Let me lay my cards on the table. If I were to give an award for the single best idea anyone has ever had, I'd give it to Darwin, ahead of Newton and Einstein and anyone else. In a single stroke, the idea of evolution by natural selection unifies the realm of life, meaning, and purpose with the realm of space and time, cause and effect, mechanism and physical law (Dennett 1995, p. 21)
The Evolutionary Man Himself
The book was first published on the 24th of November 1859, selling out the first print of 1250 copies almost immediately. Darwin had worked out the theory by 1839 and but did not publish it for 20 years. The reason for this, it has been asserted, is that Darwin feared an outcry from the establishment; however, in an article in Nature magazine, Odling-Smee (2007, p.487) argues that Darwin was determined to assemble a huge body of evidence to support his theory and to clear any stumbling blocks before publishing it in full.
What is Natural Selection. I will let Richard Dawkins (1996 p.66) explain:
Darwin did not mention humankind in Origins however the essential message of the book regarding humans is summarised by Padian (2008 p.634) perfectly as follows:The genes that exist are the genes that made it through a million sieves in cumulative cascade. And what was it that made them do so well? They co-operated, through the intricate processes of embryology, with other successful genes to build an unbroken succession of elite individuals, equipped by them to become ancestors. That is why the qualities of the elite are the qualities inherited by every animal and plant: because existence is tough, and competition sorted out the ancestors from the failures.
Humans are animals, one species of many on the planet, bound by common ancestry to all other species, part of an age-old dance of reproduction, accommodation, survival and alternation.
In this YouTube video Sir David Attenborough presents his
views on Darwin and his continuing relevance.
Darwin published Origins in the middle of what came to be known as the Victorian era. This era is synonymous with child labour, mass sewerage systems, Jack the Ripper, gas lighting and Gilbert and Sullivan.
Other important works of the 19th century would be Das Capital by Karl Marx and The Interpretation of Dreams by Sigmund Freud however as Padian (2008 p. 632) states, the ideas of Marx have been distorted beyond recognition by political execution and the ideas of Freud no longer merit scientific recognition.
The complete works of Darwin can be found here.
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| Section of the only illustration in the original book commonly referred to as Darwin's Tree of Life. |
Reference List
Charles Darwin aged 51.jpg [image], Wikimedia Commons, viewed 28 April 2012, <http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Charles_Darwin_aged_51.jpg>.Dawkins, R 1996, 'Accidents of life: Darwinian theory was the bestidea of all time, but why did it take so long to evolve? And what if we had 16 fingers?(The Issues)', New Statesman (1996), vol. 138, no. 4981, p. 66.
Dennett, DC 1995, Darwin's dangerous idea : evolution and the meanings of life, Simon & Schuster, New York.
Origin of Species.svg [image], Wikimedia Commons, viewed 28 April 2012,
<http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Origin_of_Species.svg>.
Odling-Smee, L 2007, 'Darwin and the 20-year publication gap', Nature, vol. 446, no. 7135, 2007/03/29/, p. 478+.
Padian, K 2008, 'Darwin's enduring legacy', Nature, vol. 451, no. 7179, Feb, pp. 632-634.
Nature Video Channel 2009, PART 1: David Attenborough on Darwin - by Nature Video, 30 January, viewed 28 April 2012, <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uz7U4k522Pg>.
Wijhe, JV 2012, The Complete Work of Charles Darwin Online, viewed 28 April 2012, <http://darwin-online.org.uk/>.
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