Darwin’s Historical Sketch: An Examination of the ‘Preface’ to the Origin of Species Curtis N. Johnson

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Product details:

• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 019088293X
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0190882938
• Author(s): Curtis N. Johnson

Charles Darwin’s “Historical Sketch” has appeared as a preface to nearly every authorized edition of Darwin’s Origin of Species since the second English edition was published in 1860. The “Historical Sketch” provides a brief history of opinion about the species question as a prelude to Darwin’s own independent contribution to the subject, but its provenance is somewhat obscure. While some previous thinkers anticipated portions of Darwin’s theory long before he did, none of them saw the complete picture as clearly as Darwin. As such, he was able to claim originality and priority for the idea that has transformed our understanding of nature. His “Historical Sketch” was written as an attempt to address these issues. Some things are known about its production, such as when it first appeared and what changes were made to it between its first appearance in 1860 and its final form in 1866. Other questions remain unanswered. How did it evolve in Darwin’s mind? Why did he write it at all? What did he think he was accomplishing by prefacing it to Origin of Species? Curtis Johnson approaches these questions, offering some clarity on the originality of Darwin’s work.

Table contents:

1. Darwin’s “Priority”: Baden Powell and A.R. Wallace
2. Darwin’s Earliest Sources. Authors to Be “Passed Over”: Buffon, Maillet, Aristotle
3. Early Transmutationists: J.B. Lamarck, Erasmus Darwin, Goethe, Etienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire
4. W.C. Wells and William Herbert
5. Robert Grant and Patrick Matthew
6. Leopold von Buch, C.S Rafinesque, and Samuel Haldeman
7. Robert Chambers, J.B.J. d’Omalius d’Halloy, and Henry Freke
8. Richard Owen, Part I: Owen Before Origin and his 1860 Review
9. Richard Owen, Part II: Owen After Origin
10. Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire
11. Herbert Spencer and Charles Victor Naudin
12. Heinrich Bronn, Franz Unger, J.W.E. d’Alton, and Lorenz Oken
13. D.A. Godron, J.B.G.N. Bory de Saint Vincent, K.F. Burdach, J.L.M. Poiret, and E.M. Fries
14. Alexander Keyserling, Hermann Schaaffhausen, and Henri Lecoq
15. Karl Ernst Ritter von Baer
Epilogue: T.H. Huxley and J.D. Hooker
Bibliography
Index

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