Essay Review: The Darwin Industry — A Critical Evalution: The Triumph of the Darwinian Method,Charles Darwin: The Years of Controversy,Wallace and Natural Selection

The work has received the Pfizer Award from the History of Science Society.

Triumph, 129.

Triumph, 4.

Triumph, 76.

Triumph, 7.

Triumph, 63.

More detailed accounts can be found in such standard works as Braithwaite R. B. , Scientific explanation (Cambridge, 1953); and Hempel C. G. , Aspects of scientific explanation (New York, 1965).

Triumph, 9.

I must confess that neither of these labels springs immediately to my mind in connexion with Darwin. I do not, for example, think Darwin ever considered the idea of God as meaningless, even though he became something of an agnostic. But if Darwin's position were akin to logical positivism he would have found the idea of God to be meaningless.

Herschel J. F. W. , A preliminary discourse on the study of natural philosophy (London, 1830), 104. Similar passages can be found in Whewell W. , The history of the inductive sciences (London, 1837), and The philosophy of the inductive sciences (London, 1840).

Triumph, 76.

Triumph, 65.

Triumph , 66. Even more confusing is a passage a few pages later where we are told that the logical structure of Darwin's theory is: “If there is a variation, if the variants differ in fitness, and if the variations are inherited, then there is evolutionary change—sometimes” (p. 72). If this is the case, then talk of “deductions” hardly seems appropriate.

Triumph, 128.

See for example Smart J. J. C. , Philosophy and scientific realism (London, 1963). I try to give some arguments against this kind of position, at least with respect to modern evolutionary theory, in my book The philosophy of biology (London, 1973).

I discuss this point in more detail in my paper “Natural selection in The origin of species”, Studies in history and philosophy of science, ii (1971), 311–51.

Darwin C. , The origin of species (Harmondsworth, 1968), 130.

One person who has produced a truly hypothetico-deductive evolutionary theory is Williams M. , “Deducing the consequences of evolution: A mathematical model”, The journal of theoretical biology, xxix (1970), 343–85. But despite her claims to the contrary, it seems to me that her theory has little to do with that of Darwin.

Triumph, 4, my italics.

Triumph, 236.

Triumph, 186.

“Observations on the parallel roads of Glen Roy, and of other parts of Lochaber in Scotland, with an attempt to prove that they are of marine origin”, Philosophical transactions (1839), 39–82.

Charles Darwin, 212.

Charles Darwin, 229.

Charles Darwin, 251.

Charles Darwin, 271.

Charles Darwin, 197.

My life: A record of events and opinions (London, 1905), ii, 18.

On the various contrivances by which orchids are fertilised by insects (London, 1862).

See Jenkin F. , “The origin of species”, North British review, xlii (1867), 149–71.

See Eiseley L. , Darwin's century (New York, 1958).

“I am smashed to atoms about Glen Roy. My paper was one long gigantic blunder from beginning to end. Eheu! Eheu!” (from a letter to Lyell, 6 Sept., 1861, reprinted in Darwin F. Seward A. C. (eds), More letters of Charles Darwin (London, 1903), ii, 188).

Wallace, 12.

“On the law which has regulated the introduction of new species” The annals and magazine of natural history, xvi (1855), 184–96.

“On the tendency of varieties to depart indefinitely from the original type”, Journal of the proceedings of the Linnean Society, Zoology, iii (1859), 53–62.

Wallace, 143.

“But you must not suppose that your paper has not been attended to: Two very good men, Sir C. Lyell, and Mr E. Blyth at Calcutta, specially called my attention to it” (from a letter from Darwin to Wallace, 22 Dec. 1857, reprinted in Darwin F. (ed.), The life and letters of Charles Darwin (London, 1887), ii, 108).

To be precise, it was read on 1 July 1858, and appeared in print that August.

Wallace, 138.

Wallace, 4.

A very interesting discussion of the scientific communities' hysterical reaction to Velikovsky can be found in Mulkay M. , “Some aspects of cultural growth in the natural sciences”, Social research, xxxvi (1969), no. 1.

Wallace, 138.

“Darwin's notebooks on the transmutation of species”, Parts i–iv, ed. de Beer G. Rowlands M. J. ; “Excised Pages”, ed. de Beer G. , Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) historical series, ii, nos 2–6, and iii, no. 5.

I understand however that an edition of this work edited by R. Stauffer is shortly to appear.