Name: On the Origin of Species
Author: Charles Darwin
ISBN: 9780191568824

On the Origin of Species

Charles Darwin

As an Amazon Associate and affiliate partner, Menrva Books earns from qualifying purchases. Learn more

Author Description

'can We Doubt... That Individuals Having Any Advantage, However Slight, Over Others, Would Have The Best Chance Of Surviving And Of Procreating Their Kind?' In The Origin Of Species (1859) Darwin Challenged Many Of The Most Deeply Held Beliefs Of The Western World. His Insistence On The Immense Length Of The Past And On The Abundance Of Life-forms, Present And Extinct, Dislodged Man From His Central Position In Creation And Called Into Question The Role Of The Creator. He Showed That New Species Are Achieved By Natural Selection, And That Absence Of Plan Is An Inherent Part Of The Evolutionary Process. Darwin's Prodigious Reading, Experimentation, And Observations On His Travels Fed Into His Great Work, Which Draws On Material From The Galapagos Islands To Rural Staffordshire, From English Back Gardens To Colonial Encounters. The Present Edition Provides A Detailed And Accessible Discussion Of His Theories And Adds An Account Of The Immediate Responses To The Book On Publication. The Resistances As Well As The Enthusiasms Of The First Readers Cast Light On Recent Controversies, Particularly Concerning Questions Of Design And Descent. About The Series: For Over 100 Years Oxford World's Classics Has Made Available The Widest Range Of Literature From Around The Globe. Each Affordable Volume Reflects Oxford's Commitment To Scholarship, Providing The Most Accurate Text Plus A Wealth Of Other Valuable Features, Including Expert Introductions By Leading Authorities, Helpful Notes To Clarify The Text, Up-to-date Bibliographies For Further Study, And Much More.

Menrva's Summary

THE THESIS

How do species originate and diversify through the mechanism of natural selection? Charles Darwin, a naturalist with extensive field experience, argues that biological diversity arises from the gradual accumulation of advantageous variations over vast geological time. By synthesizing his observations from the Galapagos Islands and his own experimental data, he proposes that natural selection acts as the primary driver of evolutionary change, effectively challenging static views of creation.

THE SCOPE MAP

What You Will Find

The theory of natural selection and common descent
Evidence from biogeography, paleontology, and comparative anatomy
Observations from global travel and domestic breeding practices

Scope Limits

The text does not incorporate the later discovery of Mendelian genetics or DNA
The work does not address the chemical origins of life itself

THE AUTHORITY PERSPECTIVE

Experts recognize this as the foundational text of modern evolutionary biology, though readers often note the dense, nineteenth-century prose style. It remains a primary reference for understanding the historical development of scientific thought regarding biological change.

Page Count:
432

Publication Date:
2008-01-01

Publisher:
Oup Oxford

ISBN-10:
0191568821

ISBN-13:
9780191568824

Science

Non-Fiction

Natural history

Evolutionary Biology

Philosophy of

Biology