Darwin ‘Tim Lewens’ new book is a masterclass in the interpretation of Darwin. Anyone wanting to know what Darwin meant and how his words bear on the great debates of our time will find here a rare combination of clarity, learning, and fresh thinking. Indispensable.’ Gregory Radick, University of Leeds ‘A clear, well-written, fair, broad-ranging and student-friendly introduc- tion to Darwinian thinking’ Kim Sterelny, Victoria University of Wellington and Australian National University ‘Charles Darwin has been enlisted to support many different, and often contradictory, intellectual and political agendas. This is a clear and careful philosophical examination of which of these causes Darwin is willing and able to support. An excellent introduction to Darwin’s intellectual orien- tation and the implications of his thought.’ Paul Griffiths, University of Queensland, Australia ‘Charles Darwin remains as influential as ever. He is a hate figure of the religious right which only adds to his lustre in the eyes of everybody else. Tim Lewens brilliantly explores the extraordinary role that Darwin has played not only in science and philosophy but also right across the full range of human affairs. Lewens’ book contradicts the belief that nothing more that is fresh and interesting could be added to all the existing writings about Darwin.’ Sir Patrick Bateson, University of Cambridge, UK Routledge Philosophers Edited by Brian Leiter University of Texas, Austin Routledge Philosophers is a major series of introductions to the great Western philosophers. Each book places a major philosopher or thinker in historical context, explains and assesses their key arguments, and considers their legacy. Additional features include a chronology of major dates and events, chapter summaries, annotated suggestions for further reading and a glossary of technical terms. An ideal starting point for those new to philosophy, they are also essen- tial reading for those interested in the subject at any level. Hobbes A. P. Martinich Leibniz Nicholas Jolley Locke E. J. Lowe Hegel Frederick Beiser Rousseau Nicholas Dent Schopenhauer Julian Young Freud Jonathan Lear Kant Paul Guyer Husserl David Woodruff Smith Darwin Tim Lewens Forthcoming: Aristotle Christopher Shields Spinoza Michael Della Rocca Hume Don Garrett Fichte and Schelling Sebastian Gardner Rawls Samuel Freeman Merleau-Ponty Taylor Carman Heidegger John Richardson Tim Lewens Darwin First published 2007 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 270 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016 This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2006. “To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.” Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2007 Tim Lewens All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Lewens, Tim. Darwin / Tim Lewens. p. cm. -- (Routledge philosophers) Includes bibliographical references. ISBN-13: 978-0-415-34637-5 (hardback : alk. paper) ISBN-10: 0-415-34637-1 (hardback : alk. paper) ISBN-13: 978-0-415-34638-2 (pbk. : alk. paper) ISBN-10: 0-415-34638-X (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Darwin, Charles, 1809-1882. I. Title. II. Series. B1623.L49 2006 192--dc22 2006014463 ISBN 10: 0-415-34637-1 (hbk) ISBN 10: 0-415-34638-X (pbk) ISBN 10: 0-203-59713-3 (ebk) ISBN 13: 978-0-415-34637-5 (hbk) ISBN 13: 978-0-415-34638-2 (pbk) ISBN 13: 978-0-203-59713-2 (ebk) For my mum and my dad I suspect the endless round of doubts & scepticisms might be solved by considering the origin of reason. as gradually developed. see Hume on Sceptical Philosophy. Charles Darwin, Notebook N Chapter 59 Wave of Inventions The reign of Queen Victoria was famous for the numerous discoveries and inventions which happened in it. One of the first of these was the brilliant theory of Mr Darwin propounded in his memorable works, Tails of a Grandfather, The Manx Man, Our Mutual Friends, etc. This was known as Elocution or the Origin of Speeches and was fiercely denounced in every pulpit. W. C. Sellar and R. J. Yeatman, 1066 And All That Acknowledgements x Chronology xi A Note on Texts xiii ‘A Philosophical Naturalist’ Introduction 1 1. Dial ‘M’ for ‘Metaphysics’ 1 2. Darwin and Darwinism 4 3. Darwin Unfolding 7 Further Reading 7 Life One 9 1. Pedigree 9 2. From Sport to Science 12 3. The Beagle Voyage 18 4. London, Marriage and the Notebooks 24 5. Down . 29 6. And Out 34 Further Reading 38 Selection Two 39 1. Evolution and Natural Selection 39 2. The Argument for Natural Selection 41 3. Darwin and Lamarck 43 4. ‘Darwin’s Dangerous Idea’ 45 5. Natural Selection and Variation 47 6. Selection and Creativity 50 7. Selection and Population 55 8. Natural Selection Then and Now 58 Further Reading 63 Species Three 65 1. Human Nature, Squid Nature, Apple Nature 65 2. The Tree of Life 66 3. Butchering Nature 70 viii Contents 4. Individuals and Kinds 75 5. Population Thinking and Typological Thinking 83 6. Species Natures 90 Further Reading 93 Evidence Four 95 1. Science and God 95 2. Inference to the Best Explanation 97 3. Herschel and Whewell 101 4. Herschel and the Origin 104 5. Darwin, Whewell and Gemmules 107 6. Natural Selection and Common Ancestry 110 7. The Natural Selection/Intelligent Design Debate 112 8. Evolution with Intelligent Design 120 9. Darwin and Religion 124 Further Reading 126 Mind Five 128 1. Squandered Riches? 128 2. The Three Principles of Emotional Expression 129 3. Common Ancestry 136 4. The Universality of Emotional Expression 138 5. Culture and the Evolutionary Approach 141 6. The Santa Barbara School 146 7. A Single Human Nature? 147 8. The Adaptive Heuristic 151 9. Darwin and Santa Barbara 154 Further Reading 157 Ethics Six 159 1. Ethics from the Side of Natural History 159 2. The Origins of the Moral Sense 162 3. Darwin’s Normative Ethics 167 4. Evolutionary Normative Ethics 171 5. Evolutionary Meta-Ethics 176 Contents ix 6. Group Selection 180 7. Has Evolution made us Selfish? 184 Further Reading 187 Knowledge Seven 189 1. What is Knowledge? 189 2. Empiricism 191 3. Innate Knowledge 192 4. Evolutionary Epistemology: James and Popper 198 5. Memes 202 6. Cultural Evolution without Memes 208 Further Reading 213 Politics Eight 214 1. Darwin and the Right 214 2. Degenerating Society 215 3. Social Darwinism 218 4. Politics and Human Nature 221 5. Darwin and the Equality of the Sexes 223 6. Sex Differences Today 226 7. Darwin and the Left 232 Further Reading 241 Philosophy Nine 243 1. Man’s Place in Nature 243 2. Hubris 245 3. Contingency 246 4. Progress 249 5. Darwinian Naturalism 258 Further Reading 262 Glossary 264 References 272 Index 282 Acknowledgements This book aims to cover a lot of ground, and as a result of that I needed a lot of help in writing it. Many of my friends and colleagues were generous enough to wade through the entire manuscript, and on several occasions they saved me from embar- rassing errors and oversights. I am especially grateful to Patrick Bateson, Tony Bruce, David Buller, Emma Gilby, Paul Griffiths, Nick Jardine, Martin Kusch, Peter Lipton, Matteo Mameli, Greg Radick, Jim Secord, Kim Sterelny and three anonymous readers from Routledge. Every one of them took time to read the whole text closely, and to offer constructive comments on it. For discus- sion and comment on individual chapters I am indebted to André Ariew, Philippe Huneman, Mohan Matthen, Hugh Mellor, Staffan Müller-Wille and Denis Walsh. Tamara Hug, Steve Kruse, Dawn Moutrey and David Thompson provided invaluable logistical and moral support. Christina McLeish helped to produce a fine index. I also owe further thanks to Tony Bruce at Routledge for asking me to write this book, and to Kim Sterelny (whom Tony asked first), for turning the invitation down. Both Cambridge University and Clare College were kind enough to give me a term of sabbatical leave in the autumn of 2005, which enabled me to finish the project. Finally I am grateful to Emma Gilby, who not only made the manuscript better, but who made many other things better, too. Chronology 1809 Charles Robert Darwin born in Shrewsbury, on 12th February. 1817 Darwin’s mother Susannah dies when Charles is aged eight. 1818 Attends Shrewsbury School. Later claims to have learned almost nothing from it. 1825 Begins studying medicine at the University of Edinburgh. He becomes friendly with Robert Grant, a follower of Lamarck. 1828 Bored by his lectures and sickened by surgery, Darwin aban- dons his medical training and arrives at Christ’s College, Cambridge. His new chosen career is that of an Anglican priest. 1831 Graduates from Cambridge (no honours) and goes on his first geological field trip with Professor Adam Sedgwick. Later in the year his botanist friend Henslow arranges for him to travel as ship’s naturalist on board a surveying ship, HMS Beagle. He sets sail on 27th December. 1832–The Beagle carries out its surveying business off the South 1835 American coast. Darwin makes numerous long trips to the interior. Visits the Galapagos Islands in September and October 1835. 1836 The Beagle returns to England, arriving at Falmouth on 2nd October.