Norman Douglas and the Scientific Spirit

167 NORIIAN DOUGLAS AND THE SCIENTIFIC SPIRIT By Evelyn A. Flory (Queensborough Community College, CUNY) Writing in I89O, Havelock Ellis optimistically heralded "the new spirit" of the age - the scientific spirit, which he characterized as "open-eyed, sensitive observation, not pretending to know prematurely , ready to throw away all prepossessions and to follow Nature whithersoever her caprices lead." As Ellis recognized, the intellectual life of the latter nineteenth century - philosophy , religion,.public affairs, art, and literature - was being wrenched into new forms by the dynamic force of modern science, especially by the concepts of Darwin and his followers. In these years it was not unusual for men of letters to be men of science as well - Hudson, Wells, Tomlinson, even Lawrence in his youth, and Norman Douglas. Douglas began his long and varied career as a student of the natural sciences and pursued those interests with enthusiasm almost until his thirtieth year. At an early age he acquired both the scientific habit of mind - he kept notebooks and was reading Lyell at eleven!2 - and a storehouse of scientific knowledge. During his formative years (1868-1883), the magnificent Vorarlberg countryside afforded him inexhaustible opportunities for exploring woods and mountains, for collecting wild flowers, butterflies, stones, birds' eggs, and animals. Moreover, while he was yet a child, he was encouraged in the study of geology by his father, whom he greatly admired, and later in ornithology and taxidermy by other mentors. During his adolescence and early manhood, Douglas's "natural history mania" (Looking Back, p. 206) reached its apogee. His formal education at Karlsruhe (1883-1889) and his fledgling career in the diplomatic service (I889-I896) were all but overshadowed by geological and biological research, extensive field trips, the publication of scientific articles, and friendships with scientists throughout Europe. Not until he left Russia for Italy in I896 did his interest in the scientific study of nature begin to wane. By that time, however, the scientific spirit had become an inseparable part of his personality and his attitudes toward life.3 The most tangible products of the busy, happy years of Douglas's youth were eight scientific articles. Published between February 1886 and December 1895, the articles were rooted in a scientific milieu dominated by orthodox Darwinian thought. Indeed, all eight were concerned with questions raised by The Origin of Species. "Variation of Plumage in the Corvidae"^ and "Variation of Colour in the European Squirrel"-' tersely recorded Douglas's observations of unusual white markings - instances of partial albinism, a focal point in the study of heredity. "Present Distribution of the Beaver in Europe,"" "Zur Fauna Santorins,"' and "Contributions to 168 an Avifauna of Baden"° pinpointed information on the geographical distribution of various species. "Der Moorfrosch, Rana arvalls, bei Karlsruhe"9 and "On the Herpetology of the Grand Duchy of Baden"1" - both papers of intrinsic scientific interest - dealt with the variety of species. Even "On the Darwinian Hypothesis of Sexual Selection,"11 though unorthodox in its solution, pursued the problem that was central to all biology between the years I860 and I9OO - heredity. Thus the long shadow of Darwin fell fully upon Douglas. Indeed, although he lived to see the nuclear age, he retained throughout life a philosophy shaped by Darwinian concepts. Douglas's youthful interest in and ability for the natural sciences is attested to by his success in publishing in well-regarded journals like The Zoologist. At the same time the fact that distinguished scientists in Würzburg, Naples, London, Helgoland, Athens, and St. Gallen welcomed him to their laboratories and corresponded with him suggests that he was regarded as a young man of promise. The best instance of Douglas's promise as a potential scientist, however, was his last article. His only closely reasoned treatment of scientific theory, "On the Darwinian Hypothesis" exhibited an independence of judgment that has not been recognized in Douglas criticism. Essentially, the paper challenged the accepted Darwinian explanation of male secondary sexual characteristics - coloration, markings, and related patterns of behavior like "nuptial flights." Darwin had assumed that female creatures selected their mates by choosing the most beautiful or the best performers , thus ensuring the transmission of these qualities to their progeny. Uneasy with...