charles_darwin

Recommendations

Info

Primary Documents Relating to Darwin and Darwinism me; and this was long after I had come to Down. The solution, as I believe, is that the modified offspring of all dominant and increasing forms tend to become adapted to many and highly diversified places in the economy of nature. Source: Francis Darwin, ed., The Life and Letters of Charles Darwin, Including an Autobiographical Chapter (London: John Murray, 1887), I: 83–84. 131 Document 6: Darwin to Gray, September 1857 On 5 September 1857, Darwin wrote Asa Gray a letter about the origin of species. Gray had written a letter to Darwin the previous month in which Gray stated that his research on plants caused him to have doubts about the fixity of species. Darwin took the opportunity presented by Gray’s revelation to describe his theory that could explain why certain species seemed to be changing. Appended to the letter was a summary of Darwin’s theory of speciation—the idea that one species could become the progenitor of two or more new species. The essay Darwin sent to Gray was as good a summary of The Origin of Species as Darwin wrote before the book was published. After Darwin received Alfred Wallace’s essay entitled ‘‘On the Tendency of Varieties to Depart Indefinitely from the Original Type’’ in June 1858, he was uncertain about what he should do. Charles Lyell and Joseph Hooker suggested including the letter and summary that Darwin sent to Gray along with essays by Wallace and Darwin about speciation to help prove that Darwin had been working on the theory before Wallace. The following extract is a copy of the essay that Darwin sent to Gray. Darwin corrected the version of essay he had written, and Lyell and Hooker sent that copy to the secretary of the Linnean Society, John Joseph Bennett (1801–1876). The major difference between the two essays was the postscript that Darwin took out of the copy sent to the Linnean Society. The essay itself is a fascinating preview of The Origin of Species. The material that would form important components of Darwin’s theory—artificial selection by breeders, the importance of geological time, the cumulative work of natural selection, the struggle for life, geographical distribution of species, and the importance of classification— is clearly evident. The examples of the mistletoe and the elephant that appeared in Chapter III, ‘‘Struggle for Existence,’’ are in the essay. The problem Darwin had with his use of the term natural selection is also
132 Primary Documents Relating to Darwin and Darwinism apparent: on one occasion natural is capitalized and on another it is not. Last, Darwin’s self-deprecating manner is obvious: he predicts that Gray will find his theory ‘‘all rubbish.’’ I. It is wonderful what the principle of Selection by Man, that is the picking out of individuals with any desired quality, and breeding from them, and again picking out, can do. Even Breeders have been astonished at their own results. They can act on differences inappreciable to an uneducated eye. Selection has been methodically followed in Europe for only the last half century. But it has occasionally, and even in some degree methodically, been followed in the most ancient times. There must have been, also, a kind of unconscious selection from the most ancient times, namely in the preservation of the individual animals (without any thought of their offspring) most useful to each race of man in his particular circumstances. The ‘‘roguing’’ as nurserymen call the destroying of varieties, which depart from their type, is a kind of selection. I am convinced that intentional and occasional selection has been the main agent in making our domestic races. But, however, this may be, its great power of modification has been indisputably shown in late times. Selection acts only by the accumulation of very slight or greater variations, caused by external conditions, or by the mere fact that in generation the child is not absolutely similar to its parent. Man by this power of accumulating variations adapts living beings to his wants—he may be said to make the wool of one sheep good for carpets and another for cloth &c.— II. Now suppose there was a being, who did not judge by mere external appearance, but could study the whole internal organization—who never was capricious—who should go on selecting for one end during millions of generations, who will say what he might effect! In nature we have some slight variations, occasionally in all parts: and I think it can be shown that a change in the conditions of existence is the main cause of the child not exactly resembling its parents; and in nature geology shows us what changes have taken place, and are taking place. We have almost unlimited time: no one but a practical geologist can fully appreciate this: think of the Glacial period, during the whole of which the same species of shells at least have existed; there must have been during this period millions on millions of generations. III. I think it can be shown that there is such an unerring power at work, or Natural Selection (the title of my Book), which selects exclusively for the good of each organic being. The elder De Candolle, W. Herbert, and Lyell have written strongly on the struggle for life; but even they have not written strongly enough. Reflect that every being (even the Elephant) breeds at such a rate, that in a few years, or at most a few
Page 2 and 3:
Charles Darwin and The Origin of Sp
Page 4 and 5:
Charles Darwin and The Origin of Sp
Page 6:
CONTENTS Series Foreword by Linda S
Page 9 and 10:
viii Series Foreword Atlantic slave
Page 12 and 13:
PREFACE In 1985, the Italian scient
Page 14:
Preface always right. As one of Dar
Page 17 and 18:
xvi Chronology 27 December: HMS Bea
Page 19 and 20:
xviii September: A Monograph on the
Page 21 and 22:
xx 8 March: Gregor Mendel presents
Page 23 and 24:
xxii 1909 William Bateson coins the
Page 26 and 27:
CHAPTER 1 OVERVIEW: THE IMPACT OF C
Page 28 and 29:
Overview Egerton, the Earl of Bridg
Page 30 and 31:
Overview important to remember. Dar
Page 32 and 33:
Overview of America. Columbus was n
Page 34 and 35:
Overview in a way that humans can e
Page 36 and 37:
Overview human institutions progres
Page 38:
Overview 9. The elimination of a di
Page 41 and 42:
16 CHARLES DARWIN AND THE ORIGIN OF
Page 43 and 44:
Page 45 and 46:
Page 47 and 48:
Page 49 and 50:
Page 51 and 52:
Page 53 and 54:
Page 55 and 56:
Page 57 and 58:
Page 59 and 60:
Page 61 and 62:
Page 63 and 64:
Page 65 and 66:
Page 67 and 68:
Page 69 and 70:
Page 71 and 72:
Page 73 and 74:
Page 75 and 76:
Page 77 and 78:
Page 79 and 80:
Page 81 and 82:
Page 83 and 84:
Page 86 and 87:
CHAPTER 4 THE RECEPTION OF DARWIN
Page 88 and 89:
The Reception of Darwin’s Theorie
Page 90 and 91:
Page 92 and 93:
Page 94 and 95:
Page 96 and 97:
Page 98 and 99:
Page 100:
Page 103 and 104:
Page 105 and 106: 80 CHARLES DARWIN AND THE ORIGIN OF
Page 120 and 121: BIOGRAPHIES: PERSONALITIES IMPORTAN
Page 122 and 123: Biographies works on the subject. T
Page 124 and 125: Biographies Systematic Description
Page 126 and 127: Biographies declined rapidly after
Page 128 and 129: Biographies experiments on the poll
Page 130 and 131: Biographies Students of the Classes
Page 132 and 133: Biographies publishing company John
Page 134 and 135: Biographies were different: the han
Page 136 and 137: PEOPLE MENTIONED IN THE ORIGIN OF S
Page 138 and 139: People Mentioned in The Origin of S
Page 146 and 147: PRIMARY DOCUMENTS RELATING TO DARWI
Page 148 and 149: Primary Documents Relating to Darwi
Page 182: Primary Documents Relating to Darwi
Page 185 and 186: 160 Glossary of Selected Terms up b
Page 187 and 188: 162 Glossary of Selected Terms Muta
Page 189 and 190: 164 Glossary of Selected Terms Spec
Page 192 and 193: ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY Darwin’s M
Page 194 and 195: Annotated Bibliography ———. A
Page 196 and 197: Annotated Bibliography full (with a
Page 198 and 199: Annotated Bibliography Keynes, Rich
Page 200 and 201: Annotated Bibliography to support M
Page 202 and 203: Annotated Bibliography Lamarck, Jea
Page 204 and 205: Annotated Bibliography Dawkins, Ric
Page 206 and 207:
Annotated Bibliography Shrewsbury S
Page 208 and 209:
Annotated Bibliography Quammen, Dav
Page 210 and 211:
Annotated Bibliography Islands and
Page 212 and 213:
INDEX Academie des sciences, France
Page 214 and 215:
Index The Descent of Man, 4; delay
Page 216 and 217:
Index The Origin of Species: argume
Page 218 and 219:
About the Author KEITH A. FRANCIS i
show all

charles_darwin

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?