James Burnett, Lord Monboddo (25 October 1714 – 26 May 1799) was a
ScottishScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
judgeA judge, or arbiter of justice, is a lead official who presides over a court of law, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is like an umpire in a game and...
, scholar of
linguistic evolutionEvolutionary linguistics is the scientific study of the origins and development of language. The main challenge in this research is the lack of empirical data: spoken language leaves no traces. This led to an abandonment of the field for more than a century...
, philosopher and deist. He is most famous today as a founder of modern comparative historical
linguisticsLinguistics is the scientific study of natural language. Linguistics encompasses a number of sub-fields. An important topical division is between the study of language structure and the study of meaning...
(Hobbs 1992). In 1767 he became a judge in the
Court of SessionThe Court of Session is the supreme civil court of Scotland. It is both a court of first instance and a court of appeal and sits exclusively in Parliament House in Edinburgh.The Sheriff Court is the other Scottish civil court; this sits locally...
. As such, Burnett adopted an honorary title based on his father's estate,
Monboddo HouseMonboddo House is a historically famous mansion in The Mearns, Scotland. The structure was generally associated with the Burnett of Leys family. The property itself was owned by the Barclay family from the 13th century, at which time a tower house structure was erected...
. Monboddo was one of a number of scholars involved at the time in development of early concepts of
evolutionIn biology, evolution is change in the genetic material of a population of organisms from one generation to the next. Though changes produced in any one generation are normally small, differences accumulate with each generation and can, over time, cause substantial changes in the population, a...
. Some credit him with anticipating in principle the idea of
natural selectionNatural selection is the process by which heritable traits that make it more likely for an organism to survive and successfully reproduce become more common in a population over successive generations...
that was developed into a
scientific theoryThe term theory has two broad sets of meanings, one used in the empirical sciences and the other used in philosophy, mathematics, logic, and across other fields in the humanities. There is considerable difference and even dispute across academic disciplines as to the proper usages of the term...
by
Charles DarwinCharles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist who realised and presented compelling evidence that all species of life have evolved over time from common ancestors, through the process he called natural selection...
(Watt 1985; Bailey 2005; Cloyd 1972), and others do not.
Early years
James Burnett was born in 1714 at
Monboddo HouseMonboddo House is a historically famous mansion in The Mearns, Scotland. The structure was generally associated with the Burnett of Leys family. The property itself was owned by the Barclay family from the 13th century, at which time a tower house structure was erected...
in
KincardineshireThe County of Kincardine, also known as Kincardineshire or The Mearns was a local government county on the coast of northeast Scotland...
,
ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. After his primary education at the parish school of
LaurencekirkLaurencekirk is a small town in the ancient county of Kincardineshire, modern county of Aberdeenshire, Scotland, just off the A90 Dundee to Aberdeen main road. It is the largest settlement in the Howe o' the Mearns area and houses the local secondary school; Mearns Academy, which was awarded the...
, he studied at
Marischal CollegeMarischal College is a building and former university in the city of Aberdeen, Scotland owned by the University of Aberdeen. Marischal College and University of Aberdeen was founded in the late 16th century, merging with King's College in 1860 to form the University of Aberdeen.Marischal College...
,
AberdeenAberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city and one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. It has an official population estimate of .Nicknames include the Granite City, the Grey City and the Silver City with the Golden Sands...
from where he graduated in 1729. He also studied at Edinburgh University and the
University of GroningenThe University of Groningen , located in the city of Groningen, was founded in 1614. It is one of the oldest universities in the world and one of the largest universities in the Netherlands. Since its inception more than 100,000 students have graduated...
. At Edinburgh University he graduated in law and was admitted to the
Faculty of AdvocatesThe Faculty of Advocates is an independent body of lawyers who have been admitted to practise as advocates before the courts of Scotland, especially the Court of Session and the High Court of Justiciary...
in 1737.
Burnett married Elizabethe Farquharson and they had two daughters and a son. Burnett's youngest daughter Elizabeth Burnett was an
EdinburghEdinburgh is the capital city of Scotland. It is the second largest Scottish city, after Glasgow, and the seventh-most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas....
celebrity, known for her beauty and amiability. Tragically she died of
consumptionTuberculosis is a common and often deadly infectious disease caused by mycobacteria...
at the age of 25. Burnett's friend
Robert BurnsRobert Burns was a Scottish poet and a lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland, and is celebrated worldwide...
had a romantic interest in Eliza and wrote a poem,
Elegy on the late Miss Burnet of Monboddo, referencing her beauty and which ultimately became her
elegyAn elegy is a mournful, melancholic or plaintive poem, especially a funeral song or a lament for the dead.-History:The term "elegy" originally denoted a type of poetic meter . It commonly describes a poem of mourning, from the Greek elegeia derived from elegos —a reflection on the death of someone...
.
His early work in practising law found him in a landmark litigation of his time, called the Douglas case. The matter involved the inheritance standing of a young heir and took on the form of a mystery novel of the era, with a complex web of events spanning
ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
,
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
and
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Burnett, as the solicitor for the young Douglas heir, was victorious after years of legal battle and appeals.
Later years as patron of the arts and Court of Session Justice
From 1754 until 1767 Monboddo was one of a number of distinguished proprietors of the
CanongateThe Canongate is a small district at the heart of Edinburgh, the capital city of Scotland. The main street running through the area is called Canongate without the definite article, "the". Canongate, the street, forms the lower part of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh's historic Old Town. Until formal...
Theatre. He clearly enjoyed this endeavour even when some of his fellow judges pointed out that the activity might cast a shadow over his sombre image as jurist. Here he had occasion to further associate with
David HumeDavid Hume was a Scottish philosopher, economist, historian and a key figure in the history of Western philosophy and the Scottish Enlightenment...
who was a principal actor in one of the plays. He had actually met Hume earlier when Monboddo was a curator of the Advocates Library and David Hume served as keeper of that library for several years while he wrote his history.
In the era after Monboddo was appointed to Justice of the high court, he organised "learned suppers" at his house on 13 St John Street (Grant, 1880), where he discussed and lectured about his theories. Local intellectuals were invited to attend attic repasts, regular guests including Burns,
Samuel JohnsonSamuel Johnson , often referred to as Dr. Johnson, was an English author who made lasting contributions to English literature as a poet, essayist, moralist, novelist, literary critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer. Johnson was a devout Anglican and political conservative, and has been...
and
James BoswellJames Boswell, 9th Laird of Auchinleck was a lawyer, diarist, and author born in Edinburgh, Scotland; he is best known for his biography of Samuel Johnson...
.
Henry Home, Lord KamesHenry Home, Lord Kames was a Scottish philosopher of the 18th century. Born at Kames House, between Eccles and Birgham, Berwickshire, and educated at home by a private tutor, he became an advocate and was one of the leaders of the Scottish Enlightenment...
was conspicuously absent from such socializing; while Kames and Monboddo served on the high court at the same time and had numerous interactions, they were staunch intellectual rivals. Monboddo rode to London on horseback each year and visited Hampton Court as well as other intellectuals of the era; the King himself was fond of Monboddo's colourful discussions (Watt, 1985). Monboddo is buried in
Greyfriars KirkGreyfriars Kirk, today Greyfriars Tolbooth & Highland Kirk, is a parish kirk of the Church of Scotland in central Edinburgh, Scotland. Its name reflects a pre-Reformation association with the Franciscan order, the Grey Friars....
yard in Edinburgh along with his daughter Eliza.
Historical linguistics
In
The Origin and Progress of Language he painstakingly analyses the structure of primitive and modern languages that argues that mankind had evolved
languageA language is a system for encoding and decoding information. In its most common use, the term refers to so-called "natural languages" — the forms of communication considered peculiar to humankind. In linguistics the term is extended to refer to the human cognitive facility of creating and using...
skills in response to his changing environment and altering social structures. His work in language evolution departed radically from then existing theories. This analysis was totally remarkable, since Burnett was partially deaf. He was intrigued with the systematics he discovered in codifying a multitude of primitive languages. Burnett was the first to discover that
primitive languageEvolutionary linguistics is the scientific study of the origins and development of language. The main challenge in this research is the lack of empirical data: spoken language leaves no traces. This led to an abandonment of the field for more than a century...
s create unnecessarily lengthy words for rather simple concepts. He reasoned that in early languages there was an imperative for clarity, so that redundancy was built in and seemingly unnecessary syllables added. He concluded that this form of language evolved as a method of survival when clear communication might be the determinant of avoiding danger. He demonstrated that he was aware of the advantages to those peoples who could develop superior language skills. This quasi-evolutionary idea, whilst common today, was then unusual. Burnett himself was deeply religious and often digressed to credit God with the divine first mover concept as argued in a similar vein by
AristotleAristotle was a Greek philosopher, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. He wrote on many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology.Together with Plato and Socrates , Aristotle is one of...
.
Monboddo studied in great detail the languages of peoples colonised by Europeans, including those of the
CaribCarib, Island Carib or Kalinago people, after whom the Caribbean Sea was named, live in the Lesser Antilles islands. They are an Amerindian people whose origins lie in the southern West Indies and the northern coast of South America....
,
EskimoEskimos or Esquimaux are indigenous peoples who have traditionally inhabited the circumpolar region from eastern Siberia , across Alaska and Canada, and all of Greenland....
, Huron,
AlgonquinThe Algonquins are aboriginal/First Nations inhabitants of North American who speak Algonquin. Culturally and linguistically, they are closely related to the Odawa and Ojibwe, with whom they form the larger Anicinàpe grouping...
,
PeruvianThis article is about the demographic features of the population of Peru, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population....
(
QuechuaQuechua is a Native American language family spoken primarily in the Andes of South America, derived from an original common ancestor language, Proto-Quechua. It is the most widely spoken language family of the indigenous peoples of the Americas, with a total of probably some 6 to 8 million speakers...
?) and
TahitianTahitian, a Tahitic language, spoken by Tahitians, is one of the two official languages of French Polynesia . It is an Eastern Polynesian language closely related to Rarotongan, New Zealand Māori, and Hawaiian.- Alphabet :...
peoples. He was the first to see the preponderance of polysyllabic words, where some of his predecessors had dismissed primitive language as a series of monosyllabic grunts. He also made the astute observation that in Huron (or Wyandot) the words for very similar objects are astoundingly different. This fact led Monboddo to understand that primitive peoples needed to communicate reliably regarding a more limited number of subjects than in modern civilizations, which led to the polysyllabic and redundant nature of many words. He was also apparently the first to establish that primitive languages are generally vowel rich; correspondingly, very late advanced languages such as German and English are vowel starved. Partially this disparity arises from the greater vocabulary of modern languages and the decreased need for the polysyllabic content.
Monboddo also traced the evolution of modern
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
an languages and gave particularly great effort to understanding the ancient
Greek languageGreek , an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, is the language of the Greeks. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. In its ancient form, it is the language of classical...
, in which he was proficient. He argued that Greek is the most perfect language ever established because of its complex structure and tonality, rendering it capable of expressing a wide gamut of nuances. Monboddo was the first to formulate what is now known as the single-origin hypothesis, the theory that all human origin was from a single region of the earth; he reached this conclusion by reasoning from linguistic evolution (Jones, 1789). This theory is evidence of his thinking on the topic of the
evolutionIn biology, evolution is change in the genetic material of a population of organisms from one generation to the next. Though changes produced in any one generation are normally small, differences accumulate with each generation and can, over time, cause substantial changes in the population, a...
of man.
Evolutionary theorist
Monboddo is considered by some scholars (Cloyd 1972; Gray 1929; Lovejoy 1933; Watt 1985; Bailey 2005; and
Encyclopædia Britannica) as a precursive thinker in the theory of evolution. However, modern evolutionary historians do not give Monboddo an equally high standing in the influence of
history of evolutionary thoughtEvolutionary thought, the conception that species change over time, has roots in antiquity, in the ideas of the ancient Greeks, Romans, and Chinese as well as in medieval Islamic science. However, until the 18th century, Western biological thinking was dominated by essentialism, the belief that...
.
- "Monboddo: Scottish jurist and pioneer anthropologist who explored the origins of language and society and anticipated principles of Darwinian evolution." Encyclopedia Brittanica
- "With some wavering, he extended Rousseau's
Jean Jacques Rousseau was a major philosopher, writer, and composer of the eighteenth-century Enlightenment, whose political philosophy influenced the French Revolution and the development of modern political and educational thought.His novel, Emile: or, On Education, which he considered his most...
doctrine of the identity of species of man and the chimp into the hypothesis of common descent of all the anthropoids, and suggested by implication a general law of evolution." Lovejoy.
Charles Neaves, Lord Neaves, one of Monboddo's successors on the high court of Scotland believed that proper credit (Neaves, 1875) was not given to Monboddo in evolutionary theory development. Neaves wrote in verse:
- "Though Darwin now proclaims the law
- And spreads it far abroad, O!
- The man that first the secret saw
- Was honest old Monboddo.
- The architect precedence takes
- Of him that bears the hod, O!
- So up and at them, Land of Cakes,
- We'll vindicate Monboddo."
Erasmus DarwinErasmus Darwin was an English physician who turned down the invitation of George III for him to be a Royal Physician. He was also a natural philosopher, physiologist, abolitionist, inventor and poet...
notes Monboddo's work in his publications (Darwin 1803). Later writers (Cloyd 1972; Gray 1929) consider Monboddo's analysis as precursive to the theory of Evolution. Whether Charles Darwin read Monboddo is not certain. Monboddo debated with
BuffonGeorges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon was a French naturalist, mathematician, cosmologist and encyclopedic author. His collected information influenced the next two generations of naturalists, including Jean-Baptiste Lamarck and Georges Cuvier...
regarding man's relationship to other primates. Charles Darwin did not mention Monboddo, but commented on Buffon: "the first author who in modern times has treated [evolution] in a scientific spirit was Buffon". Buffon thought that man was a species unrelated to lower primates, but Monboddo rejected Buffon's analysis and argued that the anthropoidal ape must be related to the species of man: he sometimes referred to the anthropoidal ape as the "brother of man". Monboddo suffered a setback, in his standing on evolutionary thought, because he claimed that men had caudal appendages; some historians failed to take him very seriously after that remark, even though Monboddo was known to bait his critics with preposterous sayings.
Bailey's
The Holly and the Horn (Bailey 2005) states that "Charles Darwin was to some degree influenced by the theories of Monboddo, who deserves the title of Evolutionist more than that of Eccentric." Henderson says:
- "He [Monboddo] was a minor celebrity in Edinburgh because he was considered to be very eccentric. But he actually came up with the idea that men may have evolved instead of being created by God. His views were dismissed because people thought he was mad and in those days it was a very controversial view to hold. But he felt it was a logical possibility and it caused him a great deal of consternation. He actually did not want to believe the theory because he was a very religious person."
Monboddo may be the first person to associate language skills evolving from
primateA primate is a member of the biological order Primates , the group that contains lemurs, lorisids, galagos, tarsiers, monkeys, and apes, with the last category including great apes. With the exception of humans, who inhabit every continent on Earth, most primates live in tropical or subtropical...
s and continuing to evolve in primitive man (Monboddo, 1773). He writes about how the language capability has altered over time in the form not only of skills but physical form of the sound producing organs (mouth, vocal cords, tongue, throat), suggesting he had formed the concept of evolutionary adaptive change.
He also elaborates on the advantages created by the adaptive change of primates to their environment and even to the evolving complexity of primate social structures. In 1772 in a letter to James Harris, Monboddo articulated that his theory of language evolution (Harris 1772) was simply a part of the manner that man had advanced from the lower animals, a clear precedent of evolutionary thought. Furthermore, he established a detailed theory of how man adaptively acquired language in order to cope better with his environment and social needs. He argued that the development of language was linked to a procession of events: first developing use of tools, then social structures and finally language. This concept was quite striking for his era, because it departed from the classical religious thinking that man was created instantaneously and language revealed by God. In fact, Monboddo was deeply religious and pointed out that the creation events were probably simply allegories and did not dispute that the universe was created by God. Monboddo was a vigorous opponent of other scientific thinking that philosophically questioned the role of God (see Monboddo's prolific diatribes on Newton's theories).
As an agriculturist and horse-breeder, Monboddo was quite aware of the significance of selective breeding and even transferred this breeding theory to communications he had with
James BoswellJames Boswell, 9th Laird of Auchinleck was a lawyer, diarist, and author born in Edinburgh, Scotland; he is best known for his biography of Samuel Johnson...
in Boswell's selection of a mate. Monboddo has stated in his own works that degenerative qualities can be inherited by successive generations and that by selective choice of mates, creatures can improve the next generation in a biological sense. This suggests that Monboddo understood the role of natural processes in evolution;
artificial selectionArtificial selection describes intentional breeding for certain traits, or combination of traits. The term was utilized by Charles Darwin in contrast to natural selection, in which the differential reproduction of organisms with certain traits is attributed to improved survival or reproductive...
was the starting-point for many of the proto-evolutionary thinkers, and for Darwin himself.
Monboddo struggled with how to "get man from an animal" (Cloyd) without divine intervention. This is typical of the kind of thinking which is called
deist. He developed an entire theory of language evolution around the Egyptian civilization to assist in his understanding of how man descended from animals, since he explained the flowering of language upon the spinoff of the Egyptians imparting language skills to other cultures. Monboddo cast man in his primitive state to be a wild, solitary, herbivorous
quadrupedQuadrupedalism is a form of land animal locomotion using four limbs or legs. An animal or machine that usually moves in a quadrupedal manner is known as a quadruped, meaning "four feet"...
. He believed that contemporary man suffered many diseases because he had removed himself from his natural state in the environment of being unclothed and exposed to extreme swings in
climateClimate encompasses the statistics of temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, rainfall, atmospheric particle count and numerous other meteorological elements in a given region over long periods of time...
.
Burnett wrote of numerous races of man in primitive areas (mostly based upon accounts of explorers); for example, he described the semi-human races "insensibles" and "wood eaters" in
Of the Origin and Progress of Language. He was fascinated by the nature of these peoples' language development and also how they fit into the evolutionary scheme.
The modern attitude to Monboddo and evolution
Against all this, Monboddo's contribution to evolution is today regarded by historians of evolution as being quite modest.
Larson does not mention him at all.
Ernst MayrErnst Walter Mayr , was one of the 20th century's leading evolutionary biologists. He was also a renowned taxonomist, tropical explorer, ornithologist, historian of science, and naturalist...
does not mention him at all in his major work,
The growth of biological thought. Bowler acknowledges his argument that apes might represent the earliest form of humanity (Monboddo 1774), but continues:
- "He [Monboddo] regarded humans (including savages and apes) as quite distinct from the rest of the animal kingdom. The first suggestion that the human species was descended via the apes from the lower animals did not come until Lamarck's Philosophie Zoologique of 1809."
The history of the theory of evolution is a relatively modern field of scholarship, but it is now well established. It appears that the earlier accounts may have over-stated the extent of Monboddo's contributions in this field.
Metaphysics
In
Antient Metaphysics, Burnett claimed that man is gradually elevating himself from the animal condition to a state in which mind acts independently of the body. He was a strong supporter of Aristotle in his concepts of Prime Mover. Much effort was devoted to crediting
Isaac NewtonSir Isaac Newton FRS was an English physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural philosopher, alchemist, and theologian who is perceived and considered by a substantial number of scholars and the general public as one of the most influential men in history...
with brilliant discoveries in the Laws of Motion, while defending the power of the mind as outlined by Aristotle. His analysis was further complicated by his recurring need to assure that Newton did not obviate the presence of God.
An eccentric
Burnett was widely known to be an
eccentricIn popular usage, eccentricity refers to unusual or odd behavior on the part of an individual. This behavior would typically be perceived as unusual or unnecessary, without being demonstrably maladaptive. Eccentricity is contrasted with "normal" behavior, the nearly universal means by which...
. He often asserted that he followed practices of the ancient
GreekGreek , an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, is the language of the Greeks. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. In its ancient form, it is the language of classical...
s to keep in good physical condition. Accordingly when he came out of court one day in a downpour, he calmly placed his wig in his sedan chair and walked home. Habitually he rode on horseback between
EdinburghEdinburgh is the capital city of Scotland. It is the second largest Scottish city, after Glasgow, and the seventh-most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas....
and
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
instead of journeying by
carriageA carriage is a wheeled vehicle for people, usually horse-drawn; litters and sedan chairs are excluded, these being litters or wheelless vehicles. The carriage is especially designed for private passenger use and for comfort or elegance, though some are also used to transport goods. It may be...
. Another time after a decision went against him regarding the value of a horse, he refused to sit with the other judges and assumed a seat below the bench with the court clerks. When Burnett was visiting the King's Court in London in 1787, part of the ceiling of the
courtroomA courtroom is the actual enclosed space in which a judge regularly holds court.The schedule of official court proceedings is called a docket; the term is also synonymous with a court's caseload as a whole....
started to collapse. People rushed out of the building but Burnett who, at the age of 71, was partially deaf and shortsighted, was the only one not to move. When he was later asked for a reason, he stated that he thought it "an annual ceremony, with which, as an alien, he had nothing to do".
Burnett in his earlier years believed that the
orangutanThe orangutans are two endangered species of great apes. Known for their intelligence, they live in trees and are the largest living arboreal animal. They have longer arms than other great apes, and their hair is typically reddish-brown, instead of the brown or black hair typical of other great apes...
was a form of man; furthermore, he accepted an account of a Swedish explorer that reported one primitive tribe had tails.
The orangutan was at this time a generic term for all types of monkeys. The Swedish explorer whose evidence Burnett accepted was a naval officer who had viewed a group of monkeys and thought they were human. Burnett may simply have taken the view that it was reasonable for people to assume the things they do and the word of a naval officer trained to give accurate reports was a credible source. Burnett was indeed responsible for changing the classical definition of man as a creature of reason to a creature capable of achieving reason although he viewed this processes as a slow and difficult to achieve.
At one time he said that humans must have all been born with tails, which were removed by midwives at birth. His contemporaries ridiculed his views, and by 1773 he had retracted this opinion (Pringle 1773). Some later commentators have seen him as anticipating
evolutionIn biology, evolution is change in the genetic material of a population of organisms from one generation to the next. Though changes produced in any one generation are normally small, differences accumulate with each generation and can, over time, cause substantial changes in the population, a...
ary theory. He appeared to argue that animal
speciesIn biology, a species is:* a taxonomic rank or* a unit at that rank ....
adapted and changed to survive, and his observations on the progression of primates to man amounted to some kind of concept of
evolutionIn biology, evolution is change in the genetic material of a population of organisms from one generation to the next. Though changes produced in any one generation are normally small, differences accumulate with each generation and can, over time, cause substantial changes in the population, a...
. Burnett also examined feral children and was the only thinker of his day to accept them as human rather than monsters. He viewed in these children the ability to achieve reason. He identified the orangutan as human as his sources indicated it was capable of experiencing shame. The notion that human identity can be defined by emotion is debatable.
In popular culture
In his 1981 dystopian novel
Lanark,
Alasdair GrayAlasdair Gray is a Scottish writer and artist. His most acclaimed work is his first novel Lanark, published in 1981 and written over a period of almost 30 years...
names the head of the mysterious Institute Lord Monboddo. He makes the connection explicit in a margin note, adding that it is not a literal depiction.
Writings of Lord Monboddo
- Of the Origin and Progress of Language (6 volumes, 1773–1792)
- Antient Metaphysics (6 volumes, 1779–1799)
- Decisions of the Court of Session (1738–1760)
- British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture situated in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from...
, James Burnett to Cadell and Davies, 15 May, 1796, A letter bound into Dugald StewartDugald Stewart , Scottish philosopher, was born in Edinburgh. His father, Matthew Stewart , was professor of mathematics in the University of Edinburgh .-Life and works:...
, Account of the Life and Writings of William Robertson, D.D., F.R.S.E, 2nd ed., London (1802). Shelf no.1203.f.3
- Letter from Monboddo to James Harris
James Harris , English grammarian, was born at Salisbury.He was educated at the grammar school in the Close at Salibury, and at Wadham College, Oxford. On leaving the university he was entered at Lincoln's Inn as a student of law, though not intended for the bar...
, 31 December, 1772; reprinted by William Knight 1900 ISBN 1-85506-207-0
- Letter from Monboddo to Sir John Pringle
Sir John Pringle, 1st Baronet, FRS, was a Scottish physician who has been called the "father of military medicine" ....
, 16 June 1773; reprinted by William Knight 1900 ISBN 1-85506-207-0
- Letter of Lord Monboddo to William Jones dated 20 June 1789 reprinted by William Knight, Lord Monboddo and some of his contemporaries Thoemmes Press, Bristol, England (1900) ISBN 1-85506-207-0
- Yale University
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut, and a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States. Yale has produced many notable alumni, including five...
Boswell Papers, James Burnett to James BoswellJames Boswell, 9th Laird of Auchinleck was a lawyer, diarist, and author born in Edinburgh, Scotland; he is best known for his biography of Samuel Johnson...
, 11 April and 28 May, 1777 (C.2041 and C.2042)
Publications about Lord Monboddo
- Bailey, Eileen A. FSA, James C.A. Burnett, Charles J. Burnett and Christopher Croly, The Holly and the Horn, Leys Publishing, Banchory (2005) ISBN 0-9538640-2-2
- Brown, M.P., ed. General Synopsis of the Decisions of the Court of Session
The Court of Session is the supreme civil court of Scotland. It is both a court of first instance and a court of appeal and sits exclusively in Parliament House in Edinburgh.The Sheriff Court is the other Scottish civil court; this sits locally...
, 5 vols. (William Tait, Edinburgh. 1829 'Decisions Collected by Lord Monboddo' V, 651-941
- Boswell, James, The Essence of the Douglas Case, J. Wilke, London (1767)
- Cloyd, E.L., James Burnett, Lord Monboddo (1972)
- Darwin, Erasmus, The temple of nature, J. Johnson, London (1803)
- Encyclopædia Britannica
- James Grant Cassell's Old and New Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland (1880-1887)
- Gray, W. Forbes, A Forerunner of Darwin, Fortnightly Review n.s. CXXV pp 112–122 (1929)
- Graham, Henry Gray, Scottish men of Letters in the Eighteenth Century, A.& C. Black, London (1901)
- Hobbs, Catherine, Rhetoric on the Margin of Modernity, Vico
Giovanni Battista ' Vico or Vigo was an Italian philosopher, rhetorician, historian, and jurist....
, CondillacÉtienne Bonnot de Condillac was a French philosopher.-Biography:He was born at Grenoble of a legal family, and, like his elder brother, the well-known political writer, abbé de Mably, took holy orders at Saint-Sulpice in Paris and became abbé de Mureau.In both cases the profession was hardly more...
, Monboddo, Southern Illinois University Press (1992)
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