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Conclusion the general public. I do not mean to say that a favourable review or a large sale of my books did not please me greatly, but the pleasure was a fleeting one, and I am sure that I have never turned one inch out of my course to gain fame.’’ 3 89 Darwin was ambitious. At the end of his life, he recognized that he had made an important contribution to science, but he would have been surprised at how pervasive his ideas would become. Clarence Ayres, who wrote a biography of Thomas Huxley, drew attention to the growing importance of Darwin and his ideas in the 1930s: The last half of the nineteenth century witnessed the growth of a great myth. In 1851 Huxley placed Darwin ‘‘far below’’ Owen and Forbes ‘‘in learning, originality and grasp of mind.’’ The Origin of Species appeared and put him at once in a class with von Baer. After this the myth grew fast. By the time of Darwin’s death Huxley was comparing him to Lamarck and Buffon, though he was ‘‘disposed to think’’ that they would ‘‘run him hard in both genius and fertility.’’ But three years later Darwin had been canonized and Huxley anointed: Darwin’s statue had been set up in the National Museum at South Kensington and Huxley as President of the Royal Society was presenting it to H.R.H. the Prince of Wales. The circle of Darwin’s greatness has now widened to embrace the sixteenth century. His name ‘‘runs no more risk of oblivion than does that of Copernicus, or that of Harvey.’’ 4 Sixty years later Daniel Dennett would add that ‘‘we still have not come to terms with its [the revolution begun by Darwin’s ideas] mind-boggling implications.’’ 5 Today, Darwinism is as much a philosophy as a scientific theory. Evolution is the universally accepted scientific explanation for the origin of life on Earth; evolution is also a theory that expresses the universal hope and expectation for human progress. In the preface to his book Species and Varieties: Their Origin by Mutation (1905), the pioneering geneticist Hugo de Vries tried to explain the scientific significance of Darwin’s work by comparing it with his own and Jean-Baptiste Lamarck’s: The origin of species is a natural phenomenon. —Lamarck The origin of species is an object of inquiry. —Darwin The origin of species is an object of experimental investigation. —De Vries
90 CHARLES DARWIN AND THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES Given the impact of Darwin’s theory, De Vries could have added another line: The origin of species is the subject of philosophical investigation. Science beyond Darwin The naturalistic approach to knowledge has had a significant impact on the development of human society. Investigating natural phenomena without reference to the supernatural has led to advances in science and technology that were inconceivable before the Modern Age. What person in Medieval Europe or Early Ming China would have thought it possible for humans to travel faster than the speed of sound or to walk on the moon? The ideas in The Origin of Species were an important component of the naturalistic revolution in the biological sciences: artificial insemination, Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD), cloning, the mapping of the human genome, genetically modified crops, and the use of stem cells—none of these developments would be possible without the foundation of the evolutionary theory of the origin of life. Furthermore, the naturalistic revolution in the sciences, particularly biology, shows no sign of abating. The quest to find which genes make a person more susceptible to cancer, for example, seems far too important to discontinue. Knowing about the origins of life has prompted the human race’s desire to cure, fix, or ameliorate the problems and difficulties of life. Humans living before Darwin and before 1500 wanted to prolong life or make it more comfortable, but the scientific tools available since the publication of The Origin of Species are far greater. The more important question concerning the theory of evolution may be what should humankind do with the power it seems to have over nature (rather than whether or not the theory of evolution is true). The potential problems are moral rather than scientific. Much seems possible. Even if the impossible is achievable, however, does humankind want to aim that high? It may be possible to produce ‘‘designer babies’’ using PGD techniques, but is that a good idea? (Most people today find the ideas associated with the eugenics movement of the early twentieth century repulsive: making ‘‘designer babies’’ seems eerily similar.) Is it ethically sound to genetically modify food even if the process seems safe? Would humankind diminish or fundamentally alter its humanity if the advances derived from knowledge about the origins of life were used in these particular ways? What exactly is the place of humankind in the world and the
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Charles Darwin and The Origin of Sp
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Charles Darwin and The Origin of Sp
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CONTENTS Series Foreword by Linda S
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viii Series Foreword Atlantic slave
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PREFACE In 1985, the Italian scient
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Preface always right. As one of Dar
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xvi Chronology 27 December: HMS Bea
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xviii September: A Monograph on the
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xx 8 March: Gregor Mendel presents
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xxii 1909 William Bateson coins the
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CHAPTER 1 OVERVIEW: THE IMPACT OF C
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Overview Egerton, the Earl of Bridg
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Overview important to remember. Dar
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Overview of America. Columbus was n
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Overview in a way that humans can e
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Overview human institutions progres
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Overview 9. The elimination of a di
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16 CHARLES DARWIN AND THE ORIGIN OF
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Page 86 and 87: CHAPTER 4 THE RECEPTION OF DARWIN
Page 88 and 89: The Reception of Darwin’s Theorie
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Primary Documents Relating to Darwi
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160 Glossary of Selected Terms up b
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162 Glossary of Selected Terms Muta
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164 Glossary of Selected Terms Spec
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ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY Darwin’s M
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Annotated Bibliography ———. A
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Annotated Bibliography full (with a
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Annotated Bibliography Keynes, Rich
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Annotated Bibliography to support M
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Annotated Bibliography Lamarck, Jea
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Annotated Bibliography Dawkins, Ric
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Annotated Bibliography Shrewsbury S
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Annotated Bibliography Quammen, Dav
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Annotated Bibliography Islands and
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INDEX Academie des sciences, France
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Index The Descent of Man, 4; delay
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Index The Origin of Species: argume
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About the Author KEITH A. FRANCIS i
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