Abstract
Alfred Russel Wallace is well-known for his co-discovery of the principle of natural selection. Natural selection is usually considered a process, but it is not clear that Wallace regarded it in exactly these terms. In fact he more likely thought of the relationships involved as representing what we would now term a “state space,” a negative feedback loop wherein populations are maintained at healthy levels through elimination of the unfit. Both before and after the advent of natural selection, Wallace clung to the idea that “more recondite forces” were shaping the nature and direction of evolution; this is especially evident in his treatment of incipient structures, and continuing allusions to the probable existence of extenuating local influences on process. In this work, the history of these leanings is detailed, in the hope that Wallace’s overall position on evolution may be better understood.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Anonymous (1893) Woman and natural selection. Daily Chron (London) (9902):3
Bateson G (1972) Steps to an ecology of mind. Chandler Publishing Company, San Francisco
DelMonte MM (2011) Post-Darwinian psychology: does mind really matter? Int J Healing Caring 11. http://72.167.195.46. Accessed 21 Sept 2013
Marchant J (1916) Alfred Russel Wallace; letters and reminiscences. Cassell, London, Reprinted 1975 by Arno Press, New York
Meyen FJF (1846) Outlines of the geography of plants. Ray Society, London
Smith CH (1986) A contribution to the geographical interpretation of biological change. Acta Biotheor 35:229–278
Smith CH (2008) Wallace, spiritualism, and beyond: ‘change’, or ‘no change’? In: Smith CH, Beccaloni G (eds) Natural selection and beyond: the intellectual legacy of Alfred Russel Wallace. Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp 391–423
Smith CH (2013) Alfred Russel Wallace’s world of final causes. Theor Biosci 132:239–249
von Humboldt A (1846) Cosmos, vol 1. Longman, Brown, Green & Longmans, London
von Humboldt A, Bonpland AJA (1814) Personal narrative of travels. Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, London
von Liebig J (1840) Organic chemistry in its application to agriculture and physiology. Taylor and Walton, London
Wallace AR (1845) Letter to H. W. Bates dated 28 December 1845. Wallace letters online. WCP346 (URL, accessed 21 Sept 2013. http://www.nhm.ac.uk/research-curation/scientific-resources/collections/library-collections/wallace-letters-online/346/346/T/details.html)
Wallace AR (1852) On the monkeys of the Amazon. Proc Zool Soc Lond 20:107–110
Wallace AR (1855) On the law which has regulated the introduction of new species. Ann Mag Nat Hist 16(2nd ser):184–196
Wallace AR (1856) On the habits of the orang-utan of Borneo. Ann Mag Nat Hist 18(2nd ser):26–32
Wallace AR (1857) On the natural history of the Aru Islands. Ann Mag Nat Hist 20(2nd ser):473–485
Wallace AR (1858) On the tendency of varieties to depart indefinitely from the original type. J Proc Linn Soc Zool 3:53–62
Wallace AR (1863) On the physical geography of the Malay Archipelago. J Roy Geogr Soc 33:217–234
Wallace AR (1864) Remarks on the habits, distribution, and affinities of the genus Pitta. Ibis 6:100–114
Wallace AR (1865) On the phenomena of variation and geographical distribution as illustrated by the Papilionidae of the Malayan region. Trans Linn Soc Lond 25:1–71
Wallace AR (1867a) On the Pieridæ of the Indian and Australian regions. Trans Entomol Soc Lond 4(3rd se):301–416
Wallace AR (1867b) Mimicry, and other protective resemblances among animals. Westminst Rev 32(n.s):1–43
Wallace AR (1869a) The origin of species controversy. Nature 1(105–107):132–133
Wallace AR (1869b) The Malay Archipelago: the land of the oran-utan and the bird of paradise, a narrative of travel with studies of man and nature. Macmillan and Co, London
Wallace AR (1870a) Contributions to the theory of natural selection. Macmillan and Co., London
Wallace AR (1870b) Man and natural selection. Nature 3:8–9
Wallace AR (1871) On the attitude of men of science towards the investigators of spiritualism. In: Tuttle H, Peebles JM (eds) The year-book of spiritualism for 1871. W. White & Company, Boston, pp 28–31
Wallace AR (1876) Address. Rep Br Assoc Adv Sci 46:100–119
Wallace AR (1877) The colours of animals and plants. Macmillan’s Mag 36(384–408):464–471
Wallace AR (1879) Organisation and intelligence. Nature 19:477–480
Wallace AR (1882) Dr. Fritz Müller on some difficult cases of mimicry. Nature 26:86–87
Wallace AR (1885a) The “Journal of science” on spiritualism. Light (London) 5:327–328
Wallace AR (1885b) Modern spiritualism. Are its phenomena in harmony with science? Medium & Daybreak 16:809
Wallace AR (1890) Human selection. Fortnightly Rev 48:325–337
Wallace AR (1908a) The world of life: as visualised and interpreted by Darwinism. Fortnightly Rev 85:411–434
Wallace AR (1908b) Evolution and character. Fortnightly Rev 83:1–24
Wallace AR (1913) Social environment and moral progress. Cassell and Co., Ltd., London
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Smith, C.H. (2016). Wallace and Incipient Structures: A World of ‘More Recondite’ Influences. In: Das, I., Tuen, A. (eds) Naturalists, Explorers and Field Scientists in South-East Asia and Australasia. Topics in Biodiversity and Conservation, vol 15. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-26161-4_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-26161-4_1
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-26159-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-26161-4
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)