Editing Thomas Henry Huxley (section)

==Huxley and the humanities==
[[File:Huxley Collected Essays.png|thumb|Collected essays of Huxley]]
During his life, and especially in the last ten years after retirement, Huxley wrote on many issues relating to the humanities.<ref>{{Harvnb|Barr|1997|}}</ref><ref>Paradis, James G. ''T. H. Huxley: Man's place in nature''. University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln 1978.</ref><ref>Peterson, Houston 1932. ''Huxley: prophet of science''. Longmans Green, London.</ref><ref>Huxley T. H. 1893-4. ''Collected essays'': vol 4 ''Science and Hebrew tradition''; vol 5 ''Science and Christian tradition''; vol 6 ''Hume, with helps to the study of Berkeley''; vol 7 ''Man's place in nature''; vol 9: ''Evolution and ethics, and other essays''. Macmillan, London.</ref>

Perhaps the best known of these topics is ''Evolution and Ethics'', which deals with the question of whether biology has anything particular to say about moral philosophy. Both Huxley and his grandson [[Julian Huxley]] gave [[Romanes Lecture]]s on this theme.<ref>Huxley T.H. and Huxley J. 1947. ''Evolution and ethics 1893–1943''. Pilot, London. In USA as ''Touchstone for ethics'', Harper, N.Y. [includes text from the Romanes lectures of both T. H. Huxley and Julian Huxley]</ref><ref>Paradis, James & Williams, George C 1989. ''Evolution and Ethics: T. H. Huxley's 'Evolution and Ethics', with new essays on its Victorian and sociobiological context''. Princeton, N.J.</ref><ref>Reed J. R. 'Huxley and the question of morality'. In {{Harvnb|Barr|1997|}}</ref> For a start, Huxley dismisses religion as a source of [[moral authority]]. Next, he believes the mental characteristics of man are as much a product of evolution as the physical aspects. Thus, human emotions, intellect, and tendency to prefer living in groups and spending resources on raising young are part and parcel of human evolution and therefore [[Heredity|inherit]]ed.

Despite this, the ''details'' of human values and ethics are not inherited: they are partly determined by human culture, and partly chosen on an individual basis. Morality and duty are often at war with natural instincts; ethics cannot be derived from the ''struggle for existence'': "Of moral purpose I see not a trace in nature. That is an article of exclusively human manufacture."<ref>{{Harvnb|Huxley|1900|}} vol. 2, p. 285.</ref> It is therefore an individual's responsibility to make ethical choices (see [[Ethics]] and [[Evolutionary ethics]]). This seems to put Huxley as a [[Compatibilism|compatibilist]] in the [[Free will|Free Will]] vs [[Determinism]] debate. In this argument, Huxley is diametrically opposed to his long-time friend [[Herbert Spencer]].

Huxley's dissection of [[Jean Jacques Rousseau|Rousseau]]'s views on man and society is another example of his later work. The essay undermines Rousseau's ideas on man as a preliminary to undermining his ideas on the ownership of property. Characteristic is: "The doctrine that all men are, in any sense, or have been, at any time, free and equal, is an utterly baseless fiction."<ref>Huxley T. H. 1890. The natural inequality of man. ''Nineteenth Century'' January; reprinted in ''Collected Essays'' vol. 1, p. 290–335.</ref>

Huxley's method of argumentation (his strategy and tactics of persuasion in speech and print) is itself much studied.<ref>{{Harvnb|Jensen|1991|}}</ref> His career included controversial debates with scientists, clerics and politicians; persuasive discussions with Royal Commissions and other public bodies; lectures and articles for the general public, and a mass of detailed letter-writing to friends and other correspondents. A large number of textbooks have excerpted his prose for anthologies.<ref>{{Harvnb|Jensen|1991|}}, p. 196.</ref>