We Have a Winner: Dr. Moreau as the Maddest Scientist of Them All Timothy Sexton College

First, remember the words spoken by Jeff Goldblum’s character, Dr. Malcolm, in the first entry of the Jurassic Park franchise: “…your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could that they didn't stop to think if they should.” At the heart of this observation lies the meat and potatoes of the entire concept of mad scientism.

Literature’s mad scientists epitomize the warning against leaping before one takes a look. Consumed by their own hubris which has been peppered with just enough seasoning of scientific ideals, they blindly thrash forward through the treacherous waters of shouldn’t in pursuit of what is, really, their only true objective: can. But even within this pervasive characteristic, not all mad scientists are exactly alike.

Although it is beyond doubt that precursors can be found in the literature which prefaced him, for the purposes of the modern concept of the term, Mary Shelley’s Dr. Frankenstein is the standard operating prototype for what we think of when we think of mad scientists. Though he was just a mere lad when it appeared in print, Charles Darwin is the figure of the most singular importance to what is meant by the idea of the “modern mad scientist.” Mad scientists would certainly still...