t many

of t he h i s to r ica l anecdo t e s u s ed i n s c i ence t e ach i ng a r e l egenda r y ( i n m u ch t he s am e wa y

as acco unts of the _above inc ident possess the c harac te r i s t ics of a car ica ture) . Sc ience

t eache r s do no t pos s e ss t he t i m e o r t he r e s ou r ce s t o r econs t r uc t h is t o ri ca l anecd o t e s i n a

f o r m wh i ch upho l ds t he i n t eg r i t y o f t he h i s t o r i ca l ev i dence f o r t hem a s t he r e l evan t

i n f o r m a t i on i s s ca t te r ed t h r oughou t a wi de va r i e ty o f books a nd j ou rna l s. A t p r e s en t t he r e

i s l i t t l e ass i s t ance ava i l ab le for t eachers who wish to use h i s tor ica l anecdotes more

appr op r i a t e ly i n t he i r t e ach ing and s o t he r e is a de s pe r a t e n eed f o r r e l iab l e m a t e r i a l wh i ch

i s easi ly access ib le to those w ho teach sc ience .

R E F E R E N C E S

Baker , J .W. Al len , G.E . (1979). A-c ou rse in b io logy, (3rd edn ) . Read ing , Mass. :

Add i s on - Wes l ey .

Br owne , J . (1978). Th e Cha r l e s Da r wi n - J os eph H ook e r co r r e s ponden ce : A n ana lys i s o f

m anus c r i p t s ou r ce s and t he i r u s e i n b i og r aphy . J ou r na l o f t he Soc i e t y f o r t he

Bibl iography of Natural History. , 8, 351-366.

Chadw ick, O. (1970) . Th e Vic tor ian church , Par t II . Lond on: A da m Ch ar les Black .

Da r wi n , F . ( 1888) . L i f e and l e t t e rs o f Cha r l e s Da r w i n , Vo l um e 2. Londo n : J ohn M ur r ay .

Gauld, C.F. (1977) . The role of his tory in the teaching of science. Austral ian Science_

Teachers Journal, 2___33,3, 47-52.

Gauld , C.F. (1991) . His tory of sc ience , indiv idua l deve lopment and sc ience t eaching .

Re search in S c ience Edu ca t ion , 21 , 133-140.

Gauld , C.F. ( to b e pu bl i shed) . W i lber force , Huxley and the use o f h i s tory in teaching abo ut

evo l u ti on . The Am er i can Bi o l ogy Teache r :

Gi l l ey , S . (1981). Th e H uxley-W i lber force deba te : A recons id era t ion . In K. Rob bins (ed)

Rel igion and humanism. Oxford: Blackwel l , 325-340.

Hul l , D.L. (1973). D arw in and h i s c ri ti cs . Cam br idge , Mass .: H arv ard Un ivers i ty Press .

Hux l ey , L . (1900). The L i fe and l e t t e rs o f Tho m a s H enr y Hux l ey , Vo l um e 1 . London :

Macmi l l an .

Hux ley , L. (1918). Th e Li fe and le t t e r s of Si r Josep h Da l ton Hoo ker , Volum es 1 2 .

London : J ohn Mur r ay .

J ens en , J .V . ( 1988). Re t u r n t o t he W i l be r fo r ce - Hux l ey deba t e . Br i ti sh J ou r na l f o r t he

His tory of Sc ience , 21 , 16 1- t79 .

Kle in , M.J . (1972). Th e use and abuse of h i s tor ica l t eaching in phys ics . In S .G. B rush

A.L. King (eds) His tory in the teaching of physics . Ha nov er : U nivers i ty Press of

New England, 12-18.

Liv ings tone , D. (1978). D arw in 's forgot ten defen ders . Gra nd R apids : Eerdm ans .

Lucas , J .R. (1979). W i lber force and H uxley: A legen dary enc oun ter . Th e His tor ica l

Journal , 22, 2, 313-330.

M oor e , J . (1979). The pos t -Da r wi n i an con t r ove rs i e s. Cam br i dge , C am br i dge U n i ve r s i ty

Press .

Oldroyd, D. (1980) . Darwinian impact s . Kens ington: New South Wales Univers i ty Press .

Phe lps , L .A. Co hen, E. (1973). Th e W i lber force-H uxley deb a te . W es tern Speech , 37 ,

56-64.

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W ilberforce, S. 1860). Re view : O n Th e Origin of Species, by M ean s of N atura l Select ion,

or the Preservat ion of Favo ured R aces on the Struggle for Li fe . By Char les Darw in,

M.A., F.R.S., Londo n, 18 60 . Th e O uarte rly Review , 108 , 225-264 originally

publi shed anonym ously as w as the convent ion) .

W rangham, R. 1979). Th e Bishop of Oxford: Not so soapy. N ew Scientist, 83, 450-451.

A U T H O R

DR . CO LIN GA UL D, Sen io r Lec tu rer , School o f Teacher Educa tion , Un iver s i ty o f New

South Wales, St George Campus, Oatley, NSW, 2223. Specializations: Physics

education, concept development, history and philosophy of science and science

teaching.