As Todd Weir observes in the introduction to this volume, the monism of Ernst Haeckel (1834--1919) was a naturalistic worldview based chiefly on the theory of biological evolution. But what, exactly, was the theory of biological evolution, according to Haeckel? And to what extent might the reverse have been true and the theory have depended on the worldview? For the foundations of monism demanded more from evolution than the mere transformation of species, and not all of the competing theories of Haeckel's day could satisfy those demands equally well. In fact, Haeckel rejected some of them quite vehemently for their incompatibility with monism. Some theories were obviously dualistic, in that they posited transcendental plans and purposes to guide evolution or dictate form, and so were unusable. Others had to be rejected because they allowed the mind and the perceived needs of the organism to cause and direct evolutionary change. But Haeckel also rejected some accounts that were ostensibly mechanistic and materialistic in character and intention but violated his monistic strictures in subtler ways. In short, the requirements of monism informed and constrained Haeckel's theory preferences and helped him narrow the field. What he presented in the end as the theory of biological evolution was an interpretation of Darwin's work, carefully crafted not only for its biological and practical merits, but also for enforcing monistic principles. The connection between the theory and the worldview was not lost on Haeckel's critics, who often disparaged the former in order to undermine the latter. In the long run, the 1916 Form and Function, by biologist E. S. Russell has been most damaging.
...MoreBook Weir, Todd H. (2012) Monism: Science, Philosophy, Religion, and the History of a Worldview.
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