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After a brief excerpt from the Preface on the development of science, anticipating Thomas Kuhn’s celebrated account of paradigms and shifts, a longer extract from Chapter II seeks to synthesize debates between the influence of heredity or environment, arguing that species inherit numerous characteristics, many of which will only manifest themselves in specific environmental conditions. From this position Jennings then criticizes simplistic applications of biology to human society in Social Darwinist claims about education or race. In Chapter III, ‘The Advancement of Man,’ Jennings disputes the Eugenicist claim that humans have degenerated due to improvements in sanitation, hygiene, medicine, housing, etc., having undermined natural selection. His decisive argument against Eugenics is that it is founded on a false analogy with horticulture. Where plant breeders can select preferred variations knowing that the desired characteristics will be transmitted in entirety to the next generation, the fact of bi-parental reproduction in humans and other animals prevents this, allowing numerous unanticipated traits to manifest themselves in every generation.
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