Thomas Henry Huxley (1825-1895) puts us in our place.
Thomas Huxley was one of the 19th century's most active defenders of Darwin's idea that life has evolved through natural processes. An anatomist and paleontologist, he extended his energies to science and education policy, the democratization of science, and the broad societal implications of evolution. Since his time the fossil record has greatly improved and the genetic 'revolution' has occurred, deepening our understanding of primate and human evolution in ways that would please Huxley: improved systematics relies heavily on genetic data, and molecular technologies are opening our understanding of the genetic basis of complex traits of traditional anthropological interest-but in ways that are thoroughly dependent on the fact of evolution. A more unified biological synthesis is forming that unites genes, developmental process, structure, and inheritance. But the tempo and mode of evolution remain unresolved. Huxley was one of many who have had trouble accepting Darwin's gradual natural selection as the central evolutionary mechanism, and views spanning the antipodes of gradualism and saltation find advocates even in our genetic era.
Weiss
Kenneth M
KM
Department of Anthropology, Penn State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, 16802, USA. kenweiss@psu.edu
D005075:Biological Evolution; D004626:Embryology; D005580:Fossils; D014644:Genetic Variation; D005828:Genetics, Population; D049672:History, 19th Century; D006801:Humans; D000069497:Origin of Life; D012641:Selection, Genetic