B i b l i o f i l e

Edward Larson takes us from the first stirrings of interest in the idea of transmutation, that is, the idea that species change over time, to how Darwin, from his contemplations on the voyage of the Beagle, and later from his readings of Malthus, finally arrived at his theory of evolution by natural selection, which took the world by storm.

It is often portrayed that Darwin, as a young man, had a eureka moment on the Galapagos Islands, and in a flash of insight came up with his theory, but in fact it took a lot longer than that. And the credit for the theory doesn’t just lie with Darwin, but also with Wallace, the two finally deciding to publish at the same time.

Darwin delibarately avoided mentioning human evolution in Origin, knowing the effect that this would have, but he pulled no punches in the Descent of Man, which clearly addressed the issues of human evolution.

It is often suggested that Darwin’s theory clearly lay down the gauntlet to a religious view of the world, but it appears that in fact even Darwin himself argued that acceptance of his theory was not incompatible with a religious world view. It seems that Darwin became agnostic more due to sadness at the deaths of two of his beloved children than because of the theory.

However some religious lobbies, especially in America, were less than happy with the idea of religion being taught in schools, and this controversy rages even today.

The theory of evolution by natural selection played a role in the rise of the eugenics movement, and social Darwinism, both of which are explained very well by Larson.

If you want to understand more about the theory of evolution, what its antecedents were, and what it led to – then you would do well to read this book.

“Evolution - The Remarkable History of a Scientific Theory”, Edward J. Larson, The Modern Library, New York, 2004.