Combining Texts

Ideas for 'fragments/reports', 'Democracy in America (abr Renshaw)' and 'Introduction of 'Essence of Christianity''

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2 ideas

27. Natural Reality / G. Biology / 3. Evolution
Archelaus said life began in a primeval slime [Archelaus, by Schofield]
     Full Idea: Archelaus wrote that life on Earth began in a primeval slime.
     From: report of Archelaus (fragments/reports [c.450 BCE]) by Malcolm Schofield - Archelaus
     A reaction: This sounds like a fairly clearcut assertion of the production of life by evolution. Darwin's contribution was to propose the mechanism for achieving it. We should honour the name of Archelaus for this idea.
27. Natural Reality / G. Biology / 5. Species
Consciousness is said to distinguish man from animals - consciousness of his own species [Feuerbach]
     Full Idea: What constitutes the essential difference between man and animal? The most simple, general, and most widely held answer to this question is consciousness. Consciousness is given only in the case of a being to whom his species ...is an object of thought.
     From: Ludwig Feuerbach (Introduction of 'Essence of Christianity' [1841], I)
     A reaction: Rather speculative. Since other species cohabit and breed only with their fellow species members, one might have thought they were aware of them.