Parson-naturalist
Encyclopedia
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.
himself aspired to be a Parson-naturalist, until 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 to Chartist
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 class
es "will undermine the whole moral and social fabric" bringing "discord and deadly mischief in its train." Darwin scorned such reaction as showing "the dogma
tism of the pulpit".
His work was liked by many Quaker
s and Unitarians
. Darwin's friend the Unitarian physiologist William Carpenter
called Darwin's Origin 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 of the Natural History of Creation
paved the way for discussion, but emphasised the need for secure mastery of awkward facts.
Parson
In the pre-Reformation church, a parson was the priest of an independent parish church, that is, a parish church not under the control of a larger ecclesiastical or monastic organization...
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 DarwinCharles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
himself aspired to be a Parson-naturalist, until 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
Natural selection
Natural selection is the nonrandom process by which biologic traits become either more or less common in a population as a function of differential reproduction of their bearers. It is a key mechanism of evolution....
. By implying that God might not actively sustain the natural and social hierarchies, it threatened the social order
Social order
Social order is a concept used in sociology, history and other social sciences. It refers to a set of linked social structures, social institutions and social practices which conserve, maintain and enforce "normal" ways of relating and behaving....
and could provide ammunition to Chartist
Chartism
Chartism was a movement for political and social reform in the United Kingdom during the mid-19th century, between 1838 and 1859. It takes its name from the People's Charter of 1838. Chartism was possibly the first mass working class labour movement in the world...
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
Adam Sedgwick
Adam Sedgwick was one of the founders of modern geology. He proposed the Devonian period of the geological timescale...
who had taught Darwin geology at university predicted "ruin and confusion in such a creed" which if taken up by the working class
Working class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
es "will undermine the whole moral and social fabric" bringing "discord and deadly mischief in its train." Darwin scorned such reaction as showing "the dogma
Dogma
Dogma is the established belief or doctrine held by a religion, or a particular group or organization. It is authoritative and not to be disputed, doubted, or diverged from, by the practitioners or believers...
tism of the pulpit".
His work was liked by many Quaker
Religious Society of Friends
The Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...
s and Unitarians
Unitarianism
Unitarianism is a Christian theological movement, named for its understanding of God as one person, in direct contrast to Trinitarianism which defines God as three persons coexisting consubstantially as one in being....
. Darwin's friend the Unitarian physiologist William Carpenter
William Carpenter
William Carpenter may refer to:*William Carpenter , water colours of India*William Carpenter , Australian politician*William Carpenter, writer, American author...
called Darwin's Origin 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 of the Natural History of Creation
Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation
Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation is a unique work of speculative natural history published anonymously in England in 1844. It brought together various ideas of stellar evolution with the progressive transmutation of species in an accessible narrative which tied together numerous...
paved the way for discussion, but emphasised the need for secure mastery of awkward facts.