In between mental evolution and unconscious memory: Lamarckism, Darwinism, and professionalism in late Victorian Britain

Abstract

In 1884 Samuel Butler published a collection of essays entitled Remarks on George Romanes' Mental Evolution, where he attempted to show how Romanes' idea of mental evolution presented similarities with his theory of unconscious memory. By looking at Romanes' work through Butler's writing, this article will reevaluate some aspects of their works regarding the complex debate about memory, heredity, and instinct. This paper will explore the main differences and similarities between Romanes' science and Butler's writing on science both in terms of their ideas and contents. It will then look into their different professional relationships with Darwin and how this determined the professional and public reception of their theories.

Creators of the Vocabulary of Anglophone Psychology and Their Relationships

“…In the course of combining Darwin’s theory of evolution with psychology, Romanes (1881) coined the multi-word evolutionary psychologist . Turbil (2017, p. 356) argued that late 19th century “science was intrinsically linked with philosophy, teleological design, and spiritualism” and that Romanes himself “was particularly intrigued by the possibility of solving the gap between science and religion via spiritualism.” The difference between Romanes and William James may be less than it at first appears, given James’ own fascination with spiritualism (Knapp, 2017).…”