The Haeckelian hijack of Darwinian deism

Abstract

Ernst Haeckel (1834–1919) is most recalled in the history of biology for his Recapitulation Theory and the allegedly fudged illustrations of embryos that he presented in support of that case. Less well known is his contribution to abiogenesis theory, which he incorporated into evolutionary theory. In so doing, Haeckel, a vitriolic atheist, was instrumental in inserting atheism into the evolutionary mindset. While anti-evolution propaganda commonly makes Darwin out to be the villain of the piece, the association of evolution in the broad sense of the word with atheism arises more from the Haeckelian legacy than from Darwin’s initially conciliatory deism or Huxley’s non-committal agnosticism. © 2019 Royal Society of Biology.