About the Book
The publication of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species in 1859 is widely regarded as a turning point in knowledge of the natural world. But Darwin's theory of natural selection was not developed in a vacuum; rather, it represents the culmination of an enormous shift in scientific and popular opinion on the subject of species mutability from the late eighteenth century onward. Through her insightful introduction and engaging collection of documents, Sandra Herbert examines this era of scientific thought and the startling discoveries that led Darwin and others to the conclusion that life has evolved. A wide range of documents from over a dozen authors, and excerpts from Darwin's own notebooks and On the Origin of Species -- offer a fascinating glimpse into this crucial era of scientific thought.
Table of Contents:
PART I: INTRODUCTION: DEVELOPMENT OF THE THEORY OF EVOLUTION .- PART II: THE DOCUMENTS.- The Question of Evolution Arises.- Carl Linnaeus, Genera Plantarum: The Families of Plants, 1787.- Alexander von Humboldt, Personal Narrative of Travels to the Equinoctial Regions of the New Continent during the Years 1799-1804.- Erasmus Darwin, The Temple of Nature; or the Origin of Society, 1803.- Josiah Wedgwood, 'Am I Not a Man and a Brother?' 1787.- An American Version, 1837 .- Thomas Jefferson, Notes on the State of Virginia, 1787.- Georges Cuvier, Essay on the Theory of the Earth, with Mineralogical Illustrations by Professor Jameson, 1822.- Thomas Robert Malthus, An Essay on the Principle of Population, 1798.- William Paley, Natural Theology, 1802.- Jean Baptiste de Lamarck, Zoological Philosophy, 1809.- Charles Lyell, Principles of Geology, 1832.- John Herschel, Letter to Charles Lyell, 1836.- Charles Darwin Addresses the Question of Evolution.- Charles Darwin, Journal of Researches, 1839.- Richard Owen, Glyptodon clavipes, (Gigantic Extinct Armadillo), 1845.- Charles Darwin, Ornithological Notes, 1836.- Charles Darwin, Notebook B, 1837.- Emma Darwin, Letter to Charles Darwin, c. February 1839.- Roderick Murchison, Presidential Address to the Geological Society of London, 1843.- [Robert Chambers,] Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation, 1844.- Alfred Russel Wallace, On the Law Which Has Regulated the Introduction of New Species, 1855.- Charles Darwin, Letter to Asa Gray, 1857.- Alfred Russel Wallace, Recollections, 1858.- Charles Darwin, Recollections, 1831-1858.- Whitwell Elwin, Letter to John Murray, 1859 .- Charles Darwin, On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life, 1859.- Athenaeum Report on the 1860 Meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science .- Asa Gray, Review of the Origin, 1860.- Louis Agassiz, Review of the Origin, 1860.- Grave Sites of Asa Gray and Louis Agassiz, Mount Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge, Massachusetts.- Charles Darwin and Asa Gray, Letters, 1861-1866.
