Pre-Adamites
Peyrére, Isaac La
Isaac La Peyrère (1596-1676) was a French philosopher, lawyer and diplomat. Although brought up a Calvinist, he was later forced to convert to Catholicism. His theological views created quite a stir when he put forward the theory of humans existing before Adam & Eve in an attempt to explain where Cain’s wife came from. He argued that there must have been two creations; first the creation of the gentiles and later of Adam, as the father of the Hebrews.
He published his claims in 1655 in Praeadamitae[1300], upsetting Catholics, Protestants and Jews. Stephen P. Kershaw relates[1410] how Peyrère added the testimony of Solon and Plato to bolster his claim, arguing that if Atlantis in 9600 BC, then humans existed earlier than Genesis suggests.
Thorwald C. Franke noted in a paper(b) on The Dark Side of Atlantis Scepticism that Peyrère’s “work was immediately condemned by the church and the author put to prison. Shortly after that, Isaac La Peyrère had to recant his opinion. Thus, Atlantis scepticism had triumphed once more.”
Some of his ideas are widely accepted today(a).
(a) Were Adam and Eve the first humans? (archive.org)
(b) (99+) The Dark Side of Atlantis Scepticism | Thorwald C. Franke – Academia.edu *