cheng+5

My thoughts on Vestiges

In reading chapter one of James Secord’s Victorian Sensation, I cannot help but wonder about the contents of Vestiges. Before I begin, I think I speak for many when I say that I had never heard of this book. This is probably because after Darwin publishes his On the Origins of Species, it kills the hype of an alternate theory to creationism. In short, the data he collected was too good. So what does Vestiges really contain in its pages? Secord I believe is purposefully vague about this in his opening chapter to lure in the reader. We know it discusses the hot topic of evolution but then he endlessly interjects brief excerpts of positive reviews. Reading on, I begin to realize I would much rather read Vestiges itself than to read about it.

The anonymity of Vestiges is obviously a powerful appeal to draw in audiences. However, I think the author employs this technique for another reason. At the time, a novel hypothesis of our origins would immediately be denounced and rejected from society. To openly stray from mainstream philosophy would attract many to discredit the author. Not even a king during 19th century Britain would have enough credentials for others to take on his assertions. So I believe the author doesn’t want to draw criticism to himself but rather to the merit of his arguments. Taking the person out of the personal ideas results in a work that will be judged entirely on its substance. For the author, he didn’t have the hard, extensive evidence that Darwin would later acquire. So he compensated with loftiness in logic and knowledge. “‘The simplicity of the author's manner, and the beauty of his style’; this was one of the great works of the age. The unknown author, someone who had ‘earnestly investigated nature,’ had conducted his inquiry with ‘much modesty and so much knowledge.’ There were no criticisms of mistakes or the wider philosophy. The evolution of new species, and even of human beings, although ‘a remarkable hypothesis,’ was described as worthy of consideration.” Without the option of attacking the writer, the masses and even the critiques are left to fully consider his reasonings.