Percival Lowell: the Sage As Astronomer David Sutton Dolan University of Wollongong
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University of Wollongong Research Online University of Wollongong Thesis Collection University of Wollongong Thesis Collections 1992 Percival Lowell: the sage as astronomer David Sutton Dolan University of Wollongong Recommended Citation Dolan, David Sutton, Percival Lowell: the sage as astronomer, Doctor of Philosophy thesis, Department of Science and Technology Studies, University of Wollongong, 1992. http://ro.uow.edu.au/theses/1712 Research Online is the open access institutional repository for the University of Wollongong. For further information contact the UOW Library: [email protected] PERCIVAL LOWELL: THE SAGE AS ASTRONOMER by David Sutton Dolan, B.A. Hons. (Flinders), M. A. (Adelaide) Department of Science and Techology Studies University of Wollongong January 1992 PERCIVAL LOWELL: THE SAGE AS ASTRONOMER CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE 1. PERCIVAL LOWELL (1855-1916) IN HIS TIMES 1 1.1 Lowell's life and work 1 1.2 An overview of Lowell's astronomical writings 17 1.3 A brief survey of the biographical literature on Lowell 31 2. LOWELL IN THE LITERATURE, BEFORE THE SPACE AGE 45 2.1 C1830-1924 50 2.2 1925-49 78 2.3 1949-57 101 3. LOWELL IN THE SPACE AGE 125 3.1 Sputnik to Mariner: 1958-1965 125 3.2 Mariner to Viking and after: 1965-1990 155 4. LOWELL AND THE LITERARY PERSONA OF THE SAGE 186 4.1 Lowell as an anomaly in the pluralist tradition 188 4.2 "The eye of the man of knowledge" 204 4.3 Thomas Carlyle: Victorian prose, the universe, science and history 228 4.4 John Ruskin: the morality of landscape and climate 240 5. FROM ORIENTALIST TO ASTRONOMER 262 5.1 CHOSON, 1885 263 5.2 THE SOUL OF THE FAR EAST, 1888 267 5.3 NOTO, 1891 and OCCULT JAPAN, 1894 280 5.4 Lowell's Asian books: summary 294 5.5 Responses to Lowell's Asian books 298 6. LOWELL, SAGE OF MARS 308 6.1 Lowell as a literary sage 308 6.2 Ideas of history 325 6.3 The new social darwinism 333 6.4 Politics, Roosevelt, and Lowell 338 6.5 William James and the idea of war against nature 353 6.6 Conclusion: the sage as astronomer 363 6.7 Epilogue 373 I I SUMMARY Percival Lowell's controversial hypothesis (1895) that Mars was inhabited by intelligent beings operating a global network of canals received self- contradictory treatment in many basic astronomy textbooks and popularisations of the early and mid twentieth century. Though generally said to have had no scientific credibility, analysis of a large sample of texts reveals that it actually enjoyed a high level of overt and covert support, until cl965 when falsified by Mariner spaceprobes. This supposedly discredited hypothesis also continued to influence research programs up to the 1977 Viking Mars landers. Three main themes are explored to account for the anomalous strength and longevity of Lowell's influence and reputation: Lowell's rhetorical style, his personal committment, and the way his Martian hypothesis embodied and could be adduced to serve major concerns of his own and later eras. Lowell's knowledge claims derived power from his use of the "Victorian sage" persona and mode of argument, which has not previously been identifed in scientific literature, reinforced by thematic links with the most influential literary sages. Lowell's intense committment to his astronomical theory is also related to its resolution of dilemmas apparent in his earlier Asian studies. This insight establishes a formerly missing link between these two main areas of his work. Although the timeliness of the Martian canal hypothesis vis-a-vis the Panama canal has often been noted, it is here shown to embody far broader social and political concerns of the Theodore Roosevelt era— including aspects of international relations, and human and natural resource management. Finally, in the mid-twentieth century, space scientists and policy-makers deliberately refurbished and manipulated Lowell's legacy to win support for their programs. iii This thesis contains no material which has been previously submitted for any other degree in any university. To the best of my knowledge and belief it contains no material previously published or written by any other person, except where acknowledgment is made. signed: D. S. DOLAN January 1992. iv 1 CHAPTER ONE PERCTVAL LOWELL (1855-1916) in his TIMES 1.1 LOWELL'S LIFE and WORK The main premise of this thesis is that by annexing Percival Lowell and his work to a particular nineteenth century literary tradition, it is possible to explain certain anomalies which appear when he is seen in the narrower context of the history of astronomy. This is therefore primarily a study of texts, scientific discourse, knowledge claims, modes of argument, reputations and influences, and the popularisation of science. It is also, though to a more limited extent, a case study in the sociology of scientific knowledge, the articulation and survival of knowledge claims, and the nexus between mainstream and alternative scientific traditions; and is only peripherally concerned with methodologies. The new account of his significance and his motives which is developed depends predominantly on the analysis and reinterpretation of his published works. This first chapter seeks to place Lowell in the social, historical and scientific context in which he worked, to introduce his astronomical ideas and writings, and to survey the biographical literature which has grown up concerning him. The purpose of this first section of chapter one is to place Lowell in a social and historical context and give a brief account of his life, movements and interests. A study of certain contentious popular scientific texts in the context of another tradition of literature does not require intimate or detailed biographical information, so the received version of Lowell's life and movements, based on the main published sources, which are discussed critically later in this chapter, is adequate for the purpose. Percival Lowell was born in 1855, the first child of his generation in a family made wealthy by an early start in the USA and serious dedication to business, and distinguished in public 2 service and the arts. In his home state of Massachusetts there were towns named for both of Percival's parents' families: his mother was a Lawrence. In the light of Percival's later interests, it may be significant that there is also a Lowell Canal among the many industrial canals servicing the mills from which much of the region's wealth flowed. In the early 1980s the town of Lowell was interpreted as one of the world's largest historic site museums, a study in the interaction of capital and labour in the nineteenth century. In his early teens, Percival had a telescope on the roof of the house, and used to look at Mars and other heavenly bodies: not very unusual in an affluent household at that time. After several extended tours in Europe, which gave him both a love of travel and a facility with languages, he went to Harvard and became an able student of history and classics, and outstanding in mathematics. In view of Lowell's later efforts to locate a ninth planet, it is interesting that his astronomy and mathematics professor was Benjamin Peirce, who once claimed (wrongly) that the discovery of Neptune from the calculations of Leverrier and Adams was "a happy accident" (see Hoyt, 1980, pp60-69). As part of the ceremonies when he graduated from Harvard in 1876, Percival gave a talk, his "commencement part", on the topic of the nebular hypothesis. He never held a Harvard appointment, though he was to become a non-resident professor of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and accepted many invitations to give lectures at academic institutions in Europe and the U.S.A.. The importance of Harvard and Boston as Lowell's starting-point in life is obvious. It is impossible not to notice how many of the characters who will have small but significant parts in the argument of this thesis were Bostonians and/or Harvard men. An earlier generation of alumni included Thoreau and Emerson. The enthusiastic Christian social Darwinist John Fiske was on the faculty, Ruskin's friend and follower Charles Eliot Norton was professor of the history of art, and Oliver Wendell Holmes was professor of anatomy and physiology 3 while Lowell was a student. Lowell's own generation at Harvard included many men who were to emerge as intellectual and political leaders of their country in the late nineteenth century. Brooks Adams was an undergraduate a couple of years ahead of Percival Lowell, and Theodore Roosevelt from New York was three years behind him. When Roosevelt became President, his chief foreign affairs adviser would be Henry Cabot Lodge, by then U.S. Senator for Massachusetts and one of Lowell's oldest friends, who had been a tutor when Roosevelt and Lowell were students. Katharine, one of Lowell's sisters (the other sister was the poet Amy Lowell), was to marry into the Roosevelt family. A clever and educated son like Percival was expected to devote a few years to the family business, and then do something more with his life. It was not enough to remain "a young man of fashion" and "a well-known polo player" (Brooks, pp360-l). Lowell's father told his sons that "every self-respecting man must work at something that is worth while, and do it very hard. In our case it need not be remunerative, for we had enough to provide for that; but it must be of real significance." (A.L.Lowell, p5). Percival could have taken up almost any field of endeavour, but for some reason- apparently unknown to his brother— he went to Japan in the early 1880s to study its language and culture.