Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Contributors
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- 1 Origins and the Greeks
- 2 Evolution before Darwin
- 3 Charles Darwin’s Geology
- 4 Looking Back with “Great Satisfaction” on Charles Darwin’s Vertebrate Paleontology
- 5 The Origins of the Origin
- 6 Darwin and Taxonomy
- 7 Darwin and the Barnacles
- 8 The Analogy between Artificial and Natural Selection
- 9 The Origin of Species
- 10 Sexual Selection
- 11 Darwin and Species
- 12 Darwin and Heredity
- 13 Darwin and Time
- 14 Darwin’s Evolutionary Botany
- 15 Mimicry and Camouflage
- 16 Chance and Design
- 17 Darwin and Teleology
- 18 The Evolution of the Origin (1859–1872)
- 19 Alfred Russel Wallace
- 20 Darwin and Humans
- 21 Darwin and Language
- 22 Darwin and Ethics
- 23 Social Darwinism
- 24 Darwin and the Levels of Selection
- 25 Darwin and Religion
- 26 Darwinism in Britain
- 27 Darwinism in the United States, 1859–1930
- 28 The German Reception of Darwin’s Theory, 1860–1945
- 29 Darwin and Darwinism in France before 1900
- 30 Encountering Darwin and Creating Darwinism in China
- 31 Darwinism in Latin America
- 32 Botany
- 33 Population Genetics
- 34 Synthesis Period in Evolutionary Studies
- 35 Ecological Genetics
- 36 Darwin and Darwinism in France after 1900
- 37 Botany and the Evolutionary Synthesis, 1920–1950
- 38 The Emergence of Life on Earth and the Darwinian Revolution
- 39 The Evolution of the Testing of Evolution
- 40 Mimicry and Camouflage
- 41 The Tree of Life
- 42 Sociobiology
- 43 Evolutionary Paleontology
- 44 Darwin and Geography
- 45 Darwin and the Finches
- 46 Developmental Evolution
- 47 Darwin’s Evolutionary Ecology
- 48 Darwin and the Environment
- 49 Molecular Biology
- 50 Challenging Darwinism
- 51 Human Evolution after Darwin
- 52 Language Evolution since Darwin
- 53 Cultural Evolution
- 54 Literature
- 55 Darwin and Gender
- 56 Evolutionary Epistemology
- 57 Ethics after Darwin
- 58 Darwin and Protestantism
- 59 Creationism
- 60 Darwin and Catholicism
- 61 Judaism, Jews, and Evolution
- 62 Religion
- 63 From Evolution and Medicine to Evolutionary Medicine
- Bibliography
- Index
Preface
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 May 2013
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Contributors
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- 1 Origins and the Greeks
- 2 Evolution before Darwin
- 3 Charles Darwin’s Geology
- 4 Looking Back with “Great Satisfaction” on Charles Darwin’s Vertebrate Paleontology
- 5 The Origins of the Origin
- 6 Darwin and Taxonomy
- 7 Darwin and the Barnacles
- 8 The Analogy between Artificial and Natural Selection
- 9 The Origin of Species
- 10 Sexual Selection
- 11 Darwin and Species
- 12 Darwin and Heredity
- 13 Darwin and Time
- 14 Darwin’s Evolutionary Botany
- 15 Mimicry and Camouflage
- 16 Chance and Design
- 17 Darwin and Teleology
- 18 The Evolution of the Origin (1859–1872)
- 19 Alfred Russel Wallace
- 20 Darwin and Humans
- 21 Darwin and Language
- 22 Darwin and Ethics
- 23 Social Darwinism
- 24 Darwin and the Levels of Selection
- 25 Darwin and Religion
- 26 Darwinism in Britain
- 27 Darwinism in the United States, 1859–1930
- 28 The German Reception of Darwin’s Theory, 1860–1945
- 29 Darwin and Darwinism in France before 1900
- 30 Encountering Darwin and Creating Darwinism in China
- 31 Darwinism in Latin America
- 32 Botany
- 33 Population Genetics
- 34 Synthesis Period in Evolutionary Studies
- 35 Ecological Genetics
- 36 Darwin and Darwinism in France after 1900
- 37 Botany and the Evolutionary Synthesis, 1920–1950
- 38 The Emergence of Life on Earth and the Darwinian Revolution
- 39 The Evolution of the Testing of Evolution
- 40 Mimicry and Camouflage
- 41 The Tree of Life
- 42 Sociobiology
- 43 Evolutionary Paleontology
- 44 Darwin and Geography
- 45 Darwin and the Finches
- 46 Developmental Evolution
- 47 Darwin’s Evolutionary Ecology
- 48 Darwin and the Environment
- 49 Molecular Biology
- 50 Challenging Darwinism
- 51 Human Evolution after Darwin
- 52 Language Evolution since Darwin
- 53 Cultural Evolution
- 54 Literature
- 55 Darwin and Gender
- 56 Evolutionary Epistemology
- 57 Ethics after Darwin
- 58 Darwin and Protestantism
- 59 Creationism
- 60 Darwin and Catholicism
- 61 Judaism, Jews, and Evolution
- 62 Religion
- 63 From Evolution and Medicine to Evolutionary Medicine
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
Charles Robert Darwin, the fifth child (of six) and second son of Dr. Robert Darwin and his wife Susannah (formerly Wedgwood) of Shrewsbury (pronounced Shrowsberry), a town in the English Midlands next to the Welsh border, was born on 12 February 1809 (the same day as Abraham Lincoln across the Atlantic) (Fig. Preface.1). He was sent to one of England’s famous public (in reality private) schools and then at a young age was directed north, to Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, to study medicine. After two years he realized that medicine was not for him, and so he moved south to Cambridge, to work for a degree and prepare for the life of a clergyman in the Church of England. He graduated in 1831.
Through connections he had made as a student, Darwin was offered the chance to join the British warship HMS Beagle, as it set off for South America to map the coastline (Plate I). The voyage took five years, eventually going all the way around the world, returning to England in 1836. By this time, all thoughts of a clerical life had vanished, and Darwin, supported by family money, settled into full-time work as a scientist. He became an evolutionist shortly after the Beagle voyage and discovered the mechanism for which he is famous, natural selection, in 1838. He married his first cousin Emma Wedgwood early in 1839 (Fig. Preface.2), and by that time, starting to show the signs of a still-unknown illness that plagued him for the rest of his life, he settled into the role of a somewhat reclusive invalid. The couple moved to a house in Kent and in all had ten children, seven of whom lived to maturity.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2013