Zoonomia; Or, the Laws of Organic Life, Vol. II

Erasmus Darwin

"Zoonomia; Or, the Laws of Organic Life, Vol. II" by Erasmus Darwin is a medical work published in 1796. This volume systematically classifies diseases into four major categories based on bodily motions: irritation, sensation, volition, and association. Darwin provides encyclopedia-style entries explaining symptoms, underlying mechanics, and treatments for various ailments. He presents his own theory of fever and catalogs medicinal substances into seven classes. While primarily a medical text, the work contains fleeting passages that hint at organic transmutation, advocating the inheritance of acquired characteristics—ideas that would later echo in evolutionary thought.