Western Civilization II / Unit 12 WC2 1126 worked example, 60 to 90 seconds
Reading Darwin's Introduction
The idea
Read the Introduction to On the Origin of Species. Source read: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1228. Darwin opens on the Beagle and the facts of South America, then names Wallace, who reached the same conclusion. The argument comes in one sentence: "As many more individuals of each species are born than can possibly survive; and as, consequently, there is a frequently recurring struggle for existence, it follows that any being, if it vary however slightly in any manner profitable to itself, under the complex and sometimes varying conditions of life, will have a better chance of surviving, and thus be naturally selected." He calls this "the doctrine of Malthus, applied to the whole animal and vegetable kingdoms". He closes by rejecting the view "that each species has been independently created", and calls natural selection the main but not exclusive means of change. Three things to notice: he claims no plan and no purpose; he grounds the argument in pigeon breeders before wild nature; and he warns that facts against him exist and promises to state them.
In practice
Malthus in nature; no plan; the difficulties admitted.
Where people slip
Quoted within two sentences from the Gutenberg text; the anchor summarizes.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
Unlocks
- Nothing yet depends on this.
Something wrong in this lesson? Flag it