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.

Misconceptions, and comparison to Wallace's theory

Contrary to popular understanding, Darwin did not "discover" evolution as is clear from the history of evolutionary thought. Even in his own day it was a well-known concept, although not one defended by the scientific community. As he subsequently acknowledged, others before him published brief statements outlining the principle of natural selection, but he was not aware of these little known statements until after publication of the Origin. Instead, he and Wallace put forth the first convincing and coherent mechanism of evolution: natural selection. Darwin's work, through its long list of facts and its support by prominent naturalists, established for most that evolution of some form did occur—that there was no fixity of species—even if there was considerable disagreement on the mechanism. Also contrary to a common understanding, Darwin did not invent the phrase "survival of the fittest", but added this in the 6th edition of The Origin of Species, giving due credit to the philosopher Herbert Spencer (who had used the phrase in his 1851 work Social Statics) and usually using the phrase "Natural Selection, or the Survival of the Fittest". Other aspects of Darwin's overall theory which themselves evolved over time were: common descent, sexual selection, gradualism, and pangenesis.

Related Topics:
History of evolutionary thought - Natural selection - Survival of the fittest - Herbert Spencer - 1851 - Social Statics - Common descent - Sexual selection - Gradualism - Pangenesis

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Darwin's explanation of natural selection was slightly different from that given by Wallace. Darwin used comparison to selective breeding and artificial selection as a means for understanding natural selection. No such connection between selective breeding and natural selection was made by Wallace; he expressed it simply as a basic process of nature and did not think the phenomena were in any way related. On Wallace's own first edition of The Origin of Species, he crossed out every instance of the phrase "natural selection" and replaced with it Spencer's "survival of the fittest." He also ruled out much of the ideas of Lamarckian inheritance present in Darwin's work, calling it "quite unnecessary." Darwin and Wallace would disagree on many substantive issues later in their lives especially, most bitterly on the question of whether human consciousness had itself evolved (to Darwin's horror, Wallace eventually turned against this and towards spiritualism).

Related Topics:
Natural selection - Selective breeding - Artificial selection - Spiritualism

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~