"Evolution, Old & New" is a notable work by Samuel Butler. This book makes an important addition to the debates over Charles Darwin's theory of evolution and its implications for understanding the origins and development of life. Samuel Butler was Charles Darwin's contemporary, and in "Evolution, Old & New," he offers a sophisticated critique of Darwin's beliefs. Butler acknowledges Darwin's idea while also providing his own thoughts on evolution. One of Butler's main points is that evolution is not simply based on natural selection and survival of the fittest, as Darwin proposed. Instead, he proposes that acquired qualities, or the inheritance of acquired traits, may play a larger role in evolution than previously imagined. Butler's work digs into philosophical and ethical issues concerning the consequences of evolution. He examines the link between science and religion, as well as the influence of evolutionary theory on traditional beliefs. "Evolution, Old & New" is distinguished by thought-provoking and frequently contentious ideas. Butler's willingness to challenge dominant scientific and philosophical assumptions of the period fueled vigorous debates in evolutionary biology and the broader intellectual discourse of the late nineteenth century.
Butler was the grandson of Samuel Butler, the principal of Shrewsbury School and afterwards the bishop of Lichfield. He was the son of the Reverend Thomas Butler. The young Samuel transferred to St. John's College in Cambridge after spending six years at Shrewsbury, where he graduated in 1858. In order to prepare for holy orders, young Butler even went so far as to do a little "slumming" in a London parish because his father wanted him to become a clergyman. He was being pulled away from all his father stood for, including his family, the church, and Christianity itself—or at least what it had seemed to imply at Langar Rectory—by the current of his fierce independence and heresy. After an unpleasant incident with his father, Butler left Cambridge, the church, and his home and emigrated to New Zealand, where (using money provided by his father) he established a sheep run in the Canterbury settlement. Butler then returned to Cambridge and continued his musical studies and drawing. After doubling his money in New Zealand, Butler left for England in 1864 and moved into the Clifford's Inn apartment that would serve as his permanent residence. The Way of All Flesh, which was released in 1903, the year after Butler passed away, is widely regarded as his best work. It undoubtedly encompasses a lot of the essential elements of Butlerism.
