Page 112 - Once Upon a Time There Was Darwinism
P. 112
After this, he states that his observations indicate that a
human embryo closely resembles that of an ape, a dog or an-
other vertebrate but that, in later stages of development in
the womb, a differentiation occurs. In a letter to his friend,
Asa Gray, Darwin considered the evidence from embryology
to be "by far the strongest single class of facts in favor of" his
theory. 54
Once Upon a Time There Was Darwinism
But Darwin was no embryologist. Never once did he in-
vestigate embryos in a comprehensive way. Therefore, in de-
veloping his arguments, he quoted individuals whom he
regarded as authorities on this matter. In his footnotes, one
name was particularly noticeable: the German
biologist, Ernst Haeckel, whose book
Naturliche Schopfungsgeschichte
The German biologist Ernst
Haeckel was the founder of
Darwinist embryology.
110
