The literalness or otherwise of the description wasn’t really a issue of major debate one way or the other until there was a strong alternative hypothesis. Theres no political or signalling benefit to supporting a bizarre position when you have nothing to compare it too.
The literalness or otherwise of the description wasn’t really a issue of major debate one way or the other until there was a strong alternative hypothesis. Theres no political or signalling benefit to supporting a bizarre position when you have nothing to compare it too.
Yes. So, the question is, Which alternative hypotheses were on the table before Darwin, and why were they considered compelling?