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The Origin of Species: By Means of Natural Selection or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life

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Many people assume that Darwin's initial account of natural selection is so out of date that it is to be avoided in favour of more recent text books of evolutionary theory. While it is true that huge gains have been made in the one and a half centuries since the first publication of "The Origin", there is nothing in this work which is wrong. Darwin was too good a scientist and too cautious.

Some claim that Darwin admitted of the possibility of Lamarkian mechanisms. They have not read the original. Darwin knew nothing of the molecular basis of genetics, but knew that natural selection did not need a Lamarkian mechanism. He simply did not rule it out, although he found it improbable. Everything that is stated in this great classic is as true today as it was at the time of first publication.

It is also said that Charles Darwin was a lesser intellectual when compared to most other great names of science; that he was a plodder, a naturalist, a sort of gentleman stamp collector who pressed flowers into his books and barely a scientist in the contemporary sense. This is nonsense. Darwin was one of the giants of rigorous systematic thinking; the kind of rigorous thinking and critical attitude that asks the right questions and provides the capacity to answer them. Let me buttress this claim with one example.

At the end of chapter six Darwin noted that the theory of natural selection could not account for structures or behaviors found in one species that exist solely for the benefit of another unrelated species. In setting out the theoretical terms for the refutation of the theory in this way, he anticipated Karl Popper, that analytical non-nonsense philosopher of science, by more than a century.

I recommend you read this book with an attentive curious analytical mind. You will find yourself walking in the footsteps of an intellectual giant.

How could they forget to include the famous Darwin's diagram?! Darwin refers to the diagram on many occasions, notably on page 75 of this edition, "The accompanying diagram will aid us in understanding...," except there is no diagram accompanying this edition, so our understanding of this great book is to remain unaided, against the author's wishes. I checked every single page in the book by hand - the diagram is nowhere to be found. The electronic search under the "Look inside!" tool also shows that the diagram is not included. This edition is simply a waste of ten bucks.

Because these reviews are cross-posted, this is a review of ISBN: 0517123207, with a cover that was defiantly made to be provocative. It depicts an (ape) allying view of going from all fours to upright. If this is what you are looking for then you need to read " 2001: A Space Odyssey" by Arthur Charles Clarke.

This is a quick review of the book not a dissertation on Darwin or any other subject loosely related. At first, I did not know what to expect. I already read " The Voyage of the Beagle: Charles Darwin's Journal of Researches" (see my review). I figured the book would be similar. However, I found "Origin" to be more complex and detailed.

Taking in account that recent pieces of knowledge were not available to Charles Darwin this book could have been written last week. Having to look from the outside without the knowledge of DNA or Plate Tectonics, he pretty much nailed how the environment and crossbreeding would have an effect on natural selection. Speaking of natural selection, I thought his was going to be some great insight to a new concept. All it means is that species are not being mucked around by man (artificial selection).

If you picked up Time magazine today you would find all the things that Charles said would be near impossible to find or do. Yet he predicted that it is doable in theory. With an imperfect geological record, many things he was not able to find at the writing of this book have been found (according to the possibilities described in the book.)

The only draw back to the book was his constant apologizing. If he had more time and space he could prove this and that. Or it looks like this but who can say at this time. On the other hand, the same evidence can be interpreted 180 degrees different.

In the end, it is worth reading and you will never look at life the same way again.

The Ascent of Man by Jacob Bronowski

So, having just been enlightened by Sam Harris and Richard Dawkins (I used to be fairly religious) I thought I would give this book a read and see what all the fuss is about. "Evolution.", I thought, "thats just some crazy scientific theory." After reading into this book I will never look at my surrondings in the same way. Charles Darwin was so spot on with this "theory" that it's hard to believe somebody didn't think it sooner. A must read for any skeptic of religions claim about creation.

I read this incredible book eight years after I retired from a career in academia. A big regret is that I did not read this groundbreaking book early in my career. If I had done so, I could have benefited from Darwin's insights and his remarkable example as a scientist. I was unfamiliar with the vast scope of research he conducted himself, his scores of connections to other scientists, and his global perspective. Origin of the Species should be a must-read for everyone with a natural curiosity about life around us.

Before reviewing this excellent book it would be best to introduce this review with an overview of the current climate when it comes to Darwin.

Charles Darwin (a naturalist) is the father of modern Evolution (not *Evil*ultion; it is pronounced *Evo*-lution).

Darwin's overall explanation of evolution, in this book, is not modern evolutionary biology. Modern evolution can, and does, go beyond Darwin's view.

Darwin's model is often called Darwinism, a partially philosophical concept but mostly the science of biology and geology combined. It is widely considered to be the single most important scientific discovery of all time. Darwin's underlying points are the essentials of evolutionary biology.

Theories are comprised of facts without gaps. Theories are factual. Theories contain facts to explain a factual instance of something material. Theories do not contain fabrications or a little bit of lies plus some truths. If a theory is not all facts then it is not a theory.

The phrase "it is just a theory and not fact" is a contradiction of terms. A factual instance of something (such as observing speciation) needs to be explained. Facts are used to explain the factual instance of something material.

Darwin used philosophy and biological science and earth sciences (geology) to develop the concept of natural selection which is primarily based on explaining how evolution occurs with the mechanism of `natural selection'. Darwin observed in the world about him what he believed to be the result of a single cell organism that had evolved into all forms of life we see today. More importantly, there is no chaos involved. It has order. "The Origin of Species" (TOOS) is all about Darwin discussing how he came to this conclusion.

In the 21st Century, "Speciation" has been observed countless times. Go search right now for "Observed Speciation Events".

***Speciation is a fact whether we can explain the mechanisms of how it works or not. This can not be understated! A fact is a fact regardless of our ability to explain how it works. Gravity existed well before Newton could explain it. Speciation exists (a new species developing in the world, under scientific observation) meaning evolution is a fact. Look at the title of this review. Nobody should have to explain evolution in order to prove it factual. ***

Now is the time to say this. If you don't believe theories are factual, then stop engaging the results of factual science in your life right now. Walk the talk. Turn off the PC. Turn off the electricity. Turn off the heating... and walk. I will allow you the option of a bronze spear... that is if you know how to smelt bronze.

As a note, the Catholic Church has been teaching the fact of evolution and the theory of the mechanisms of evolution in Catholic schools since the 1950s. This is exactly the same coursework that secular schools have on evolution. However there is some discrepancy over natural selection. Natural selection has order but it is not guided. This is the problem part for most religious people. One would do well however to experience thinking about natural selection without any divine guidance. This is truly the type of thinking that grasps the full impact of this work.

The theory of the mechanisms of evolution is independent of the fact of evolution. The theory of the mechanisms of evolution is a compilation of facts (without gaps) used to explain the fact of evolution. The theory of the mechanisms of evolution is here, in part, but are much better explained and referenced by modern evolutionary biology. If its modern evolution you want (and you may well do if your first search brought you here) then go to talkorigins on the net and read about the "29+ evidences for macroevolution". It can take days, weeks months, or years, or a lifetime to parse the data, but keep going over it and it will eventually click.

The most popular version of The Origin of Species is the one which contains the first edition published by Darwin in 1859 with an editor's introduction by J. W Burrow first published in 1968. Burrows covers the history of the work, the successive editions of the book that Darwin published and recent scientific discoveries that shed light on Darwin's theory.

Introduction
Darwin in TOOS starts by describing his life and times as a naturalist. Darwin explains the problem of immutable claims about the species and goes through the historical record to show instances where people have indicated that the species are mutable. He explains that he is writing this book because Alfred Russel Wallace has drawn the same conclusions about natural selection.

Chapter 1: Variation under Domestication
Darwin goes straight into variations under domestication showing that farmed animals are substantially different from their wild counterparts from which they came. Darwin did not have access to Gregor Mendel's laws of inheritance but he did guess that there was a mechanism like this responsible for variation. His bases for the assertion that species come from other closely related species is absolutely fundamentally correct by today's standards. His explanation for it was revolutionary for his time.

Chapter 2: Variation under Nature
Darwin exposes the instability of the then current system of taxonomy to show that categorization and labelling is not fixed and thus questions the bases for immutability. This paves the way for the natural overview that all like organisms share commonalities and that variations can be immediate or subtle gradual changes over time. Darwin discusses intermediate forms and shows that group changes are proportional while alluding to the first shape of an evolutionary tree.

Chapter 3: Struggle for Existence
Darwin presents the ecosystem and shows that all organisms struggle to survive and that this struggle influences what we, who have survived this struggle, see in the world today. Darwin shows this complex structure and connects it with such descriptions as the presence of a feline determining through the intervention of mice and then bees the frequency of certain flowers in an area.

Chapter 4: Natural Selection
This is core material of how highly complex organisms are formed from organisms with lesser complexity and has still stood the test of time today. Darwin not only verifies evolution but explains its mechanism, natural selection. Using the analogy of a tree and the taxonomy of living things Darwin shows how beneficial variations in conjunction with heredity are responsible for the formation of new species gradually over long periods of time which compete and cause extinctions. Darwin establishes the foundation for common descent.

Chapter 5: Laws of Variation
Darwin, without knowing Mendel's laws of inheritance, comes close to explaining it by in-depth analyses of the variations in organisms, such as the horse and cabbage. Darwin has been preparing the reader to accept that species are highly variable and that this means that ideas of a static independent design of the species without variation are highly flawed and evolution can be the only sensible conclusion drawn from the evidence.

Chapter 6: Difficulties on Theory
Darwin does what religious writers avoid which is self-critic, the hallmark of scientific thinking, brings up all possible problems with his theory and slowly shows how the answers are natural even though he doesn't have them all yet, but still manages to explain the evolution of the eye by comparison to lesser complex eyes in nature as well as the evolution of flight by comparison to gliding organisms. Darwin then shows imperfections in nature, explains why they are there and pulls off a last minute rationalization for why organisms more suited for another environment live in a completely different one with natural selection.

Chapter 7: Instinct
Darwin looks at complex instincts in the animal kingdom. Here Darwin examines the life of aphids and ants, revealing their instincts, turns to birds, before going back into the micro world of slave-making ants and the hive-bee, before tackling the design of complex hive honeycomb structures. Not only does Darwin show the evolution of beehives but has all along been preparing us for the slow long gradual evolution of instinct in all living things and then directly implies Mendel's laws of inheritance. Darwin amazingly demonstrates that neuter or sterile insects that perform specific tasks can be produced from parents who don't do those tasks, by way of natural selection.

Chapter 8: Hybridism
In order to understand this chapter one should know that at the time the sterility of species was considered the divine indication that species where not allowed to crossbreed. Darwin using sterility examples shows the reader that there is very little to distinguish species from varieties, if they can be distinguished at all. This undermines any attempt to say that a species has an exact definition or is fixed and this is fatal to the independent creation of species hypothesis. Darwin establishes yet another proof for evolution.

Chapter 9: On the Imperfection of the Geological Record
Darwin using Lyell's geology changes our view of the world. Suddenly we find that we are no longer the centre of the earth, just as Copernicus showed that we where no longer the centre of our solar system. Darwin describes geology in-depth, with the erosion of land, atom by atom, and the formation of land, atom by atom, adding that the world has seen many forms of life, gradually evolving, through a vast amount of time that we can barely comprehend. He challenges questions about the limits of the fossil record by revealing the story of life as only evident in some parts, with other parts yet to be found, if they will ever be found at all. It's a breathtaking chapter that reshapes how human beings will see themselves after reading it.

Chapter 10: On the Geological Succession of Organic Beings
Now that Darwin has completely revised our world view with the evidence of evolution he proceeds to explain how geological movements over long period of time, as well as the migration of species, will create an imperfect fossil record but that this imperfect fossil record will always show organisms of lesser complexity evolving into organisms of greater complexity via the mechanism of natural selection. Darwin shows that species evolve at different rates over time and in different directions which explains the present existing complexity of life today and the scientific record of every organism that has ever lived.

Chapter 11: Geographical distribution
Darwin describes a series of practical experiments that anyone can do in their own back garden involving picking seeds from bird droppings, germinating them, sinking seeds in water for 28 days, growing them, analysing the content of mud in the paws of trekking animals and then concluding that the geographical dispersal of fauna from island to island is not a mystery. Darwin then explains why similar fauna are found up mountains around the world by way of glaciers pushing and splitting primordial plant life from the ground upwards. These simple explanations are yet another blow to the suggestion of the immutability of species.

Chapter 12: Geographical distribution -- continued
Without directly saying it, Darwin has been implying the common decent of all biological organisms from a single source, the origin of species. Darwin now says it but continues on the topic of distribution showing how birds can easily spread freshwater organisms and how the geological changes of streams, intersecting and separating, can spread freshwater life across the planet. Darwin joins geology with distribution presenting the historical record for all life on earth. Laws of diversity regarding degrees of complexity are introduced. Darwin has established the structure of evolutionary biology as the explanation for life. The scientific impact is immeasurable.

Chapter 13: Mutual Affinities of Organic Beings: Morphology: Embryology: Rudimentary Organs
For anyone left unconvinced, for some odd reason or another, Darwin simply points to the current work in the natural system and shows that the underlying theme taxonomists have been searching for is actually common decent. Darwin then demonstrates how natural selection can create similar developments in very diverse organisms. Embryology alone is argued as evidence for common decent as Darwin illustrates that all embryos and newborn virtually look the same in some respect and that growth and aging in the lifetime of any organism is almost enough evidence alone for mutability. Finally Darwin delivers on a collection of useless organs and appendages no longer in use because they have been naturally breed out because of disuse or `inutility'.

Chapter 14: Recapitulation and Conclusion
Darwin runs through all the main points of his argument for natural selection. Darwin is aware that evolution is a minority view but hopes that in the future more evidence for natural selection will appear. He says he can offer nothing to support the idea of the immutability of species and closes with a profound statement and for the first time invokes and ends with the classic word that defined his view. Darwin says, "There is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been originally breathed into a few forms or into one; and that, whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, EVOLVED."

The complex web of relations with livings things to the environment is staggering yet so obvious in hindsight. The whole point of TOOS is it is ridiculous that someone didn't get this sooner. The environment has an impact of living things and living things have an impact on the environment. This is a symbiotic relationship. There is an opportunity for improvement or deterioration in the offspring just on the basis of all possible genetic combinations. Minor changes add up to big ones.

Darwin's findings about how the environment causes variations in living things is accurate in his proposals although his tenders are mostly humanistic with references to biology especially with regards to "monstrosities" that simply don't have any reason for things like "wings", such as some insects and some birds, if they can't fly. Vestiges are an extremely good case for evolution. The cave crab with an eye stalk without an eye is like a telescope without the lens. Darwin identifies the possibility of sex linked traits in animals, a proven point today.

Reading TOOS is like a romance novel where the birth of something to unify the sciences further is described in a man's love for nature and his crucial discovery. TOOS is something that needs to be reread several times for the full impact. Walking around in the world today knowing that all organisms have evolved from lesser complexity to greater complexity by means of natural selection is a whole different worldview to thinking that a supernatural deity did it. Challenge yourself. Try it.

Darwin's theory begins with individual variability(individual variation).

What does individual variability mean? Not to mention, it means that one individual differs from another one. A group of different individuals makes species or genus. When the individual variability proceeds to a certain degree, the creature produces defective offspring. This creates the difference of species or the wall of species. So we tell about biological diversity.

But there is no continuity between the individual variability and the change of species(evolution). For examble, at which point would our ancestors change to other species, when we go back to our distant ancestors? Our ancestors hold their continuity as species and they do not break.

Nevertheless Darwin connects individulal variability with the variation of species. It is because his definition of species is very obvious and the definition of classification is also not clear.

Hegel says in §229 of "Shorter Logic": "Definition involves the three organic elements of the notion: the universal or proximate genus (genus proximum), the particular or specific character of the genus (qualitas specifica), and the individual, or object defined."(From the site of MIA)

To put it briefly, when there are more objects than two: the identity(commonality) of the two objects is the universal; the distinction(difference) of them is the particular; the two objects is the individual. In other words, it is the whole-part relationship. Therefore Darwin lacks this distinction, that is, the particular.

Therefore, however significantly the parts may change(and the too major change of parts produces defective offspring), so far as the whole does not change, the transition of species does not occur. The theory of explaining evolution does not exist.

Only the hierarchical structure of creatures explains biological diversity.

Without the hierarchical structure, Darwin was not able to flow it and to tell about evolution. The evolution lacking the hierarchical structure is only `change.' Here there is only a continuum.

He did not find discontinuity in the nature and understand the aspect of distiction. There are an infinite abyss between part and whole, and between whole and whole.

Finally it hits fundamental limits, or the problem of `infinitesimal,' and this problem could be solved by `0.999~ = 1,' which would make the theory probabilistic and statistical.

Also, `the 0.999~ = 1' makes the distinction indiscriminating or continuous. Thereby in the continuum there is `a middle species,' so-called `the missinglink.' And infinite middle species.

But, ignoring the hierarchical structure, the fact that Darwin was seduced by the continuum forms a grave crime.