Charles Darwin and the Question of Evolution
A Brief History with DocumentsFirst Edition ©2011
ISBN:9781319242671
Take notes, add highlights, and download our mobile-friendly e-books.
ISBN:9780312475178
Read and study old-school with our bound texts.
The publication of Charles Darwins On the Origin of Species in 1859 is widely regarded as a turning point in knowledge of the natural world. But Darwins theory of natural selection was not developed in a vacuum; rather, it represents the culmination of an enormous shift in scientific and popular opinion on the subject of species mutability from the late eighteenth century onward. Through her insightful introduction and engaging collection of documents, Sandra Herbert examines this era of scientific thought and the startling discoveries that led Darwin and others to the conclusion that life has evolved. A wide range of documents from over a dozen authors -- including letters, illustrations, scientific tracts, and excerpts from Darwins own notebooks and On the Origin of Species -- offer a fascinating glimpse into this crucial era of scientific thought. Thoughtful document headnotes, questions for consideration, a chronology, and a selected bibliography provide students with additional context and pedagogical support.
“Herberts book is first rate. The introduction more than adequately prepares students for the superbly-chosen documents that follow.”
-- James J. Sack, University of Illinois at Chicago“I like how the author has presented natural history as international endeavor and how she shows the personal connections among the authors represented in the volumes documents.”
-- Shirley Roe, University of Connecticut
“Herberts volume covers a great deal of terrain with grace and clarity, and overall strikes a fine balance between introducing material for first-time readers and pointing toward next-level questions for reflection. It flows together beautifully, is written in a scholarly yet somewhat conversational tone that students will greatly appreciate, and the scholarship is exemplary.”
-- Katherine Pandora, University of Oklahoma“A good and useful volume for courses that spend a week or two on Darwin and the origins of evolutionary biology.”
-- Robert Friedel, University of Maryland
Digital Options
E-book
Read online (or offline) with all the highlighting and notetaking tools you need to be successful in this course.
Table of Contents
Preface
List of Maps and Illustrations
Late Eighteenth-Century Sources of Evolutionary Ideas
Evolutionary and Anti-Evolutionary Currents in Early Nineteenth Century Thought
Charles Darwin and the Evolution Debate
The Voyage of H.M.S. Beagle, 1831-1836
Darwins Development of a Theory
The Birth of On the Origin of Species
Response to Darwins On the Origin of Species
PART TWO. The Documents
1. The Question of Evolution Arises
1. Carl Linnaeus, Genera Plantarum: The Families of Plants, 1787
2. Alexander von Humboldt, Personal Narrative of Travels to the Equinoctial Regions of the New Continent during the Years 1799-1804
3. Erasmus Darwin, The Temple of Nature; or the Origin of Society, 1803
4. Josiah Wedgwood, “Am I Not a Man and a Brother?” 1787
5. Thomas Jefferson, Notes on the State of Virginia, 1787
6. Georges Cuvier, Essay on the Theory of the Earth, with Mineralogical Illustrations by Professor Jameson, 1822
7. Thomas Robert Malthus, An Essay on the Principle of Population, 1798
8. William Paley, Natural Theology, 1802
9. Jean Baptiste de Lamarck, Zoological Philosophy, 1809
10. Charles Lyell, Principles of Geology, 1832
11. John Herschel, Letter to Charles Lyell, 1836
2. Charles Darwin Addresses the Question of Evolution
12. Charles Darwin, Journal of Researches, 1839
13. Richard Owen, Glyptodon clavipes, (Gigantic Extinct Armadillo), 1845
14. Charles Darwin, Ornithological Notes, 1836
15. Charles Darwin, Notebook B, 1837
16. Emma Darwin, Letter to Charles Darwin, c. February 1839
17. Roderick Murchison, Presidential Address to the Geological Society of London, 1843
18. [Robert Chambers,] Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation, 1844
19. Alfred Russel Wallace, On the Law Which Has Regulated the Introduction of New Species, 1855
20. Charles Darwin, Letter to Asa Gray, 1857
21. Alfred Russel Wallace, Recollections, 1858
22. Charles Darwin, Recollections, 1831-1858
23. Whitwell Elwin, Letter to John Murray, 1859
24. Charles Darwin, On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life, 1859
25. Athenaeum Report on the 1860 Meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science
26. Asa Gray, Review of the Origin, 1860
27. Louis Agassiz, Review of the Origin, 1860
28. Grave Sites of Asa Gray and Louis Agassiz, Mount Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge, Massachusetts
29. Charles Darwin and Asa Gray, Letters, 1861-1866
A Chronology of the History of Evolutionary Ideas (1739-1882)
Questions for Consideration
Selected Bibliography
Authors
Sandra Herbert
Related Titles
Sample Achieve