T A Theory of Creation A Review of 'Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation' Francis Bowen

Biology PDF EPUB

A Theory of Creation

A Review of 'Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation'

Downloads: Under 100
Pages: 42

Read online EPUB Download Save

About this book

Francis Bowen examines the claims of Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation in this review published in 1845. His subject ranges from the formation of suns and planets to the beginnings of living organisms. He acknowledges the book’s persuasive style and orderly presentation while challenging its evidence, its reasoning and its account of a universe developing through the properties of matter.

The discussion gives particular attention to spontaneous generation. Bowen considers microscopic organisms, reproduction and the limits of observation, arguing that a failure to trace a creature’s origins does not establish that it arose from inorganic material. His comparisons include seeds, insects and the tiny creatures found in water. Readers interested in the history of biology, philosophy and religious debate can follow a critic weighing broad explanations of nature against the observations available to him.