Plumber in St. George, SC

A new volume represents a very timely reprint of St. George Mivart’s provocatively titled On the Genesis of Species (New York: Appleton, 1871). The general editor of the Inkwell Press, James Barham, announces in his introduction that further forgotten classics in the same genre will presently follow. The text presents the second edition (slightly revised to take account of Darwin’s Descent of Man published earlier in the same year).

Mivart (1827-1900) throughout his life remained something of a thorn in Darwin’s side, joining sides with Harvard professor Asa Gray, geologist Sir Charles Lyell, Alfred Russel Wallace, and many others who argued that it was absurd to accord mere chance such an overwhelming role in the evolutionary process. Mivart was convinced that, just as there is a principle internal to an organism which determines its embryological development, so must there be an internal principle determining the species as a whole. He echoed the originally Aristotelian idea of immanent teleology in opposition to the Epicurean and Lucretian philosophies which put everything down to the random jostling of atoms producing accidental new shapes and forms (hence the term “atomism” given to that ancient way of thinking that the modern world has taken to with such uncritical alacrity).

A Philosophical Counterblast

Mivart’s Genesis of Species was in its origin conceived as a philosophical counterblast to Darwin’s Origin of Species and in its pages we find many early critiques of Darwin’s logic. Mivart includes a whole chapter (pp. 35-75) on the inability of natural selection to account for incipient structures. Like Charles Lyell, leading paleontologist Richard Owen, and the scientifically educated Duke of Argyll, he felt that so-called natural selection could not possibly be the vera causa of anything whatsoever since it was an inert, purely passive phenomenon incapable of producing novelty.

Mivart’s objection has not gone away (although it is often studiously ignored). The same goes for his pointing to the lack of fossil evidence to back up Darwin’s gradualist notions of animal development over the eons. Anticipating modern notions of saltations (sudden and unheralded new developments in animal physiology) associated with the name of the late Stephen Jay Gould, Mivart felt that this (problematical as it is) was a more likely developmental route for animal/human development than the one proposed by Darwin.

The Unforgiven

Darwin’s inner circle could never forgive Mivart for being a practicing Roman Catholic and there is certainly much truth in Mivart’s claim that he was shunned by the Darwin party out of what he termed odium antitheologicum (prejudice against theists). But Mivart was no shrinking violet in his repeated attacks on “the inconsistencies and ambiguities” in Darwinian theory, and it has even been mooted that Darwin ultimately withdrew from the evolutionary fray he himself had caused by retreating in older age to study the entirely “safe” subject of barnacles.

Those interested in Mivart’s life might consult the older volume by Jacob Gruber, A Conscience in Conflict: The Life of St. George Mivart (New York: Columbia University Press, 1960), and David L. Hull’s Darwin and His Critics: The Reception of Darwin’s Theory of Evolution by the Scientific Community (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1973). Hull’s important work contains not only generous excerpts from Mivart’s writings (pp. 351-384) but by many other early critics including that critic whom Darwin feared most, Fleeming Jenkin (pp. 302-50), together with the first man to poke holes in Darwin’s argument when he became privy to a pre-publication document outlining the theory later developed in the Origin of Species, namely Professor Samuel Haughton (pp. 216-228).

Mivart in Context

By consulting these additional works the reader will be in a better position to contextualize Mivart within the intellectual milieu of the Victorian era. Mivart was by no means an outlier since a veritable cohort of sympathizers rose up in the 1860s and 1870s to create a very audible chorus of dissent, and for much the same reasons as that dissent continues unabated to the present day. For Darwin then as now trades on the reiteration of what the ancient Romans called the ipse dixit (“he himself said it” — implication: it MUST be right). I’ll give the last word to Mivart on this issue (cited from Hull’s Darwin and His Critics, p. 359):

Darwin, starting at first with an avowed hypothesis, constantly asserts it as an undoubted fact, and claims for it, somewhat in the spirit of a theologian, that it should be received as an article of faith.

I warmly recommend this book to all those who value evidence-based thinking and wish to look beyond the ideological assertions which are all too often a substitute for properly reasoned argument.

Kathryn Tribble was named Miss St. George over the weekend. It’s a new division in the Lowcountry Scholarship Organization, making Tribble, the first to hold the title.

She also received the talent award for her piano performance of “Fantasia” and earned $1,100 in scholarships.

The 25-year-old is a graduate of the University of South Carolina, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in public health and she holds a master’s degree in health administration from the Medical University of South Carolina.

Tribble’s career and her platform for the competition show her deep passion for promoting healthy lifestyles.

“It’s called “Wellness Warriors: Fighting for Healthy Childhoods” and basically says your zip code should not define the healthcare options available to you,” Tribble said. “My thought process is, it’s difficult to change adult habits but we have students in the classroom, five days per week for the majority of the year. Let’s get this information into schools so students can learn from an early age what they need to know to make healthy life choices, including health and fitness but also emotional and physical wellbeing.”

Many young women participating in a variety of scholarship programs have competed from an early age but Tribble did not have that experience.

She was named Miss Laurens County Teen in 2017 and didn’t compete again until 2025, being named Miss River City.

For Tribble, it’s more about her mission to help rural communities adopt healthier lifestyles than it has ever been for the crown. With her new title, she’s hopeful she’ll be able to spread her message across the state.

“St. George is a small town and the people are incredibly involved in their community. The Lowcountry Scholarship organization held their event in St. George last year and when they decided to return this year, the city council and the mayor chose to sponsor a package to have a delegate with the St. George title,” Tribble said. “It’s exciting St. George has someone to represent their town and I don’t want to let Laurens County down either. I sort of feel like I’m representing every rural town across South Carolina.”

Also crowned over the weekend is Miss Lowcountry 2026, Gracie Hicks; Miss Lowcountry Teen 2026, Kenzie Welch and Miss St. George’s Teen 2026, Mackenzie Fabian.

All four ladies will spend the next year representing the Lowcountry and St. George communities through service initiatives and appearances. They’ll also prepare for the Miss South Carolina and Miss South Carolina’s Teen competitions next summer in Columbia.

“This year’s competition was not only a celebration of scholarship and talent but also as a milestone as we introduced the titles of Miss St. George and Miss St. George’s Teen,” Chaunte’ Causey, executive director of Crown the Lowcountry said. “These young women are remarkable leaders will make a lasting impact in their communities and we are proud to support them as they prepare for the state stage.”

UPDATE 5:40 P.M. Northbound lanes on I-95 near St. George have reopened.

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ST. GEORGE, S.C. (WCBD) — Drivers are being asked to avoid a stretch of Interstate 95 in Dorchester County as crews respond to a chemical spill.

Authorities said two tractor-trailers were involved in a collision near exit 77 in St. George around noon, causing a hydrogen peroxide leak.

The interstate was closed in both directions for several hours, but northbound traffic has since reopened.

“We’re thankful to get those back open,” said Cpl. Nick Pye with the South Carolina Highway Patrol. “That’s going to reduce a lot of the tension on us highways and secondary roads along the detour.”

Southbound traffic is currently being rerouted, and lanes are expected to remain closed for some time. Those traveling southbound should exit at the mile marker 82 exit ramp, take US 178 to US 15 south to Highway 61, then enter I-95 at exit 68.

“We’re hoping for a quick turnaround on the southbound lanes as well, but it could be a couple of hours before those are back open,” Pye added.

First responders remain on the scene. Significant traffic delays are expected to continue on I-95, as well as on Highways 15 and 79.

A nearby tractor supply store and Arby’s were briefly evacuated, but no injuries have been reported.

This story is developing.

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