The Origin of Species

First published on 24 November 1859, The Origin of Species (full title On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life) by British naturalist Charles Darwin is one of the pivotal works in scientific history, and arguably the pre-eminent work in biology. In it, Darwin makes "one long argument" for his theory that "groups" of organisms, (which we now call populations) rather than individual organisms, gradually evolve through the process of natural selection—a mechanism effectively introduced to the public at large by the book. The work presents detailed scientific evidence he had accumulated both on the Voyage of the Beagle in the 1830s and since his return, painstakingly laying out his theory and refuting the doctrine of "Created kinds" underlying the theories of Creation biology which were then widely accepted.

Background

Before "The Origin"

The idea of biological evolution was supported in Classical times by the Greek and Roman atomists, notably Lucretius. With the dominance of Christianity came belief in the Biblical story of creation according to Genesis, with the doctrine that God had directly "Created kinds" of organisms which were immutable. Other ideas resurfaced, and in 17th century English the word evolution (from the Latin word "evolutio", meaning "unroll like a scroll") began to be used in to refer to an orderly sequence of events, particularly one in which the outcome was somehow contained within it from the start.

Related Topics:
Atomists - Lucretius - Biblical - Creation according to Genesis - Created kind - Organisms - 17th century

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Natural history aiming to investigate and catalogue the wonders of God's works developed greatly in the 18th century. Discoveries showing the extinction of species were explained by catastrophism, the belief that animals and plants were periodically annihilated as a result of natural catastrophes and that their places were taken by new species created ex nihilo (out of nothing). Countering this, James Hutton's uniformitarian theory of 1785 envisioned gradual development over aeons of time.

Related Topics:
Natural history - 18th century - Catastrophism - James Hutton - Uniformitarian - 1785

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By 1796 Charles's grandfather Erasmus Darwin had put forward ideas of common descent with organisms "acquiring new parts" in response to stimuli then passing these changes to their offspring, and in 1802 he hinted at natural selection. In 1809 Jean-Baptiste Lamarck developed a similar theory, with "needed" traits being acquired then passed on. These theories of Transmutation were developed by Radicals in Britain like Robert Edmund Grant. At this time the work of Thomas Malthus showing that human populations increased to exceed resources influenced liberal thinking, resulting in the Whig Poor Law of the 1830s.

Related Topics:
1796 - Erasmus Darwin - Common descent - 1802 - Natural selection - 1809 - Jean-Baptiste Lamarck - Transmutation - Radical - Robert Edmund Grant - Thomas Malthus - Whig - Poor Law - 1830s

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Various ideas were developed to reconcile Creation biology with scientific findings, including Charles Lyell's uniformitarian idea that each species had its "centre of creation" and was designed for the habitat, but would go extinct when the habitat changed. Charles Babbage believed God set up laws that operated to produce species, as a divine programmer, and Richard Owen followed Johannes Peter Müller in thinking that living matter had an "organising energy", a life-force that directed the growth of tissues and also determined the lifespan of the individual and of the species.

Related Topics:
Creation biology - Charles Lyell - Charles Babbage - Richard Owen - Johannes Peter Müller

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Inception of Darwin's theory

Charles Darwin's education at the University of Edinburgh gave him direct involvement in Robert Edmund Grant's evolutionist developments of the ideas of Erasmus Darwin and Jean-Baptiste Lamarck. Then at Cambridge University his theology studies convinced him of William Paley's argument of "design" by a Creator while his interest in natural history was increased by the botanist John Stevens Henslow and the geologist Adam Sedgwick, both of whom believed strongly in divine creation and in a uniformitarian ancient earth. During the Voyage of the Beagle Charles Darwin became convinced by Charles Lyell's uniformitarianism, and puzzled over how various theories of creation fit the evidence he saw. On his return Richard Owen showed that fossils Darwin had found were of extinct species related to current species in the same locality, and John Gould startlingly revealed that completely different birds from the Galápagos Islands were species of finches distinct to each island.

Related Topics:
Charles Darwin's education - University of Edinburgh - Robert Edmund Grant - Evolutionist - Erasmus Darwin - Jean-Baptiste Lamarck - Cambridge University - Theology - William Paley - "design" by a Creator - Natural history - John Stevens Henslow - Adam Sedgwick - Uniformitarian - The Voyage of the Beagle - Charles Lyell - Richard Owen - John Gould - Galápagos Islands

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By early 1837 Darwin was speculating on transmutation in a series of secret notebooks. He investigated the breeding of domestic animals, consulting William Yarrell and reading a pamphlet by Yarrell's friend Sir John Sebright which commented that "A severe winter, or a scarcity of food, by destroying the weak and the unhealthy, has all the good effects of the most skilful selection." At the zoo in 1838 he had his first sight of an ape, and the orang-utan's antics impressed him as being "just like a naughty child" which from his experience of the natives of Tierra del Fuego made him think that there was little gulf between man and animals despite the theological doctrine that only mankind possessed a soul.

Related Topics:
1837 - Transmutation - William Yarrell - John Sebright - 1838 - Orang-utan - Tierra del Fuego

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In late September 1838 he began reading the 6th edition of Malthus's Essay on the Principle of Population which reminded him of Malthus's statistical proof that human populations breed beyond their means and compete to survive, at a time when he was primed to apply these ideas to animal species. Darwin applied to his search for the Creator's laws the Whig social thinking of struggle for survival with no hand-outs. By December 1838 he was seeing a similarity between breeders selecting traits and a Malthusian Nature selecting from variants thrown up by chance so that "every part of newly acquired structure is fully practised and perfected", thinking this "the most beautiful part of my theory".

Related Topics:
1838 - Malthus's - Whig

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First writings on the theory

Darwin was well aware of the implication the theory had for the origin of humanity and the real danger to his career and reputation as an eminent geologist of being convicted of blasphemy. He worked in secret to consider all objections and prepare overwhelming evidence supporting his theory. He increasingly wanted to discuss his ideas with his colleagues, and in January 1842 sent a tentative description of his ideas in a letter to Lyell, who was then touring America. Lyell, dismayed that his erstwhile ally had become a Transmutationist, noted that Darwin "denies seeing a beginning to each crop of species".

Related Topics:
1842 - Lyell

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Despite problems with illness, Darwin formulated a 35 page "Pencil Sketch" of his theory in June 1842 then worked it up into a larger "essay". The botanist Joseph Dalton Hooker became Darwin's mainstay, and late in 1845 Darwin offered his "rough Sketch" for comments without immediate success, but in January 1847 when Darwin was particularly ill Hooker took away a copy of the "Sketch". After some delays he sent a page of notes, giving Darwin the calm critical feedback that he needed. Darwin made a huge study of barnacles which established his credentials as a biologist and provided more evidence supporting his theory.

Related Topics:
1842 - Essay - Joseph Dalton Hooker - 1845 - 1847 - Barnacle

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