Ronald Campbell Macfie (1867–1931) was a Scottish

medical doctor A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the study, diagnosis, prognosis ...

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

and science writer specialising in

eugenics Eugenics is a set of largely discredited beliefs and practices that aim to improve the genetic quality of a human population. Historically, eugenicists have attempted to alter the frequency of various human phenotypes by inhibiting the fer ...

and

evolution Evolution is the change in the heritable Phenotypic trait, characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. It occurs when evolutionary processes such as natural selection and genetic drift act on genetic variation, re ...

. Macfie was a critic of

Darwinism ''Darwinism'' is a term used to describe a theory of biological evolution developed by the English naturalist Charles Darwin (1809–1882) and others. The theory states that all species of organisms arise and develop through the natural sel ...

and developed his own non-Darwinian evolution theory which was a form of neovitalism. He believed that chance played no role in evolution and that evolution was directed. Macfie was also a panpsychist as he believed mind was to be found in all matter.

Biography

He was a Scottish physician and writer. He had qualified in medicine in Aberdeen in 1897 and specialised in the treatment of tuberculosis. He was also a Liberal Member of

British Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of ...

mentioned in ''The Bookman Treasury of Living Poets'' (4th edition 1931) as a contributor to such works as ''Fairy Tales for Old and Young (1909), and The

Golden Treasury of Scottish Poetry ''The Golden Treasury of Scottish Poetry'' was edited by Hugh MacDiarmid, and published in 1940. From the introduction: ''The difference … between this anthology and all previous anthologies of Scottish poetry — is that some little effort ...

(1940)''. Among his works are "Man’s Record in the Rocks" ('' My Magazine'', May 1921) '' The Art of Keeping Well'' Cassell & Co. 1918/

The Vegetarian Society The Vegetarian Society of the United Kingdom (VSUK) is a British registered charity. It campaigns for dietary changes, licenses Vegetarian Society Approved trademarks for vegetarian and vegan products, runs a cookery school and lottery, and or ...

and ''Evolutionary Consequences of War'' (cited below). Campbell Macfie suggested that male war deaths (during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

) would create a surplus of fertile women, thus reducing the overall birthrate whilst the surviving men would select partners from a wide range of 'surplus' females according to eugenically (sexually) attractive characteristics. He averred that:

Books published

*''The Romance of Medicine'' (1907)
''Air and Health''
(1909)
Matter, and Immortality''
(1909)
''The Titanic: (An Ode of Immortality)''
(1912)
''Heredity, Evolution, and Vitalism''
(1912) *''The Romance of the Human Body'' (1919)
''War: an Ode and Other Poems''
(1920) *''Sunshine and Health'' (1927) *
The Faiths and Heresies of a Poet and Scientist
' (1932) *''The Theology of Evolution'' (1933)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Macfie, R, C 1867 births 1931 deaths 19th-century Scottish medical doctors 20th-century Scottish medical doctors Non-Darwinian evolution Panpsychism Scottish science writers Vitalists

Biography

Books published

See also

References