Darwin's Metaphor (Paperback)

by R. M. Young (Author)

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Product Description
In this collection of closely interrelated essays, Robert Young emphasizes the scope of the nineteenth-century debate on 'man's place in nature' at the same time as he engages with the approaches of scholars who write about it. He is critical of the separation of the writing of history from writing about history, historiography, and of the separation of history from politics and ideology, then or now. Dr Young challenges fellow historians for reimposing the very disciplinary boundaries that the nineteenth-century debate showed were in the service of ideological forces in that culture. Rather, he proposes that the full weight of the contending forces should be made apparent and debated openly so that neither nineteenth-century nor current issues about the role of science in culture should be treated in a narrow perspective.

Product Details

• Paperback: 361 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (October 31, 1985)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521317428
• ISBN-13: 978-0521317429
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,085,903 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Biological Malthusianism, January 31, 2003

By	Professor Joseph L. McCauley "Joseph L. McCauley" (Austria+Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Darwin's Metaphor (Hardcover)

This book discusses the origins of Darwin's ideas of competition, natural selection and adaptation in the context of Malthus's socio-economic ideas. See also 'Origins of Mendelism' by R. Olby and 'The Mendellian Revolution' by P. J. Bowler for the contrast with Mendel's ideas. Darwin was influenced by vague ideas from economics, whereas Mendel, who independently laid the groundwork for understanding evolution at the cellular level, started with a foundation in physics.