Abstract
The movement of thought associated with the name of Charles Darwin was crucial in many ways and at many different levels. Organic evolution is an idea with a very lengthy history. Certainly, as we saw in the earlier chapters of this book, it was current in the classical civilisations of the ancient world. It was not, however, until the mid-nineteenth century that the conditions of the scientific and socio-economic environment were favourable to its selection and rapid spread. Even then, at the outset, it was, as Darwin himself points out (1), an unnatural idea to most educated, even biologically educated, minds. It was repugnant because it broke through a complex of deeply entrenched and deeply intertwined beliefs.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Notes
C. Darwin, Autobiography and Selected Letters (ed. Francis Darwin), Appleton, London (1892), p. 45.
K. Hagberg, Carl Linnaeus (trans. A. Blair), Cape, London (1952).
D. Hume, Dialogues concerning Natural Religion, in Philosophical Works of David Hume (ed. T.H. Green and T.H. Grose), Longmans, London (1874) (first published 1775), vol. 2, p. 402.
J.M. Rist,Plotinus Cambridge University Press (1967), p. 66 et seq.
A.O. Lovejoy, The Great Chain of Being Harper, New York (1960), chapter 2.
G.W. von Leibniz, Monadology and other philosophical writings (trans. R. Latta), Oxford University Press, London (1898).
B. Willey, The Eighteenth Century Background, Chatto and Windus, London (1965).
M.H. Carré, Phases of Thought in England, Clarendon Press, Oxford (1949).
E. Haeckel, The History of Creation, voL 2 (trans. revised by E.R. Lankester), H. S. King, London (1876).
C. Darwin, The Origin of Species, John Murray, London (first edition, 1860), p. 481.
E. Nordenskjold, The History of Biology (trans. L.B. Eyre), Tudor, New York (1928), p. 337.
G. Cuvier, Discours sur les Révolutions de la surface du globe, Paris (1825);
C. Lyell, Principles of Geology, vol. 1, John Murray, London (tenth edition, 1866), p. 88.
J.B.P.A. de Lamarck, Philosophie Zoologique tome 1, tome 2, Paris (1809).
E. Krause, The Life of Erasmus Darwin (trans. W.S. Dallas), John Murray, London (1879).
E. Darwin, The Poetical Works 3 vols., Johnson, London (1806).
E. Darwin, The Temple of Nature (1806), II, 31.
C.C. Gillispie, The Edge of Objectivity, Princeton University Press (1960), p. 318.
A. P. de Candolle, Géographie botanique, in Dictionaire des Sciences Naturelles vol. 18, Strasbourg (1820), pp. 359–422.
T. H. Huxley, The genealogy of animals (a review of Haeckel’s Naturliche Schopfungs Geschichte), The Academy (1869), in Critiques and Addresses, Macmillan, London (1873), p. 305
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 1976 C.U.M. Smith
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Smith, C.U.M. (1976). The Origin of Species. In: The Problem of Life. Palgrave, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-02461-2_19
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-02461-2_19
Publisher Name: Palgrave, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-02463-6
Online ISBN: 978-1-349-02461-2
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)