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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Alfred Russel Wallace Notes 14: Background For Wallace's 1845 Kington Essay, Charles H. Smith
Alfred Russel Wallace Notes 14: Background For Wallace's 1845 Kington Essay, Charles H. Smith
Faculty/Staff Personal Papers
‘An Essay, On the Best Method of Conducting the Kington Mechanic's Institution’ is one of the earliest written works by Alfred Russel Wallace (1823−1913) known to have reached print. The circumstances of its writing are still not clear, though I here review pertaining facts and theories that seem to indicate Wallace actually was the author of the essay, which had been questioned.
Alfred Russel Wallace Notes 13: Wallace On Prayer, Charles H. Smith
Alfred Russel Wallace Notes 13: Wallace On Prayer, Charles H. Smith
Faculty/Staff Personal Papers
Alfred Russel Wallace (1823−1913) is known to most for his natural history explorations and theoretical biology, but he also developed thoughts on a number of subjects relatable to a wider appreciation of evolutionary cosmology. His adoption of spiritualism, for one, was attuned to this mission, and in turn his otherwise difficult-to-interpret two-sided position on prayer.
Alfred Russel Wallace Notes 12: How Good Was Wallace's Memory?, Charles H. Smith
Alfred Russel Wallace Notes 12: How Good Was Wallace's Memory?, Charles H. Smith
Faculty/Staff Personal Papers
Alfred Russel Wallace (1823−1913) continues to be criticized for inconsistencies in his recollections of the earlier events in his life. This criticism, while not entirely unjust, has nevertheless been overplayed. Critics have not attended to the general understanding that self-biography is under the influence of two aspects of memory: that pertaining to remembrance of the qualities of past situations, and a secondary ability to assign absolutes of name or date to such memories. All evidence suggests that Wallace’s memory in the first sense was excellent throughout his life, but that he was prone to lapses of the second type.