by Joanna C. Yates NWCDTP AHRC-Funded PhD Candidate, Keele University

Joanne Yates will consider the relationship between Erasmus Darwin’s ‘Commonplace Book’ and his philosophical position as reflected in his published works. The entries Darwin recorded within this object can be divided relatively evenly into three general categories: Medical Practice, Natural History (including science and weather), and Engineering (designs and inventions). The first category contains entries that detail medical case histories, describe treatments founded in contemporary medicine, and posit the application of new science to effect more patient-centred cures. The second category, containing Darwin’s observations on Natural History, includes experimental and theoretical science, and postulations on possible casual relationships exemplified in biological life-cycles and global weather systems. Finally, the entries grouped as Engineering offer a repository of numerous diagrams, descriptions, and examinations of practical and theoretical mechanical inventions. From this deconstructed perspective, the book can be regarded as a record of a historical moment and a testament to Enlightenment thought and practice on a huge scale. However, the material object as a whole can be considered a micro-archive through which Darwin engages in the production and authorisation of his philosophical oeuvre. This lecture will consider how the ‘Commonplace Book’ contributes to the interpretation of Darwin’s overall philosophy, as reflected in his final and comprehensive work, The Temple of Nature.

Book tickets here