Darwin. a Reader's Guide

OCCASIONAL PAPERS OF THE CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES No. 155 February 12, 2009 DARWIN A READER’S GUIDE Michael T. Ghiselin DARWIN: A READER’S GUIDE Michael T. Ghiselin California Academy of Sciences California Academy of Sciences San Francisco, California, USA 2009 SCIENTIFIC PUBLICATIONS Alan E. Leviton, Ph.D., Editor Hallie Brignall, M.A., Managing Editor Gary C. Williams, Ph.D., Associate Editor Michael T. Ghiselin, Ph.D., Associate Editor Michele L. Aldrich, Ph.D., Consulting Editor Copyright © 2009 by the California Academy of Sciences, 55 Music Concourse Drive, San Francisco, California 94118 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. ISSN 0068-5461 Printed in the United States of America Allen Press, Lawrence, Kansas 66044 Table of Contents Preface and acknowledgments . .5 Introduction . .7 Darwin’s Life and Works . .9 Journal of Researches (1839) . .11 Geological Observations on South America (1846) . .13 The Structure and Distribution of Coral Reefs (1842) . .14 Geological Observations on the Volcanic Islands…. (1844) . .14 A Monograph on the Sub-Class Cirripedia, With Figures of All the Species…. (1852-1855) . .15 On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life (1859) . .16 On the Various Contrivances by which British and Foreign Orchids are Fertilised by Insects, and on the Good Effects of Intercrossing (1863) . .23 The Different Forms of Flowers on Plants of the Same Species (1877) . .25 The Effects of Cross and Self Fertilisation in the Vegetable Kingdom (1876) . .26 The Variation of Animals and Plants under Domestication (1868) . .27 The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex (1871) . .33 The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals (1872) . .37 Insectivorous Plants (1875) . .40 The Movements and Habits of Climbing Plants (1865) . .41 The Power of Movement in Plants (1880) . .42 The Formation of Vegetable Mould, through the Action of Worms, with Observations on their Habits (1881) . .42 Secondary literature and other sources . .43 Darwin Chronology . .47 Biographical Dictionary . .69 Bibliographies . .118 I. Publications of Charles Darwin . .118 II. Publications based on Darwin’s Collections . .123 III. Secondary literature . .126 Supplement to the Secondary literature . .185 GHISELIN: DARWIN — A READER’S GUIDE 5 Preface The inspiration for this guide can be traced to my decision way back in 1966 to read all of Darwin’s major works and write a book about him, The Triumph of the Darwinian Method, published in 1969. Subsequently, I have continued to be an avid reader of Darwin’s publications and have written quite a number of shorter pieces on his life and works. The guide itself has evolved out of my notes, bibliographies, and other scholarly apparatus. The chronology owes a great deal to my contributions to the Dictionnaire du Darwinisme edited by Patrick Tort. An early version of the biographical dictionary was created when I prepared the Darwin CD ROM in collaboration with Pete Goldie. Further material was gathered in the expectation of producing a third edition of the CD ROM. Alas, because of changes in the economics of electronic publishing, that project never came to fruition, though the second edition is still available. This is not, however, a re-issue of materials published earlier. The chronology and the biographies are based on notes that have been extensively reworked and much expanded. Over the years I have continued to enlarge my personal, computerized bibliography, and the selections from it presented here are based on literally years of work. Although the introductory section bears some resemblance to those I have written for re-issues of Darwin’s books, it was written entirely from scratch. With the approach of the bicentennial of Darwin’s birth and the 150th anniversary of the publication of The Origin of Species, the need for a guide like this became increasingly obvious. My colleague Alan Leviton gave me a great deal of encouragement and we worked out a plan to publish this guide in both hard copy and on line. Acknowledgments Several persons have helped me assemble the materials used here and get them into electronic form and I am most grateful to them. These include Rasmus Winther and Subir Trivedi. Michele Aldrich read a draft with great care and provided much useful advice and greatly improved the manuscript. Alan Leviton was support- ive of this project, both improving the manuscript and getting it ready for publication. I am particularly anx- ious to thank my old friend Barbara Pope, a plant physiologist who has spent many months in the Darwin archives at Cambridge University. She played various important roles in preparing the manuscript, volunteer- ing her time and providing a generous donation in support of publication. Lastly, I want to thank Hallie Brignall, the Academy’s Managing Editor of Scientific Publications, for critiquing galley proofs of this publication. GHISELIN: DARWIN — A READER’S GUIDE 7 DARWIN: A READER’S GUIDE INTRODUCTION harles Darwin’s book entitled On the appreciate some guidelines. Interested persons Origin of Species by Means of Natural include both the more casual and general reader and C Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured the scholarly community, including students as well Races in the Struggle for Life was published in 1859. as professionals in many branches of knowledge. A It shook the world like no other publication before or fair number of readers might get more deeply since and initiated a revolution in our thinking that is involved with Darwin than they had originally intend- still gathering momentum. It is among the most ed, and that would hardly be regrettable. important scientific books ever written, and for many Bearing such needs in mind, I have prepared this of us the one most worthy of being read and under- Guide, one that reflects my personal experience and stood. Although well written, and intended for a broad draws upon the materials I have accumulated with the audience, it is anything but a piece of light literature. passage of decades. The Guide begins with a short It challenges the reader to study and to reflect. biography of Darwin that differs somewhat from Furthermore, the Origin was intended as an “abstract” some of my other biographical pieces in that it of a much longer work, to be entitled Natural expressly focuses upon Darwin’s literary productions. Selection, which was neither finished nor was it pub- It provides background, context, and explication for lished in Darwin’s lifetime. Instead Darwin published the texts. Because Darwin dealt with different topics a series of sequels to the Origin, which bear such at different times in his life, there is a roughly chrono- titles as The Variation of Animals and Plants under logical order, beginning with natural history and geol- Domestication and The Descent of Man, and ogy, and ending with physiology and psychology. Selection in Relation to Sex. These too deserve to be That justifies emphasizing the major works and treat- read, and read with understanding. ing them in a more or less logical sequence. Might we not say much the same of the entire The next section of the Guide is a Chronology, or corpus of Darwin’s writings? After all, he was the timeline, showing dates relevant to the study of author of a travel book recounting his voyage around Darwin’s life. Some of these are obviously important, the world that is a masterpiece of the genre and one whereas others are rather trivial, perhaps being men- that has delighted readers ever since it appeared in tioned solely for their curiosity value. Included are 1839. This first volume made his scientific reputation details of Darwin’s life both public and private. This as a geologist, and that aspect of his work is crucial to part will probably be most useful to students and the understanding what kind of thinker he was. A full community of professional Darwin scholars. twenty percent of his life’s work was devoted to a However, one can easily imagine uses to which it massive treatise on barnacles, a publication which, if might be put by the general reader. For example, not must reading for everybody, is of more than just Darwin’s account of his trip around the world was historical interest. A variety of people, in addition to based largely on the journal that he kept. However, zoologists, might find parts of it quite fascinating. for literary reasons, he did not present his visits to Much the same might be said of his writings on floral particular places in strictly chronological order. So, if anatomy, plant physiology, plant and animal behavior, one is interested in knowing what he did, and when psychology, and, especially, earthworms. and where he did it, the task can be frustrating, espe- Although the exercise of reading all of Darwin cially if one does not have the original version of his can be rewarding, most readers will not have the time journal at hand. or the inclination to go so far. A good sample, suited Next comes the Darwin Biographical Dictionary, to the reader’s tastes and interests, seems more realis- an alphabetically-arranged series of biographical tic. But the reader might welcome an overview as sketches of persons of interest to students of Darwin’s well as some guidance with respect to the interpreta- life and works. Similar biographical sketches can be tion of the various works. Beginners need to know found elsewhere, and readers also have recourse to where to begin, and even the most experienced might standard biographical works including encyclopedias.

Load more