Haeckel, Ernst

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[[image:ErnstHaeckel.jpg|thumb|Ernst Haeckel, a professor of comparative anatomy at the University of Jena, was an early popularizer of Darwin's work in Germany.]]
  
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[[image:ErnstHaeckel.jpg|thumb|Ernst Haeckel]]
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'''Ernst Heinrich Philipp August Haeckel''' (February 16, 1834—August 9, 1919),
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also written '''von Haeckel''', was an eminent German [[zoology|zoologist]] best known as an early promoter and popularizer of [[Charles Darwin|Charles Darwin's]] [[evolution|evolutionary theory]]. Haeckel developed the controversial [[recapitulation theory]], which claims that an individual organism's biological development, or [[ontogeny]], parallels in brief the entire evolutionary development of its species, or [[phylogeny]]. That is, according to Haeckel's formulation: ''Ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny''. His concept of recapitulation has been discredited in its absolute form (now called ''strong recapitulation'').
  
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'''Ernst Heinrich Philipp August Haeckel''' (February 16, 1834 — August 9, 1919),
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As a professor of comparative anatomy at the University of Jena, Haeckel specialized in [[invertebrate]] [[anatomy]], working primarily on [[radiolarian]]s, a type of [[protozoa|protozoan]] [[plankton|zooplankton]] found throughout the ocean. Haeckel named thousands of new [[species]], mapped a genealogical tree relating all life forms, and coined many now ubiquitous terms in [[biology]], including ''[[phylum]]'', ''[[phylogeny]]'', and ''[[ecology]]''. He also discovered many species that he placed in the [[taxonomy#Scientific or biological classification|kingdom]] that he named ''[[Protista]]''.  
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also written '''von Haeckel''', was an eminent German [[zoologist]] best known as an early promoter and popularizer of [[Charles Darwin|Charles Darwin's]] evolutionary theory.  
 
  
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Influenced by Darwin’s ideas, Haeckel developed the controversial "[[recapitulation theory]]," which claims that an individual organism's biological development, or [[ontogeny]], parallels and summarizes its species' entire evolutionary development, or [[phylogeny]]: "ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny". biogenetic law, or the notion that “ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny,” that the development of an embryo recapitulates in brief the history of the origins of its species.
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Haeckel embraced [[evolution]] not only as a scientific theory, but as a worldview. He outlined a new [[religion]] or [[philosophy]] called [[monism]], which cast evolution as a cosmic force, a manifestation of the creative energy of nature. A proponent of [[social Darwinism]], Haeckel became increasingly involved in elaborating the social, political, and religious implications of Darwinism in the late nineteenth century; his writings and lectures on monism were later used to provide quasi-scientific justifications for the racist and [[imperialism|imperialist]] programs of [[National Socialism]] in 1930s [[Germany]].
  
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Paragraph on how this led to controversial extension of his ideas; work as proponent of social Darwinism: influence of Darwin extended to a world-view. As a philosopher, Ernst Haeckel wrote ''Die Welträthsel'' (1895-1899, in English, ''The Riddle of the Universe'', 1901), the genesis for the term "[[world riddle]]" (''Welträthsel''); and ''Freedom in Science and Teaching'' ([[1877]], English [[1879]], ISBN 1-4102-1175-4) to support teaching evolution.
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Haeckel’s chief interests lay in evolution and life development processes in general, including the development of nonrandom form, which culminated in the beautifully illustrated ''Kunstformen der Natur'' ''(Art Forms of Nature)'', a collection of 100 detailed, multi-color illustrations of animals and sea creatures.
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[[Image:Haeckel_Stephoidea.jpg|thumb|180px|right|A plate from Ernst Haeckel's 1904 ''Kunstformen der Natur'' ''(Art Forms of Nature)'', showing radiolarians (a type of invertebrate group) belonging to the superfamily [[Stephoidea]]. Haeckel discovered thousands of new species of radiolarians.]]
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Haeckel's multiplicity of roles, as both [[art|artist]] and [[naturalism|naturalist]], scientific specialist and popularizer of evolution, opponent of religion and monist philosopher, makes it difficult to evaluate Haeckel's scientific career and to classify his work. For example, while some of his drawings have been deemed forgeries for failing to adhere to the rigor of scientific evidence, they also reflect Haeckel's considerable ability to view nature with an artist's eye for symmetry and form. Thus, one the one hand, Haeckel's legacy of remarkable accomplishments has been tarnished by the apparently deliberately inaccurate drawings to support his scientific perspective, thus undermining one of the most important caches for a scientist, one's reputation for integrity. On the other hand, one of his most enduring positive legacies is his artistic drawings, which touch upon the inner nature of human beings—the desire for beauty; these drawings continue to be used to illustrate numerous topics in [[invertebrate|invertebrate zoology]].
  
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As a professor of comparative anatomy at the University of Jena, Haeckel specialized in [[invertebrate]] [[anatomy]], doing his most important work on [[radiolaria]], a type of [[amoeboid]] [[protozoa]] found as [[zooplankton]] throughout the ocean. Heackel named thousands of new [[species]], mapped a [[genealogical]] tree relating all life forms, and coined many now ubiquitous terms in [[biology]], including ''[[phylum]]'', ''[[phylogeny]]'' and ''[[ecology]]''. He also discovered many species in the [[kingdom]] that he named ''[[Protista]]''.  
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==Biography==
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Ernst Haeckel was born on February 16, 1834, in Potsdam (then a part of [[Prussia]]). In 1852, Haeckel completed studies at Cathedral High School ''(Domgymnasium)'' of Merseburg. Following his parents' wishes, he went on to study [[medicine]] at the Univerisity of Berlin, working with [[Albert von Kölliker]], [[Franz Leydig]], [[Rudolf Virchow]], and anatomist-physiologist [[Johannes Müller]] (1801-1858). In 1857, Haeckel attained a doctorate in medicine (M.D.), and afterwards received a license to practice medicine.
  
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Haeckel’s chief interests lay in [[evolution]] and life development processes in general, including development of nonrandom form, which culminated in the beautifully illustrated ''[[Kunstformen der Natur]]'' (''Art forms of nature''), a collection of 100 detailed, multi-color illustrations of animals and sea creatures.  
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[[Image:Ernst Haeckel 1860.jpg|thumb|150px|right|Ernst Haeckel at age 26.]]
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[[image:Ernst Haeckel and von Miclucho-Maclay 1866.jpg|thumb|left|Haeckel (left) with [[Nicholai Miklukho-Maklai]], his assistant, in the [[Canary Islands|Canaries]], 1866.]]
  
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[[Image:Haeckel_Stephoidea.jpg|thumb|250px|Plate from [[Ernst Haeckel]]'s 1904 ''Kunstformen der Natur'' (Artforms of Nature), showing radiolarians belonging to the superfamily [[Stephoidea]]. Haeckel specialized in radiolaria. ]]
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Following a brief career in medicine, Haeckel returned to school to study under [[Carl Gegenbaur]] at the University of Jena. He earned a doctorate in [[zoology]], before becoming a professor of [[anatomy|comparative anatomy]] at the University of Jena, where he remained for 47 years, from 1862-1909. Between 1859 and 1866, Haeckel worked on many invertebrate groups, including radiolarians, [[porifera]]ns ([[sea sponge]]s), and [[annelid]]s (segmented worms) (Guralnick 1995). Invertebrates provided the data for most of his experimental work on evolutionary development, which led to his articulation of the theory of recapitulation (Guralnick 1995). Haeckel named thousands of new species from 1859 to 1887.
  
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Although Haeckel's ideas are important to the history of [[evolutionary theory]], many speculative concepts that he championed are now considered incorrect. For example, Haeckel described and named hypothetical ancestral [[microorganism]]s that have never been found. His concept of recapitulation has been disputed in the form he gave it (now called "strong recapitulation"). Haeckel did not support [[natural selection]], rather believing in a [[Jean-Baptiste Lamarck|Lamarckian]] [[inheritance of acquired characteristics]] (Darwin considered both of these paths for evolution viable.)
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In 1909, Haeckel retired from teaching, and in 1910, he withdrew from the Evangelist church.
  
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Something on multiplicity of roles that makes evaluating his work difficult (from an ethical perspective) “The multiplicity of Haeckel’s talents and the ambiguity of how to classify him and his works is an important rhetorical and ethical matter, as he was both an artist and a naturalist, both a specialized scientist and a popularizer of science, both an opponent of religion and a proponent of nature as religion” (313)
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After the death of Haeckel's second wife, Agnes, in 1915, Haeckel became considerably frailer. In 1918, he sold his mansion in Jena, Germany ("Villa Medusa") to the [[Carl Zeiss]] foundation; it now contains an historical library. Ernst Haeckel died on August 9, 1919.
  
 
==Recapitulation theory==
 
==Recapitulation theory==
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Haeckel advanced the "[[recapitulation theory]]" which proposed a link between [[ontogeny]] (development of form) and [[phylogeny]] (evolutionary descent), summed up in the phrase "ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny". The '''theory of recapitulation''', also called the '''biogenetic law''' or '''[[ontogeny]] recapitulates [[phylogeny]]''', is a theory in [[biology]] which attempts to explain apparent similarities between [[humans]] and other animals. First espoused in [[1866]] by German zoologist [[Ernst Haeckel]], a contemporary of [[Charles Darwin]], the theory has been discredited in its absolute form ("strong recapitulation"), although recognized as being perhaps partly fruitful. In [[biology]], [[ontogeny]] is the [[embryo]]nal development process of a certain [[species]], and [[phylogeny]] a species' [[evolution]]ary history. Observers have noted various connections between phylogeny and ontogeny, explained them with evolutionary theory and taken them as supporting evidence for that theory.
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===Synopsis of the theory===
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Haeckel's recapitulation theory, also called the ''biogenetic law'', attempts to explain apparent similarities between [[human]]s and other animals. An early form of the law was devised by the nineteenth-century [[Estonia]]n [[zoology|zoologist]] [[Karl Ernst von Baer]], who observed that an embryo undergoing development moves toward increasing differentiation, which suggests, though does not prove, a “community of descent.” Haeckel's adaptation of recapitulation theory claims that the [[embryo|embryonic]] development of the individual of every [[species]] (ontogeny) fully repeats the historical development of the species (phylogeny). In other words, each successive stage in the development of an individual represents one of the adult forms that appeared in its evolutionary history.  
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[[Ontogeny]] is the growth (size change) and development (shape change) of an individual organism; [[phylogeny]] is the [[evolution|evolutionary]] history of a species. Haeckel's recapitulation theory claims that the development of the individual of every species fully repeats the evolutionary development of that species. Otherwise put, each successive stage in the development of an individual represents one of the adult forms that appeared in its evolutionary history. Haeckel formulated his theory as such: "''Ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny''".  
 
  
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Modern biology rejects the literal and universal form of Haeckel's theory. Although [[Homo sapiens|humans]] share ancestors with many other taxa (roughly, fish through reptiles to mammals), stages of human embryonic development are not functionally equivalent to the adults of these shared common ancestors. In other words, no cleanly defined and functional "fish", "reptile" and "mammal" stages of human embryonal development can be discerned. Moreover, development is nonlinear. For example, during [[kidney]] development, at one given time, the anterior region of the kidney is less developed ([[nephridium]]) than the posterior region ([[nephron]]).
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Modern biology rejects the literal and universal form of Haeckel's theory. Although [[Homo sapiens|humans]] share ancestors with many other taxa, the stages of human embryonic development are not functionally equivalent to the adults of these shared common ancestors. In other words, no cleanly defined and functional "fish," "reptile," and "mammal" stages of human embryonal development can be discerned. Moreover, development is nonlinear. For example, during [[kidney]] development, at one given time, the anterior region of the kidney is less developed than the posterior region.
  
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The fact that contemporary biologists reject the literal or universal form of recapitulation theory has sometimes been used as an argument against [[evolution]] by some [[creationism|creationists]]. The argument is: "Haeckel's hypothesis was presented as supporting evidence for evolution, Haeckel's theory is wrong, therefore evolution has less support". This argument is not only an oversimplification but misleading because modern biology does recognize numerous connections between [[ontogeny]] and [[phylogeny]], explains them using evolutionary theory without recourse to Haeckel's specific views, and considers them as supporting evidence for that theory.
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The fact that contemporary biologists reject the literal or universal form of recapitulation theory has sometimes been used as an argument against [[evolution]] by some [[creationism|creationists]]. The main line of argumentation can be summarized as follows: if Haeckel's hypothesis was presented as supporting evidence for evolution, and it has now, in its strong form, been scientifically discredited, there is less support for evolutionary theory in general. This reasoning oversimplifies the issues at stake; it is also misleading because modern biology does recognize numerous connections between ontogeny and phylogeny, explains them using evolutionary theory without recourse to Haeckel's specific views, and considers them as supporting evidence for that theory.
  
 
===Haeckel’s controversial embryo drawings===
 
===Haeckel’s controversial embryo drawings===
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[[Image:Haeckel_drawings.jpg|thumb|300px| Haeckel's controversial embryological drawings. Scientists have established that Haeckel unduly emphasized the similarities across species.]]
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[[Image:Haeckel_drawings.jpg|thumb|250px|A reproduction of Haeckel's controversial embryological drawings (which originally appeared as white figures on a black background). Scientists have established that Haeckel unduly emphasized the similarities across species.]]
  
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Haeckel supported recapitulation with embryo drawings that have since been shown to be oversimplified and in part inaccurate, and the theory is now considered an oversimplification of quite complicated relationships.
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Haeckel offered visual evidence for his recapitulation theory in the form of embryo drawings. The 24 figures in the drawing at right illustrate three stages in the development of eight [[vertebrate]] embryos. As the embryos move from an earlier to a later stage of development, we see a corresponding movement from a startling similarity across the specimens to a recognizable diversity of forms. According to Haeckel’s theory, the “gill slits” ([[pharyngeal arch]]es) observed in the embryos’ “tailbud stage,” depicted in the top row, suggest the adult form of a common [[fish]]-like ancestor, while the curved tail, which develops soon after the gill slits, repeats a [[reptile|reptilian]] stage in evolution.
 
   
 
   
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For example, Haeckel believed that the human embryo with [[gill slits]] ([[pharyngeal arch]]es) in the neck not only signified a fishlike ancestor, but represented an adult "fishlike" developmental stage. Embryonic pharyngeal arches are not [[gill]]s and do not carry out the same function. They are the [[invagination]]s between the [[gill pouch]]es or pharyngeal pouches, and they open the [[pharynx]] to the outside. Gill pouches appear in all [[tetrapod]] animal embryos. In [[mammal]]s, the first [[gill bar]] (in the first gill pouch) develops into the lower [[jaw]] ([[Meckel's cartilage]]), the [[malleus]] and the [[stapes]]. In a later stage, all gill slits close, with only the ear opening remaining open. for example the “gill slits” observed in the embryos’ “tailbud stage,” depicted in the top row, suggest the adult form of a common fish-like ancestor, while the curved tail, which develops soon after the gill slits, repeats a reptilian stage in evolution.
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Haeckel’s drawings have since been shown to be oversimplified and in part inaccurate (Richardson 1998; Richardson and Keuck 2001; Gould 2000). For example, embryonic pharyngeal arches are not [[gill]]s and do not carry out the same function as they do in adult fish. They are the invaginations between the [[gill pouch]]es or pharyngeal pouches, and they open the [[pharynx]] to the external environment. Even Haeckel's contemporaries criticized him for these misrepresentations, which, among other things, included doctoring drawings to make them more alike than they really are, and choosing only those embryos and life stages that came closest to fitting his theory. [[Stephen Jay Gould]] (2000) likewise claimed that Haeckel "exaggerated the similarieties by idealizations and omissions," and concluded they were characterized by "inaccuracies and outright falsification."
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[[Image:Ontogeny2.jpg|thumb|right|The top row shows Haeckel's drawings. The bottom row reproduces photographs of embryos published by embryologist Michael Richardson et al. in a 1997 article in the journal ‘’Anatomy and Embryology’’, which challenged the accuracy of Haeckel’s scientific illustrations.]]
 
  
 
Some older editions of textbooks in the United States still erroneously cite recapitulation theory or the Haeckel drawings as evidence in support of evolution without appropriately explaining that they are misleading or outdated.
 
Some older editions of textbooks in the United States still erroneously cite recapitulation theory or the Haeckel drawings as evidence in support of evolution without appropriately explaining that they are misleading or outdated.
  
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==Haeckel monist philosophy and influence on Social Darwinism==
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==Haeckel impact on Social Darwinism==
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h extended Darwinism beyond — ; science as the basis of all knowledge and human activity Haeckel extrapolated a new religion or philosophy called "[[monism]]" from evolutionary science. In Haeckel's view of monism, which postulates that all aspects of the world form an essential unity, all [[economics]], [[politics]], and [[ethics]] are reduced to "applied biology."
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Haeckel's recapitulationist theory had a strong impact on the English Social [[Darwinism|Darwinist]] [[Herbert Spencer]] and the [[maturationism|maturationist]] theory of [[G. Stanley Hall]]. But he contributed to Social Darwinism as a philosopher in his own right.  
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<ref name=HaeckelUCB>
 
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    "Ernst Haeckel" (biography),
 
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    [[UC Berkeley]], 2004, webpage:
 
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    [http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/history/haeckel.html BerkeleyEdu-Haeckel].
 
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</ref>
 
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Haeckel's writings and lectures on monism were later used to provide scientific (or quasi-scientific) justifications for [[racism]], [[nationalism]], and [[social Darwinism]].<ref name=HaeckelUCB/>
 
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coined the term “monism” to contrast w/ “dualism” of man/nature, matter/spirit, materialism/idealism: way of countering the mechanical spirit of the age w/ a creative natural force, and of reviving the validity of Romantic volkism and naturphilosophie, which posited the common origins of life
 
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Haeckel was also known for his "[[biogenic theory]]", in which he suggested that the development of races paralleled the development of individuals. He advocated the idea that [[Untermensch|"primitive" races]] were in their infancies and needed the "supervision" and "protection" of more "mature" societies.
 
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in 1880s and 1890s, increasingly involved in elaborating social, political, and religious implications of Darwinism; racist and nationalist attitudes (G. argues for influence as proto-Nazi, on National Socialism in the 1930s)
 
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Although Haeckel's specific form of recapitulation theory is now discredited among biologists, it did have a strong impact in social and educational theories of the late [[19th century]].
 
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English philosopher [[Herbert Spencer]] was one of the most energetic promoters of evolutionary ideas to explain pretty well everything in sight; He compactly expressed the basis for a cultural recapitulation theory of [[education]] in the following claim:<ref name="EganEducatedMind">Kieran Egan, ''The educated mind: How Cognitive Tools Shape Our Understanding.'', p.27 ([[University of Chicago Press]], 1997, Chicago. ISBN 0-226-19036-6)</ref>
 
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{{quotation|If there be an order in which the human race has mastered its various kinds of knowledge, there will arise in every child an aptitude to acquire these kinds of knowledge in the same order.... Education is a repetition of civilization in little.|<ref name="Spencer">{{cite book|author=Herbert Spencer|year=1861|title=Education|pages = p.5|url=http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=98953755}} </ref>}}
 
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The [[maturationism|maturationist]] theory of [[G. Stanley Hall]] was based on the premise that growing children would recapitulate evolutionary stages of development as they grew up and that there was a one-to-one correspondence between childhood stages and evolutionary history, and that it was counterproductive to push a child ahead of its development stage. The whole notion fit nicely with other [[social Darwinism|social Darwinist]] concepts, such as the idea that "primitive" societies needed guidance by more advanced societies, i.e. Europe and North America, which were considered by social Darwinists as the pinnacle of evolution.  An early form of the law was devised by the 19th-century [[Estonia]]n [[zoologist]] [[Karl Ernst von Baer]], who observed that embryos resemble the embryos, but not the adults, of other species.
 
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[[Ernst Haeckel]] viewed the World Riddle as a dual-question of the form, "What is the nature of the physical universe and what is the nature of human thinking?" which he explained would have a single answer since humans and the universe were contained within one system, a mono-system, as [[Haeckel]] wrote in [[1895]]:
 
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<ref>
 
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    "KELVIN SMITH LIBRARY" (about Haeckel book on Monism),
 
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    [[Case Western Reserve University]], [[Cleveland, Ohio]], 2004, webpage:
 
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    [http://library.case.edu/ksl/ecoll/books/haemon00/haemon00.html CaseEdu-HaeMon00]:
 
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    notes Monism book as dated 1895.
 
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</ref>
 
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<ref name=PGmono>
 
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    "7mono10 txt" (description of Ernst Haeckel's book
 
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    ''Monism as Connecting Religion and Science''),
 
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    Project Gutenberg&reg; Literary Archive Foundation, Gutenberg.org webpage:
 
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    [http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext05/7mono10.txt GutenbergOrg-7mono10]:
 
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    book "translated from [[German language|German]] by J. Gilchrist, M.A., B.Sc., PH.D."].
 
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</ref>
 
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:: [From ''Monism as Connecting Religion and Science'' by Ernst Haeckel (translated):]
 
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:: "The following lecture on [[Monism]] is an informal address delivered extemporaneously on [[October 9]], [[1892]], at Altenburg, on the seventy-fifth anniversary of the ''"Naturforschende Gesellschaft des Osterlandes."'' ... The "exacting" [[Berlin]] [[physiologist]] shut this knowledge out from his mind, and, with a short-sightedness almost inconceivable, placed this special [[neurological]] question alongside of the one great "'''world-riddle'''," the fundamental question of substance, the general question of the connection between matter and energy.  As I long ago pointed out, these two great questions are not two separate "'''world-riddles'''." The neurological problem of consciousness is only a special case of the all-comprehending [[cosmology|cosmological]] problem, the question of substance. "If we understood the nature of matter and energy, we should also understand how the substance underlying them can under certain conditions feel, desire, and think." Consciousness, like feeling and willing, among the higher animals is a mechanical work of the [[ganglion|ganglion-cells]], and as such must be carried back to chemical and physical events in the [[plasma (physics)|plasma]] of these.  -[[Ernst Haeckel]], [[1895]] <ref name=PGmono/>
 
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Haeckel had written that human behavior and feeling could be explained, within the laws of the physical universe, as "mechanical work of the ganglion-cells" as stated.
 
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The publication of [[Ernst Haeckel]]'s best-selling ''Welträtsel'' ('Riddle of the Universe') in [[1899]] brought social Darwinism and earlier ideas of "racial hygiene" to a very wide audience, and its [[recapitulation theory]] became famous. This led to the formation of the Monist League in [[1904]] with many prominent citizens among its members, including the [[Nobel Prize]] winner [[Wilhelm Ostwald]]. By [[1909]] it had a membership of some six thousand people. {{Fact|date=April 2007}}
 
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==Haeckel as artist==
 
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[[Image:Haeckel Muscinae.jpg|thumb|200px|right|''Kunstformen'' - plate 72: [[Muscinae]]]]
 
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[[Image:Haeckel Chaetopoda.jpg|thumb|200px|right|''Kunstformen'' - plate 96: [[Chaetopoda]]]]
 
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'''''Kunstformen der Natur''''' (''Art Forms of Nature'') is a book of [[lithography|lithographic]] and [[autotype]] prints by German biologist [[Ernst Haeckel]].  Originally published in sets of ten between 1899 and 1904 and as a complete volume in 1904, it consists of 100 prints of various organisms, many of which were first described by Haeckel himself.  Over the course of his career, over 1000 [[engraving]]s were produced based on Haeckel's [[sketch (drawing)|sketch]]es and [[watercolor]]s; many of the best of these were chosen for ''Kunstformen der Natur'', translated from sketch to print by lithographer Adolf Giltsch.<ref>Breidbach, ''Visions of Nature'', pp 253</ref>
 
  
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According to Haeckel scholar Olaf Breidbach, the work was "not just a book of illustrations but also the summation of his view of the world."  The overriding themes of the ''Kunstformen'' plates are symmetry and organization. The subjects were selected to embody organization, from the scale patterns of [[boxfish]]es to the spirals of [[ammonite]]s to the perfect symmetries of jellies and microorganisms, while images composing each plate are arranged for maximum visual impact.<ref>Breidbach, ''Visions of Nature'', pp 229-231</ref>
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Haeckel extended Darwinism beyond its usefulness as a scientific theory; he extrapolated a new religion or philosophy called ''monism'' from evolutionary science. In Haeckel's view of monism, which postulates that all aspects of the world form an essential unity, all [[economics]], [[politics]], and [[ethics]] are reduced to "applied biology" (Guralnick 1995).  
  
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Among the notable prints are numerous [[radiolarian]]s, which Haeckel helped to popularize among amateur microscopists; at least one example is found in almost every set of 10.
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Haeckel coined the term “monism” to contrast with the “dualisms” of man/nature, matter/spirit, [[materialism]]/[[idealism]]. [[Monism]] was a way of countering the mechanical spirit of the age with a creative natural force, and reviving the validity of earlier German movements such as [[Romantic volkism]] and [[naturphilosophie]], which, like evolutionary theory, posited the common origins of life.  
  
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''Kunstformen der Natur'' was influential in early 20th century art, architecture, and design, bridging the gap between science and art. In particular, many artists associated with the [[Art Nouveau]] movement were influenced by Haeckel's images, including [[René Binet]], [[Karl Blossfeldt]], [[Hans Christiansen]], and [[Émile Gallé]].  One prominent example is the [[Beurs van Berlage|Amsterdam Commodities Exchange]] designed by [[Hendrik Petrus Berlage]], which was in part inspired by ''Kunstformen'' illustrations.<ref>Breidbach, ''Visions of Nature'', pp 231, 268-269</ref>
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In his philosophical works, Haeckel suggested that the development of races paralleled the development of individuals. He advocated the idea that "primitive" races were in their infancies and needed the "supervision" and "protection" of more "mature" societies.  
  
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A second edition of ''Kunstformen'', containing only 30 of the prints, was produced in 1924.
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The publication of Haeckel’s best-selling ''Welträtsel'' ''(The Riddle of the Universe)'' in 1899 brought Social Darwinism and earlier ideas of "racial hygiene" to a wide audience. This led to the formation of the Monist League in 1904, which had many prominent citizens among its members, including the [[Nobel Prize]] winner [[Wilhelm Ostwald]]. By 1909, the Monist League had a membership of some six thousand people. Haeckel and the Monists were an important source for diverse streams of thought that later came together under National Socialism. The most important and far-reaching influence of Haeckel's brand of Social Darwinism may be found among the leading figures of [[Eugenics]] and racial anthropology in Germany around the turn of the century.
  
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[[Image:Haeckel Actiniae.jpg|right|thumb|180px|Sea anemones from Ernst Haeckel’s ‘’Kunstformen der Natur’’ (‘’Art Forms of Nature’’), published in 1904.]]
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==Haeckel influence as an artist==
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[[Image:Haeckel Actiniae.jpg|right|thumb|180px|right|An illustration of sea anemones from ''Kunstformen der Natur''.]]
  
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==Biography==
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''Kunstformen der Natur'' ''(Art Forms of Nature)'' is Haeckel's book of [[lithography|lithographic]] and [[autotype]] prints. Originally published in sets of ten between 1899 and 1904, and as a complete volume in 1904, it consists of 100 prints of various organisms, many of which were first described by Haeckel himself. Over the course of his career, over 1000 [[engraving]]s were produced based on Haeckel's sketches and watercolors; many of the best of these were chosen for ''Kunstformen der Natur'', translated from sketch to print by lithographer Adolf Giltsch (Breidbach 2006).
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===Early life and studies===
 
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[[Image:Ernst Haeckel 1860.jpg|thumb|175px|right|Ernst Haeckel at age 26.]]
 
  
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Ernst Haeckel was born on [[February 16]], [[1834]], in [[Potsdam]] (then part of [[Prussia]]). In [[1852]], Haeckel completed studies at Cathedral High School (''Domgymnasium'') of [[Mersburg]].<ref name=HaeckelDE/> He then studied [[medicine]] in [[Berlin]], particularly with [[Albert von Kölliker]], [[Franz Leydig]], [[Rudolf Virchow]] (with whom he later worked briefly as assistant), and with anatomist-physiologist [[Johannes Müller]]/Mueller (1801-1858).<ref name=HaeckelDE/>
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According to Haeckel scholar Olaf Breidbach (2006), the work was "not just a book of illustrations but also the summation of his view of the world."  The overriding themes of the ''Kunstformen'' plates are symmetry and organization, central aspects of Haeckel's [[monism]]. The subjects were selected to embody organization, from the scale patterns of [[boxfish]]es to the spirals of [[ammonite]]s to the perfect symmetries of jellies and microorganisms, while images composing each plate are arranged for maximum visual impact (Breidbach 2006).  
  
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In [[1857]], Haeckel attained a [[doctorate]] in [[medicine]] ([[M.D.]]), and afterwards he received a license to practice medicine.
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[[Image:Haeckel Muscinae.jpg|thumb|180px|left|A plate depicting [[muscinae]].]]
  
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===Overview of scientific career and later life===
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Among the notable prints are numerous radiolarians, which Haeckel helped to popularize among amateur microscopists; at least one example is found in almost every set of 10.  
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[[image:Ernst Haeckel and von Miclucho-Maclay 1866.jpg|thumb|Haeckel (left) with [[Nicholai Miklukho-Maklai]], his assistant, in the [[Canary Islands|Canaries]], 1866.]]
 
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Haeckel studied under [[Carl Gegenbaur]] at the [[University of Jena]] for three years, earning a doctorate in [[zoology]],<ref name=HaeckelDE/> before becoming a professor of [[comparative anatomy]] at the [[University of Jena]], where he remained 47 years, from [[1862]]-[[1909]]. Between 1859 and 1866, Haeckel worked on many "invertebrate" groups, including [[radiolarian]]s, [[poriferan]]s ([[sea sponge]]s) and [[annelid]]s (segmented worms).<ref name=HaeckelUCB/>  During a trip to the [[Mediterranean]], Haeckel named nearly 150 new species of radiolarians.<ref name=HaeckelUCB/>
 
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"Invertebrates" provided the data for most of his [[experiment|experimental]] work on evolutionary development, leading to his "[[recapitulation theory|law of recapitulation]]." <ref name=HaeckelUCB/>  Haeckel named thousands of new species from [[1859]] to [[1887]].
 
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<ref name=HaeckelRS>
 
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    "[[Rudolf Steiner]] and Ernst Haeckel" (colleagues),
 
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    Daniel Hindes, 2005, DefendingSteiner.com webpage:
 
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    [http://www.defendingsteiner.com/articles/rs-haeckel.php Steiner-Haeckel].
 
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</ref>
 
  
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'''Radiolarians''' (also '''radiolaria''') are [[amoeboid]] [[protozoa]] that produce intricate [[mineral]] [[skeleton]]s, typically with a central capsule dividing the [[cell (biology)|cell]] into inner and outer portions, called [[endoplasm]] and [[ectoplasm]]. They are found as [[zooplankton]] throughout the ocean, and because of their rapid turn-over of species, their tests are important [[Fossil|diagnostic fossil]]s found from the [[Cambrian]] onwards. Some common radiolarian fossils include ''[[Actinomma]]'', ''[[Heliosphaera]]'' and ''[[Hexadoridium]]''.
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''Kunstformen der Natur'' played a role in the development of early twentieth century art, architecture, and design, bridging the gap between science and art. In particular, many artists associated with the [[Art Nouveau]] movement were influenced by Haeckel's images, including [[René Binet]], [[Karl Blossfeldt]], [[Hans Christiansen]], and [[Émile Gallé]]. One prominent example is the Amsterdam Commodities Exchange designed by Hendrik Petrus Berlage, which was in part inspired by ''Kunstformen'' illustrations (Breidbach 2006).
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[[Image:Radiolaria.jpg|thumb|left|Radiolaria illustration from the [[Challenger Expedition|Challenger Expedition 1873-76]].]]
 
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German biologist [[Ernst Haeckel]] produced exquisite (and perhaps somewhat exaggerated) drawings of radiolaria, helping to popularize these protists among Victorian [[parlor microscopist]]s alongside [[foraminifera]] and [[diatom]]s.
 
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Haeckel was also a free-thinker who went beyond biological studies, dabbling in [[anthropology]], [[psychology]], and [[cosmology]].<ref name=HaeckelUCB/> Haeckel's speculative ideas and possible fudging of data or diagrams, plus the lack of [[empirical evidence|empirical]] support for many of his ideas, have tarnished his scientific credentials; however, Ernst Haeckel remained a very popular figure in Germany and was considered a hero by many of his countrymen.<ref name=HaeckelUCB/>
 
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Haeckel was a flamboyant figure. He sometimes took great (and non-scientific) leaps from available evidence. For example, at the time that Darwin first published ''[[On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection]]'' ([[1859]]), no remains of human ancestors had yet been found. Haeckel postulated that evidence of human evolution would be found in the [[Dutch East Indies]] (now [[Indonesia]]), and described these theoretical remains in great detail. He even named the as-of-yet unfound species, ''Pithecanthropus alalus'', and charged his students to go find it. (Richard and [[Oskar Hertwig]] were two of Haeckel´s many important students.)
 
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In [[1909]], Haeckel retired from teaching, and in [[1910]] he withdrew from the [[Evangelist]] church.<ref name=HaeckelDE/>
 
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Haeckel's wife, Agnes, died in [[1915]], and Ernst Haeckel became substantially more frail, with a broken leg (thigh) and broken arm.<ref name=HaeckelDE/>  He sold the mansion Medusa ("Villa Medusa") in [[1918]] to the [[Carl Zeiss]] foundation.<ref name=HaeckelDE/> Ernst Haeckel died on [[August 9]], [[1919]].
 
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The Ernst Haeckel house ("Villa Medusa") in [[Jena]], [[Germany]] contains a historic library.
 
  
 
==Works==
 
==Works==
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Haeckel's literary output was extensive; at the time of the celebration of his sixtieth birthday in 1894, Haeckel had produced 42 works totaling nearly 13,000 pages, besides numerous scientific memoirs and illustrations.
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Haeckel's literary output was extensive; at the time of the celebration of his sixtieth birthday at [[Jena]] in [[1894]], Haeckel had produced 42 works with nearly 13,000 pages, besides numerous scientific [[memoir]]s and illustrations.
 
  
 
===Selected monographs===  
 
===Selected monographs===  
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'Radiolaria'' ([[1862]]), ''Siphonophora'' ([[1869]]), ''Monera'' ([[1870]]) and ''Calcareous Sponges'' ([[1872]]), as well as several ''Challenger'' reports: ''Deep-Sea Medusae'' ([[1881]]), ''Siphonophora'' ([[1888]]), ''Deep-Sea Keratosa'' ([[1889]]), and another ''Radiolaria'' ([[1887]]), the last being illustrated with 140 plates and enumerating over four thousand (4000) new species.<ref name=Ha1911/>
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Haeckel's published monographs include ''Radiolaria'' (1862), ''Siphonophora'' (1869), ''Monera'' (1870), and ''Calcareous Sponges'' (1872), as well as several ''Challenger'' reports, including ''Deep-Sea Medusae'' (1881), ''Siphonophora'' (1888), and ''Deep-Sea Keratosa'' (1889). Another edition of ''Radiolaria'' was published in 1887, illustrated with 140 plates and enumerating over 4,000 new species (MAC 1911).
  
 
===Selected published works===
 
===Selected published works===
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*1866:''General Morphology''  
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*1866: ''Generalle Morphologie der Organismen'' ''(General Morphology)''
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*1868: ''Natürliche Schöpfungsgeschichte'' ([[1868]], in English, ''The Natural History of Creation'' reprinted [[1883]])
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*1868: ''Natürliche Schöpfungsgeschichte'' (in English, ''The Natural History of Creation,'' reprinted 1883)
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*1874:''Anthropogenie''
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*1874: ''Anthropogenie'' (published in English as ''The Evolution of Man: a Popular Exposition of the Principal Points of Human Ontogeny and Phylogeny,'' 1903)
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*1877:''Freie Wissenschaft und freie Lehre'' ([[1877]], in English, ''Freedom in Science and Teaching'') in reply to a speech in which [[Virchow]] objected to the teaching of [[evolution]] in schools, on the grounds that evolution was an unproven hypothesis;<ref name=Ha1911/>
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*1877: ''Freie Wissenschaft und freie Lehre'' (published in English as ''Freedom in Science and Teaching,'' 1879)
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*1894:''Die systematische Phylogenie'' ([[1894]], "Systematic Phylogeny")
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*1892: ''Der Monismus als Band zwischen Religion und Wissenschaft'' (published in English as ''Monism as Connecting Religion and Science. The Confession of Faith of a Man of Science'', 1894)
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*1895-1899:''Die Welträthsel'' ([[1895]]-[[1899]], also spelled ''Die Welträtsel'' ("world-riddle"), in English ''[[Riddle of the Universe|The Riddle of the Universe]]'', [[1901]]);<ref name=Ha1911/>
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*1894: ''Die systematische Phylogenie'' ''(Systematic Phylogeny)''
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*1898:''Über unsere gegenwärtige Kenntnis vom Ursprung des Menschen'' ([[1898]], translated into English as ''The Last Link'', [[1908]])
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*1895-1899: ''Die Welträthsel'', also spelled ''Die Welträtsel'' (published in English as ''The Riddle of the Universe at the Close of the Nineteenth Century'', 1900)
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*1904:''[[Kunstformen der Natur]]'' ([[1904]], ''Artforms of Nature''), with plates representing detailed marine animal forms
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*1898:''Über unsere gegenwärtige Kenntnis vom Ursprung des Menschen'' (translated into English as ''The Last Link'', 1908)
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*1905:''Der Kampf um den Entwickelungsgedanken'' ([[1905]], English version, ''Last Words on Evolution'', [[1906]])
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*1904: ''Kunstformen der Natur'' ''(Art Forms of Nature)''
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*1905:''Wanderbilder'' ([[1905]], "travel images"), with reproductions of his oil-paintings and water-color landscapes.<ref name=Ha1911/>
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*1905: ''Der Kampf um den Entwickelungsgedanken'' (published in English as ''Last Words on Evolution'', 1906)
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*1905: ''Wanderbilder'' ("travel images")
  
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==Notes==
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==References==
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<references/>
 
  
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==References==
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* Breidbach, O. 2006. ''Visions of Nature: The Art and Science of Ernst Haeckel''. Munich: Prestel. ISBN 3791336649.
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*Gasman, Daniel. 1971. ''The Scientific Origins of National Socialism: Social Darwinism in Ernst Haeckel and the German Monist League''. New York, NY: American Elsevier Inc.
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* Dombrowski, P. 2003. Ernst Haeckel's controversial visual rhetoric, ''Technical Communication Quarterly'' 12: 303-319.
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*Milner, Richrad. 1993. ''The Encyclopedia of Evolution: Humanity's Search for Its Origins'', New York, NY: Henry Holt.
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* Gasman, D. 1971. ''The Scientific Origins of National Socialism: Social Darwinism in Ernst Haeckel and the German Monist League''. New York, NY: American Elsevier Inc. ISBN 0444196641.
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*Richardson, Michael K. 1998. Haeckel's embryos continued, ''Science'' 281:1289.
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* Gould, S. J. 2000. Abscheulich! - Atrocious!: The precursor to the theory of natural selection. ''Natural History'' March, 2000.
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*Richardson, M. K. & G. Keuck. March 8, 2001. A question of intent: when is a "schematic" illustration a fraud?, ''Nature'' 410:144.
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* Guralnick, R. P. 1995. [http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/history/haeckel.html Ernst Haeckel (1834-1919)]. ''University fo California Museum of Paleontology''. Retreived June 4, 2007.  
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*Ruse, M. 1979. ''The Darwinian Revolution''. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
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* Milner, R. 1993. ''The Encyclopedia of Evolution: Humanity's Search for Its Origins''. New York, NY: Henry Holt. ISBN 0805027173.
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* Missouri Association for Creation (MAC). 1911. [http://www.gennet.org/facts/haeckel.html Biography of Ernst Heinrich Haeckel, 1834-1919]. ''Missouri Association for Creation'', based on 1911 Britannica. Retrieved June 4, 2007.
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* Richardson, M. K. 1998. Haeckel's embryos continued. ''Science'' 281: 1289.
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* Richardson, M. K., and G. Keuck. 2001. A question of intent: When is a "schematic" illustration a fraud? ''Nature'' 410: 144.
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* Ruse, M. 1979. ''The Darwinian Revolution''. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
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* Wells, J. 2000. ''Icons of Evolution''. Washington, D.C.: Regnery Publishing. ISBN 0895262762.
  
 
==External links==
 
==External links==
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{{Commons|Ernst Haeckel}}
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All links retrieved March 20, 2024.
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* [http://www.mblwhoilibrary.org/haeckel/index.html Marine Biological Laboratory Library] - An exhibition of material on Haeckel, including background on many ''Kunsformen der Natur'' plates
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* [http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/history/haeckel.html University of California, Berkeley] - Ernst Haeckel biography
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* [http://draves.org/pix/kdn/ PNG alpha-transparencies of Haeckel's "Kustformen der natur"].
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* [http://www.slate.com/id/2124625/ Ernst Haeckel – Evolution's controversial artist.] A slide-show essay about Ernst Haeckel.
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*[http://www.nightfirefilms.org/proteus_home.html Proteus] - An animated documentary film on the life and work of Ernst Haeckel.  
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* ''[[commons:Kunstformen der Natur|Kunstformen der Natur]]'', Wikimedia Commons: over 100 detailed animal drawings.
 
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* [http://caliban.mpiz-koeln.mpg.de/~stueber/haeckel/kunstformen/natur.html ''Kunstformen der Natur'', scanned] (from [http://www.biolib.de/ biolib.de] Stuebers Online Library)
 
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* [http://draves.org/pix/kdn/ PNG alpha-transparencies of Haeckel's "Kustformen der natur"]
 
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*[http://www.nightfirefilms.org/proteus_home.html Proteus] - An animated documentary film on the life and work of Ernst Haeckel
 
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*[http://www2.uni-jena.de/biologie/ehh/haeckel.htm Ernst Haeckel Haus] and Ernst Haeckel Museum in [[Jena]]
 
  
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{{credit|101184758}}
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{{credit|Ernst_Haeckel|101184758|Recapitulation_theory|133979243|Social_Darwinism|135503464|Radiolarian|129681356|Kunstformen_der_Natur|134064634|World_riddle|117715400}}
  
 
[[Category:Life sciences]]
 
[[Category:Life sciences]]
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[[Category:Biography]]
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[[Category:Biologists]]
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[[Category:Evolution]]

Latest revision as of 21:22, 20 March 2024

Ernst Haeckel, a professor of comparative anatomy at the University of Jena, was an early popularizer of Darwin's work in Germany.

Ernst Heinrich Philipp August Haeckel (February 16, 1834—August 9, 1919), also written von Haeckel, was an eminent German zoologist best known as an early promoter and popularizer of Charles Darwin's evolutionary theory. Haeckel developed the controversial recapitulation theory, which claims that an individual organism's biological development, or ontogeny, parallels in brief the entire evolutionary development of its species, or phylogeny. That is, according to Haeckel's formulation: Ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny. His concept of recapitulation has been discredited in its absolute form (now called strong recapitulation).

As a professor of comparative anatomy at the University of Jena, Haeckel specialized in invertebrate anatomy, working primarily on radiolarians, a type of protozoan zooplankton found throughout the ocean. Haeckel named thousands of new species, mapped a genealogical tree relating all life forms, and coined many now ubiquitous terms in biology, including phylum, phylogeny, and ecology. He also discovered many species that he placed in the kingdom that he named Protista.

Haeckel embraced evolution not only as a scientific theory, but as a worldview. He outlined a new religion or philosophy called monism, which cast evolution as a cosmic force, a manifestation of the creative energy of nature. A proponent of social Darwinism, Haeckel became increasingly involved in elaborating the social, political, and religious implications of Darwinism in the late nineteenth century; his writings and lectures on monism were later used to provide quasi-scientific justifications for the racist and imperialist programs of National Socialism in 1930s Germany.

Haeckel’s chief interests lay in evolution and life development processes in general, including the development of nonrandom form, which culminated in the beautifully illustrated Kunstformen der Natur (Art Forms of Nature), a collection of 100 detailed, multi-color illustrations of animals and sea creatures.

A plate from Ernst Haeckel's 1904 Kunstformen der Natur (Art Forms of Nature), showing radiolarians (a type of invertebrate group) belonging to the superfamily Stephoidea. Haeckel discovered thousands of new species of radiolarians.

Haeckel's multiplicity of roles, as both artist and naturalist, scientific specialist and popularizer of evolution, opponent of religion and monist philosopher, makes it difficult to evaluate Haeckel's scientific career and to classify his work. For example, while some of his drawings have been deemed forgeries for failing to adhere to the rigor of scientific evidence, they also reflect Haeckel's considerable ability to view nature with an artist's eye for symmetry and form. Thus, one the one hand, Haeckel's legacy of remarkable accomplishments has been tarnished by the apparently deliberately inaccurate drawings to support his scientific perspective, thus undermining one of the most important caches for a scientist, one's reputation for integrity. On the other hand, one of his most enduring positive legacies is his artistic drawings, which touch upon the inner nature of human beings—the desire for beauty; these drawings continue to be used to illustrate numerous topics in invertebrate zoology.

Biography

Ernst Haeckel was born on February 16, 1834, in Potsdam (then a part of Prussia). In 1852, Haeckel completed studies at Cathedral High School (Domgymnasium) of Merseburg. Following his parents' wishes, he went on to study medicine at the Univerisity of Berlin, working with Albert von Kölliker, Franz Leydig, Rudolf Virchow, and anatomist-physiologist Johannes Müller (1801-1858). In 1857, Haeckel attained a doctorate in medicine (M.D.), and afterwards received a license to practice medicine.

Ernst Haeckel at age 26.
Haeckel (left) with Nicholai Miklukho-Maklai, his assistant, in the Canaries, 1866.

Following a brief career in medicine, Haeckel returned to school to study under Carl Gegenbaur at the University of Jena. He earned a doctorate in zoology, before becoming a professor of comparative anatomy at the University of Jena, where he remained for 47 years, from 1862-1909. Between 1859 and 1866, Haeckel worked on many invertebrate groups, including radiolarians, poriferans (sea sponges), and annelids (segmented worms) (Guralnick 1995). Invertebrates provided the data for most of his experimental work on evolutionary development, which led to his articulation of the theory of recapitulation (Guralnick 1995). Haeckel named thousands of new species from 1859 to 1887.

In 1909, Haeckel retired from teaching, and in 1910, he withdrew from the Evangelist church.

After the death of Haeckel's second wife, Agnes, in 1915, Haeckel became considerably frailer. In 1918, he sold his mansion in Jena, Germany ("Villa Medusa") to the Carl Zeiss foundation; it now contains an historical library. Ernst Haeckel died on August 9, 1919.

Recapitulation theory

Synopsis of the theory

Haeckel's recapitulation theory, also called the biogenetic law, attempts to explain apparent similarities between humans and other animals. An early form of the law was devised by the nineteenth-century Estonian zoologist Karl Ernst von Baer, who observed that an embryo undergoing development moves toward increasing differentiation, which suggests, though does not prove, a “community of descent.” Haeckel's adaptation of recapitulation theory claims that the embryonic development of the individual of every species (ontogeny) fully repeats the historical development of the species (phylogeny). In other words, each successive stage in the development of an individual represents one of the adult forms that appeared in its evolutionary history.

Modern biology rejects the literal and universal form of Haeckel's theory. Although humans share ancestors with many other taxa, the stages of human embryonic development are not functionally equivalent to the adults of these shared common ancestors. In other words, no cleanly defined and functional "fish," "reptile," and "mammal" stages of human embryonal development can be discerned. Moreover, development is nonlinear. For example, during kidney development, at one given time, the anterior region of the kidney is less developed than the posterior region.

The fact that contemporary biologists reject the literal or universal form of recapitulation theory has sometimes been used as an argument against evolution by some creationists. The main line of argumentation can be summarized as follows: if Haeckel's hypothesis was presented as supporting evidence for evolution, and it has now, in its strong form, been scientifically discredited, there is less support for evolutionary theory in general. This reasoning oversimplifies the issues at stake; it is also misleading because modern biology does recognize numerous connections between ontogeny and phylogeny, explains them using evolutionary theory without recourse to Haeckel's specific views, and considers them as supporting evidence for that theory.

Haeckel’s controversial embryo drawings

A reproduction of Haeckel's controversial embryological drawings (which originally appeared as white figures on a black background). Scientists have established that Haeckel unduly emphasized the similarities across species.

Haeckel offered visual evidence for his recapitulation theory in the form of embryo drawings. The 24 figures in the drawing at right illustrate three stages in the development of eight vertebrate embryos. As the embryos move from an earlier to a later stage of development, we see a corresponding movement from a startling similarity across the specimens to a recognizable diversity of forms. According to Haeckel’s theory, the “gill slits” (pharyngeal arches) observed in the embryos’ “tailbud stage,” depicted in the top row, suggest the adult form of a common fish-like ancestor, while the curved tail, which develops soon after the gill slits, repeats a reptilian stage in evolution.

Haeckel’s drawings have since been shown to be oversimplified and in part inaccurate (Richardson 1998; Richardson and Keuck 2001; Gould 2000). For example, embryonic pharyngeal arches are not gills and do not carry out the same function as they do in adult fish. They are the invaginations between the gill pouches or pharyngeal pouches, and they open the pharynx to the external environment. Even Haeckel's contemporaries criticized him for these misrepresentations, which, among other things, included doctoring drawings to make them more alike than they really are, and choosing only those embryos and life stages that came closest to fitting his theory. Stephen Jay Gould (2000) likewise claimed that Haeckel "exaggerated the similarieties by idealizations and omissions," and concluded they were characterized by "inaccuracies and outright falsification."

Some older editions of textbooks in the United States still erroneously cite recapitulation theory or the Haeckel drawings as evidence in support of evolution without appropriately explaining that they are misleading or outdated.

Haeckel impact on Social Darwinism

Haeckel's recapitulationist theory had a strong impact on the English Social Darwinist Herbert Spencer and the maturationist theory of G. Stanley Hall. But he contributed to Social Darwinism as a philosopher in his own right.

Haeckel extended Darwinism beyond its usefulness as a scientific theory; he extrapolated a new religion or philosophy called monism from evolutionary science. In Haeckel's view of monism, which postulates that all aspects of the world form an essential unity, all economics, politics, and ethics are reduced to "applied biology" (Guralnick 1995).

Haeckel coined the term “monism” to contrast with the “dualisms” of man/nature, matter/spirit, materialism/idealism. Monism was a way of countering the mechanical spirit of the age with a creative natural force, and reviving the validity of earlier German movements such as Romantic volkism and naturphilosophie, which, like evolutionary theory, posited the common origins of life.

In his philosophical works, Haeckel suggested that the development of races paralleled the development of individuals. He advocated the idea that "primitive" races were in their infancies and needed the "supervision" and "protection" of more "mature" societies.

The publication of Haeckel’s best-selling Welträtsel (The Riddle of the Universe) in 1899 brought Social Darwinism and earlier ideas of "racial hygiene" to a wide audience. This led to the formation of the Monist League in 1904, which had many prominent citizens among its members, including the Nobel Prize winner Wilhelm Ostwald. By 1909, the Monist League had a membership of some six thousand people. Haeckel and the Monists were an important source for diverse streams of thought that later came together under National Socialism. The most important and far-reaching influence of Haeckel's brand of Social Darwinism may be found among the leading figures of Eugenics and racial anthropology in Germany around the turn of the century.

Haeckel influence as an artist

An illustration of sea anemones from Kunstformen der Natur.

Kunstformen der Natur (Art Forms of Nature) is Haeckel's book of lithographic and autotype prints. Originally published in sets of ten between 1899 and 1904, and as a complete volume in 1904, it consists of 100 prints of various organisms, many of which were first described by Haeckel himself. Over the course of his career, over 1000 engravings were produced based on Haeckel's sketches and watercolors; many of the best of these were chosen for Kunstformen der Natur, translated from sketch to print by lithographer Adolf Giltsch (Breidbach 2006).

According to Haeckel scholar Olaf Breidbach (2006), the work was "not just a book of illustrations but also the summation of his view of the world." The overriding themes of the Kunstformen plates are symmetry and organization, central aspects of Haeckel's monism. The subjects were selected to embody organization, from the scale patterns of boxfishes to the spirals of ammonites to the perfect symmetries of jellies and microorganisms, while images composing each plate are arranged for maximum visual impact (Breidbach 2006).

A plate depicting muscinae.

Among the notable prints are numerous radiolarians, which Haeckel helped to popularize among amateur microscopists; at least one example is found in almost every set of 10.

Kunstformen der Natur played a role in the development of early twentieth century art, architecture, and design, bridging the gap between science and art. In particular, many artists associated with the Art Nouveau movement were influenced by Haeckel's images, including René Binet, Karl Blossfeldt, Hans Christiansen, and Émile Gallé. One prominent example is the Amsterdam Commodities Exchange designed by Hendrik Petrus Berlage, which was in part inspired by Kunstformen illustrations (Breidbach 2006).

Works

Haeckel's literary output was extensive; at the time of the celebration of his sixtieth birthday in 1894, Haeckel had produced 42 works totaling nearly 13,000 pages, besides numerous scientific memoirs and illustrations.

Selected monographs

Haeckel's published monographs include Radiolaria (1862), Siphonophora (1869), Monera (1870), and Calcareous Sponges (1872), as well as several Challenger reports, including Deep-Sea Medusae (1881), Siphonophora (1888), and Deep-Sea Keratosa (1889). Another edition of Radiolaria was published in 1887, illustrated with 140 plates and enumerating over 4,000 new species (MAC 1911).

Selected published works

  • 1866: Generalle Morphologie der Organismen (General Morphology)
  • 1868: Natürliche Schöpfungsgeschichte (in English, The Natural History of Creation, reprinted 1883)
  • 1874: Anthropogenie (published in English as The Evolution of Man: a Popular Exposition of the Principal Points of Human Ontogeny and Phylogeny, 1903)
  • 1877: Freie Wissenschaft und freie Lehre (published in English as Freedom in Science and Teaching, 1879)
  • 1892: Der Monismus als Band zwischen Religion und Wissenschaft (published in English as Monism as Connecting Religion and Science. The Confession of Faith of a Man of Science, 1894)
  • 1894: Die systematische Phylogenie (Systematic Phylogeny)
  • 1895-1899: Die Welträthsel, also spelled Die Welträtsel (published in English as The Riddle of the Universe at the Close of the Nineteenth Century, 1900)
  • 1898:Über unsere gegenwärtige Kenntnis vom Ursprung des Menschen (translated into English as The Last Link, 1908)
  • 1904: Kunstformen der Natur (Art Forms of Nature)
  • 1905: Der Kampf um den Entwickelungsgedanken (published in English as Last Words on Evolution, 1906)
  • 1905: Wanderbilder ("travel images")

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  • Breidbach, O. 2006. Visions of Nature: The Art and Science of Ernst Haeckel. Munich: Prestel. ISBN 3791336649.
  • Dombrowski, P. 2003. Ernst Haeckel's controversial visual rhetoric, Technical Communication Quarterly 12: 303-319.
  • Gasman, D. 1971. The Scientific Origins of National Socialism: Social Darwinism in Ernst Haeckel and the German Monist League. New York, NY: American Elsevier Inc. ISBN 0444196641.
  • Gould, S. J. 2000. Abscheulich! - Atrocious!: The precursor to the theory of natural selection. Natural History March, 2000.
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  • Milner, R. 1993. The Encyclopedia of Evolution: Humanity's Search for Its Origins. New York, NY: Henry Holt. ISBN 0805027173.
  • Missouri Association for Creation (MAC). 1911. Biography of Ernst Heinrich Haeckel, 1834-1919. Missouri Association for Creation, based on 1911 Britannica. Retrieved June 4, 2007.
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  • Ruse, M. 1979. The Darwinian Revolution. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
  • Wells, J. 2000. Icons of Evolution. Washington, D.C.: Regnery Publishing. ISBN 0895262762.

External links

All links retrieved March 20, 2024.

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