‘We could not, therefore, dispense either with descent or with design, and yet it seemed impossible to keep both.’
Written during the rising influence of Darwin and his theory of natural selection, Samuel Butler’s Luck, or Cunning? is a bold and provocative challenge to the idea that evolution is driven by chance alone. Butler explores the relationship between heredity and memory while seeking to reintroduce the concept of design into evolutionary thought. Positing that organisms possess a form of inherited memory, Butler argues that this force acts as an unconscious intelligence guiding evolution across generations. Writing with originality and wit, Butler combines science, philosophy, and literary flair to produce a work that is essential reading for anyone interested in evolution and consciousness.
Samuel Butler was an English novelist, essayist, and critic. He is best known for his satirical novel Erewhon and his semi-autobiographical novel The Way of All Flesh, which is considered to be a masterpiece.