Drink, dames & disease: Erasmus Darwin on inheritance

Dr Erasmus Darwin (1731-1802) readily acknowledged that diseases including gout, consumption, scrofula, epilepsy, and insanity were hereditarily transferred. He also viewed a particular interconnectedness between intemperance (alcoholism) and other hereditary diseases. Darwin's view of 'hereditary' incorporated a malleable admixture of nature and nurture causes. Consistent with his deistic beliefs that development on the Earth followed no fixed plan, Darwin argued that hereditary diseases were not predestined. To overcome or prevent disease, Darwin argued that one must learn how best to exert power over nature and to improve nurture.