English Literature, 1500 to 1799: Biographies

The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Further reading

Monboddo, James Burnett, Lord

The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature | 2003 | | Copyright

Monboddo, James Burnett, Lord (1714–99), a Scottish judge and pioneer in anthropology, who published Of the Origin and Progress of Language (1773–92) and Ancient Metaphysics (1779–99). The orang-utan for which he is remembered figures in both these works as an example of ‘the infantine state of our species’, who was gentle, sociable, and intelligent, could play the flute, but never learned to speak; he suggested to Peacock the character of Sir Oran Haut-ton in Melincourt. (See also primitivism.)

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MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Monboddo, James Burnett, Lord." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Monboddo, James Burnett, Lord." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-MonboddoJamesBurnettLord.html

MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Monboddo, James Burnett, Lord." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-MonboddoJamesBurnettLord.html

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James Burnett Monboddo, Lord

The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. | 2011 | Copyright

James Burnett Monboddo, Lord 1714–99, English writer, b. Scotland. A pioneer in anthropology, he wrote Of the Origin and Progress of Language (6 vol., 1774–92), in which he anticipated Darwin and much of modern evolutionary theory. His Antient Metaphysics (6 vol., 1779–99) is a defense of Greek philosophy.

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"James Burnett Monboddo, Lord." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"James Burnett Monboddo, Lord." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Monboddo.html

"James Burnett Monboddo, Lord." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Monboddo.html

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