George John Romanes FRS (20 May 1848 – 23 May 1894) was a Canadian-Scots

evolutionary biologist Evolutionary biology is the subfield of biology that studies the evolutionary processes (natural selection, common descent, speciation) that produced the diversity of life on Earth. It is also defined as the study of the history of life for ...

and

physiologist Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a sub-discipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out the chemica ...

who laid the foundation of what he called

comparative psychology Comparative psychology refers to the scientific study of the behavior and mental processes of non-human animals, especially as these relate to the phylogenetic history, adaptive significance, and development of behavior. Research in this area addr ...

, postulating a similarity of cognitive processes and mechanisms between humans and other animals. He was the youngest of

Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended ...

's academic friends, and his views on evolution are historically important. He is considered to invent the term neo-Darwinism, which in the late 19th century was considered as a theory of evolution that focuses on natural selection as the main evolutionary force. However, Samuel Butler used this term with a similar meaning in 1880. Romanes' early death was a loss to the cause of evolutionary biology in Britain. Within six years Mendel's work was rediscovered, and a whole new agenda opened up for debate.

Early life

George Romanes was born in Kingston,

Canada West The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report on the ...

(now Ontario), in 1848, the youngest of three children, all boys, in a well-to-do and intellectually cultivated family. His father was Rev George Romanes (1805–1871), a Scottish

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their n ...

minister. Two years after his birth, his parents moved to

Cornwall Terrace Cornwall Terrace (also 1-21 Cornwall Terrace) is a Grade I listed building of consecutive terraced mansions overlooking Regent's Park in the City of Westminster, London. It is situated at the park's southwest corner, near Baker Street, between ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, United Kingdom, which would set Romanes on the path to a fruitful and lasting relationship with

. During his youth, Romanes resided temporarily in Germany and Italy, developing a fluency in both German and Italian. His early education was inconsistent, undertaken partly in public schools, and partly at home. He developed an early love for poetry and music, at which he excelled. However, his true passion resided elsewhere, and the young Romanes decided to study science, abandoning a prior ambition to become a clergyman like his father.

Adulthood

Although he came from an educated home, his school education was erratic. He entered university half-educated and with little knowledge of the ways of the world. He studied medicine and physiology, graduating from

Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, often referred to simply as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and one of t ...

with the degree of BA in 1871, and is commemorated there by a stained glass window in the chapel. It was at Cambridge that he came first to the attention of

: "How glad I am that you are so young!" said Darwin. Romanes, Ethel 1896. ''Life and letters of George John Romanes''. Longmans, Green, London. p3 Forging a relationship with Darwin was not difficult for Romanes, who reputedly inherited a "sweetness of temper and calmness of manner" from his father. The two remained friends for life. Guided by Michael Foster, Romanes continued to work on the physiology of invertebrates at

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

under William Sharpey and Burdon-Sanderson. In 1879, at 31, Romanes was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathemati ...

on the basis of his work on the nervous systems of

medusa In Greek mythology, Medusa (; Ancient Greek: Μέδουσα "guardian, protectress"), also called Gorgo, was one of the three monstrous Gorgons, generally described as winged human females with living venomous snakes in place of hair. Those ...

e. However, Romanes' tendency to support his claims by anecdotal evidence rather than empirical tests prompted Lloyd Morgan's warning known as

Morgan's Canon Morgan's Canon, also known as Lloyd Morgan's Canon, Morgan's Canon of Interpretation or the principle or law of parsimony, is a fundamental precept of comparative (animal) psychology, coined by 19th-century British psychologist C. Lloyd Morgan. In ...

: :"In no case is an animal activity to be interpreted in terms of higher psychological processes, if it can be fairly interpreted in terms of processes which stand lower in the scale of psychological evolution and development". The Romanes grave, Greyfriars Kirkyard in Edinburgh

The Romanes grave, Greyfriars Kirkyard in Edinburgh

As a young man, Romanes was a Christian, and some, including his religious wife, later said that he regained some of that belief during his final illness. In fact, he became an agnostic due to the influence of Darwin. In a manuscript left unfinished at the end of his life he said that the theory of evolution had caused him to abandon religion. Romanes founded a series of free public lectures, the Romanes Lectures, which continue to this day. He was a friend of

Thomas Henry Huxley Thomas Henry Huxley (4 May 1825 – 29 June 1895) was an English biologist and anthropologist specialising in comparative anatomy. He has become known as "Darwin's Bulldog" for his advocacy of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. The stori ...

, who gave the second Romanes lecture. Towards the end of his life, he returned to Christianity.McGrew T. 2009. "A Pilgrim's Regress: George John Romanes and the Search for Rational Faith" ''The Christendom Review'' 2 (2). He died in

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

on 23 May 1894. A memorial to Romanes exists in the north west corner of

Greyfriars Kirkyard Greyfriars Kirkyard is the graveyard surrounding Greyfriars Kirk in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located at the southern edge of the Old Town, adjacent to George Heriot's School. Burials have been taking place since the late 16th century, and a num ...

in Edinburgh on the grave of his parents.

Professional life

Romanes's and Darwin's relationship developed quickly and they became close friends. This relationship began when Romanes became Darwin's research assistant during the last eight years of Darwin's life. The association Romanes had with Darwin was essential in Darwin's later works. Therefore, Darwin confided volumes of unpublished work which Romanes later used to publish papers. Like Darwin, Romanes's theories were met with scepticism and were not accepted initially. The majority of Romanes's work attempted to make a connection between

animal consciousness Animal consciousness, or animal awareness, is the quality or state of self-awareness within a non-human animal, or of being aware of an external object or something within itself. In humans, consciousness has been defined as: sentience, aware ...

and

human consciousness Consciousness, at its simplest, is sentience and awareness of internal and external existence. However, the lack of definitions has led to millennia of analyses, explanations and debates by philosophers, theologians, linguisticians, and scient ...

. Some problems were encountered during his research that he addressed with the development of physiological selection. This was Romanes's answer to three objections to Darwin's isolation theory of speciation. These were: species characteristics that have no evolutionary purpose; the widespread fact of inter-specific sterility; and the need for varieties to escape the swamping effects of inter-crossing after permanent species are established. At the end of his career the majority of his work was directed towards the development of a relationship between intelligence and placement on an evolutionary tree. Romanes believed that the further along an organism was on an evolutionary standpoint, the more likely that organism would be to possess a higher level of functioning.

Family

Romanes was the last child born of three children from George Romanes and Isabella Cair Smith. The majority of his immediate and extended family were descendant from

Scottish Highland The Highlands ( sco, the Hielands; gd, a’ Ghàidhealtachd , 'the place of the Gaels') is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland S ...

tribes. His father, Reverend George Romanes, was a professor at Queens College in Kingston, Canada and taught Greek at the local university until the family moved back to England. Romanes and his wife Ethel Mary Duncan were married on 11 February 1879. They were happily married and studied together. Romanes was said to be an "ideal father" to their six children. Both Romanes' mother and father were involved in the

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

and

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of t ...

Church during his childhood. Romanes was baptised Anglican and was heavily involved with the Anglican teachings during his youth, despite the fact his parents were not heavily involved with any religion. It is speculated that Darwin may have been viewed as a father figure to Romanes. Darwin did not agree with the teachings of the Catholic Church because the fundamental teachings were not supported by his scientific findings at the time. This could explain Romanes' conversion to agnosticism.

Philosophical and political views

When Romanes attended Gonville and Caius College Cambridge, he entered into an essay contest on the topic of "Christian Prayer considered in relation to the belief that Almighty governs the world by general laws". Romanes did not have much hope in winning, but much to his surprise he took first place in this contest and received the Burney prize. After winning the Burney prize, Romanes came to the conclusion that he could no longer be faithful to his Christian religion due to his love and commitment for science. This is interesting due to the fact that when Romanes was growing up, his father was a Reverend. Therefore, Romanes went into great detail about religion and how all aspects of the mind need to be involved to be faithfully committed to religion in his book ''Thoughts on Religion''. He believed that you had to have an extremely high level of will to be dedicated to God or Christ.Romanes, G. J., & Gore, C. (1902). ''Thoughts on religion'' (5th ed.). Chicago, Ill.: Open court Pub. Co He had earlier published a book on the subject in general called ''A Candid Examination of Theism'', where he concluded that God's existence was not supported by the evidence, but stated his unhappiness with the fact.

Romanes on evolution

Romanes tackled the subject of evolution frequently. For the most part he supported

Darwinism Darwinism is a theory of biological evolution developed by the English naturalist Charles Darwin (1809–1882) and others, stating that all species of organisms arise and develop through the natural selection of small, inherited variations tha ...

and the role of

natural selection Natural selection is the differential survival and reproduction of individuals due to differences in phenotype. It is a key mechanism of evolution, the change in the heritable traits characteristic of a population over generations. Cha ...

. However, he perceived three problems with Darwinian evolution: #The difference between natural species and domesticated varieties in respect to fertility. his problem was especially pertinent to Darwin, who used the analogy of change in domesticated animals so frequently# Structures which serve to distinguish allied species are often without any known utilitarian significance. [taxonomists choose the most visible and least changeable features to identify a species, but there may be a host of other differences which though not useful to the taxonomist are significant in survival terms] # The swamping influence upon an incipient species-split of free inter-crossing. [Here we strike the problem which most perplexed Darwin, with his ideas of blending inheritance. It was solved by the rediscovery of

Mendelian genetics Mendelian inheritance (also known as Mendelism) is a type of biological inheritance following the principles originally proposed by Gregor Mendel in 1865 and 1866, re-discovered in 1900 by Hugo de Vries and Carl Correns, and later populari ...

, and the

modern synthesis Modern synthesis or modern evolutionary synthesis refers to several perspectives on evolutionary biology, namely: * Modern synthesis (20th century), the term coined by Julian Huxley in 1942 to denote the synthesis between Mendelian genetics and ...

which showed that particulate inheritance could underlie continuous variation. Romanes also made the acute point that Darwin had not actually shown how natural selection produced species, despite the title of his famous book (''

On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection On, on, or ON may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * On (band), a solo project of Ken Andrews * ''On'' (EP), a 1993 EP by Aphex Twin * ''On'' (Echobelly album), 1995 * ''On'' (Gary Glitter album), 2001 * ''On'' (Imperial Teen album), 200 ...

''). Natural selection could be the 'machine' for producing adaptation, but still in question was the mechanism for splitting species. Romanes' own solution to this was called 'physiological selection'. His idea was that variation in reproductive ability, caused mainly by the prevention of inter-crossing with parental forms, was the primary driving force in the production of new species. The majority view then (and now) was that geographical separation is the primary force in species splitting (or allopatry) and secondarily was the increased sterility of crosses between incipient species. Taking influence from Darwin, Romanes was a proponent of both natural selection and the inheritance of acquired characteristics. The latter was denied by

Alfred Russel Wallace Alfred Russel Wallace (8 January 1823 – 7 November 1913) was a British natural history, naturalist, explorer, geographer, anthropologist, biologist and illustrator. He is best known for independently conceiving the theory of evolution thro ...

, a strict selectionist. Romanes came into a dispute with Wallace over the definition of Darwinism.

Published works

When

died, Romanes defended Darwin's theories by attempting to rebut criticisms and attacks levied by other psychologists against the Darwinian school of thought. Romanes expanded on Darwin's theories of

evolution Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...

and

by advancing a theory of behaviour based on

. In ''Animal Intelligence,'' Romanes demonstrated similarities and dissimilarities between cognitive and physical functions of various animals.Abbott, C. (n.d.). George Romanes. ''Psychology History''. In ''Mental Evolution in Animals,'' Romanes illustrated the evolution of the cognitive and physical functions associated with animal life. Romanes believed that animal intelligence evolves through behavioural conditioning, or positive reinforcement. Romanes then published ''Mental Evolution in Man,'' which focused on the evolution of human cognitive and physical functions. In 1890, Romanes published ''Darwin, and After Darwin,'' where he attempted to explain the relationship between science and religion. All of his notes on this subject were left to

Charles Gore Charles Gore (22 January 1853 – 17 January 1932) was a Church of England bishop, first of Worcester, then Birmingham, and finally of Oxford. He was one of the most influential Anglican theologians of the 19th century, helping reconcile the c ...

. Gore used the notes in preparing ''Thoughts on Religion,'' and published the work under Romanes' name. ''The Life and Letters of George Romanes'' offers a semi-autobiographical account of Romanes's life.

Accomplishments

* 1879: Romanes was selected for the

. * 1886–1890: Romanes was a professor at

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 1 ...

. * 1892: When he was a professor at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

, Romanes created a series of lectures known as '' Romanes Lectures''.Rees, L. (2 November 2011). The Romanes Lecture – Lord Rees. ''- University of Oxford''. ** These lectures are currently still held once a year in memory of Romanes. * Romanes is also known for creating the following words and meanings: **

Anthropomorphism Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics t ...

: attributing human-like qualities to other animals.Marcum, A., & Bradley, M. (n.d.). Psyography: Biographies on Psychologists. ''Psyography: Biographies on Psychologists''. ** Anecdotal method: the use of observational methods to collect data on animal behaviour. * He developed the stepping stairs for

cognitive development Cognitive development is a field of study in neuroscience and psychology focusing on a child's development in terms of information processing, conceptual resources, perceptual skill, language learning, and other aspects of the developed adult bra ...

References

Publications

''The Scientific Evidences of Organic Evolution,''
Macmillan and Co., 1882 st Pub. 1877
''Candid Examination of Theism,''
Trübner & Co., 1878 seudonymously published as Physicus
''Animal Intelligence,''
D. Appleton and Company, 1892 st Pub. 1882
''Mental Evolution in Animals, with a Posthumous Essay on Instinct by Charles Darwin,''
Kegan Paul, Trench & Co., 1883.
''Jelly-Fish, Star-Fish and Sea Urchins, Being a Research on Primitive Nervous Systems,''
K. Paul, Trench & Co., 1885.

The Journal of the Linnean Society, Vol. 19, 1886.
''Mental Evolution in Man,''
Kegan Paul, Trench & Co., 1888. * ''Darwin, and after Darwin,'' (1892–97, a work of significance for historians of evolution theory): *
''The Darwinian Theory,''
The Open Court Publishing Company, 1910 st Pub. 1892 *
''Post-Darwinian Questions: Heredity and Utility,''
The Open Court Publishing Company, 1906 st Pub. 1895 *
''Post-Darwinian Questions: Isolation and Physiological Selection,''
The Open Court Publishing Company, 1914 st Pub. 1897
''Mind and Motion and Monism,''
Longmans, Green, and Co., 1895.
''An Examination of Weismannism,''
The Open Court Publishing company, 1893 (

August Weismann August Friedrich Leopold Weismann FRS (For), HonFRSE, LLD (17 January 18345 November 1914) was a German evolutionary biologist. Fellow German Ernst Mayr ranked him as the second most notable evolutionary theorist of the 19th century, after Cha ...

was the leading evolutionary theoretician at the turn of the 19th century).
''Thoughts on Religion,''
Longmans, Green & Co., 1895.
''Essays,''
Longmans, Green & Co., 1897.

Articles

"Christian Prayer and General Laws: Being the Burney Prize Essay for the Year 1873,"
Macmillan & Co., 1874.
"Fetichism in Animals,"
''Nature,'' 27 December 1877.
"Recreation,"
''The Nineteenth Century,'' Vol. VI, July/December 1879.
"Suicide,"
''Nature,'' December 1881.
"American Ants,"
''Nature,'' 2 March 1882.
"Nature and Thought,"
''The Contemporary Review,'' Vol. XLIII, June 1883.
"Man and Brute,"
''The North American Review,'' Vol. 139, No. 333, Aug. 1884. * "Mind in Men and Animals," ''The North American Review,'' March 1885.
"Physiological Selection,"
''The Nineteenth Century,'' Vol. XXI, January/June 1887.
"Mental Differences Between Men and Women,"
''The Nineteenth Century,'' Vol. XXI, January/June 1887.
"Concerning Women,"
''The Forum,'' Vol. IV, 1887.
"Recent Critics of Darwinism,"
''The Contemporary Review,'' Vol. LIII, January/June 1888.
"Mr. Wallace on Darwinism,"
''The Contemporary Review,'' Vol. LVI, July/December 1889.
"Weismann's Theory of Heredity,"
''The Contemporary Review,'' Vol. LVII, January/June 1890.
"Mr. A. R. Wallace on Physiological Selection,"
''The Monist,'' Vol. I, N°. 1, October 1890.
"Origin of Human Faculty,"
''Brain; a Journal of Neurology,'' Vol. XII, 1890.
"The Psychic Life of Micro-Organisms,"
''The Open Court,'' Vol. IV, 1890–1891.
"Aristotle as a Naturalist,"
''The Contemporary Review,'' Vol. LIX, January/June 1891.
"Thought and Language,"
Part II, ''The Monist,'' Vol. 2, No. 1, October 1891; No. 3, April 1892.
"Critical Remarks on Weismannism,"
''The Open Court,'' Vol. VII, N°. 313, August 1893.
"Weismann and Galton,"
''The Open Court,'' Vol. VII, N°. 315, September 1893.
"A Note on Panmixia,"
''The Contemporary Review,'' Vol. LXIV, July/December 1893.
"Longevity and Death,"
''The Monist,'' Vol. V, N°. 2, January 1895.
"The Darwinism of Darwin, and of the Post-Darwinian Schools,"
''The Monist,'' Vol. VI, N°. 1, October 1895.
"Isolation in Organic Evolution,"
''The Monist,'' Vol. VIII, 1898.

Miscellany

''Observations on the Locomotor System of Echinodermata,''
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Vol. 172, Part III, 1882.
''Darwinism Illustrated: Wood-engravings Explanatory of the Theory of Evolution,''
The Open Court Publishing Company, 1892.
''A Selection from the Poems of George John Romanes,''
Longmans, Green & Co., 1896.

External links

* Works by George Romanes at

Wikisource Wikisource is an online digital library of free-content textual sources on a wiki, operated by the Wikimedia Foundation. Wikisource is the name of the project as a whole and the name for each instance of that project (each instance usually re ...

Catalogue of the Papers of George John Romanes, 1867–1927
* *

Pilgrim's Regress by George Romanes

* ttp://post.queensu.ca/~forsdyke/evolutio.htm Evolution by Romanes {{DEFAULTSORT:Romanes, George 1848 births 1894 deaths 19th-century British people 19th-century English people Academics of University College London Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge British zoologists English zoologists Ethologists Evolutionary biologists Fellows of the Royal Society Fullerian Professors of Physiology Pre-Confederation Ontario people