Many Metabolisms, Many Origins?

An unspoken but widely held belief among both evolutionary biologists (and some "intelligent design" supporters) is the idea that life (or, to be more specific, living organisms and/or metabolic processes) originated once a very long time ago. Along with my fellow biology majors, I was taught this by William T. Keeton in introductory biology at Cornell, where we also were told that if life (or biomolecules) somehow spontaneously started again today, it would immediately be scarfed up by already living organisms.

This idea ultimately derives from the last paragraph of Darwin's Origin of Species, in which he proposed that

"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." [Origin of Species, 1st edition, 1859]

Darwin asserted this partly to contrast his theory of evolution from that of Lamarck's, which included the idea that life was continuously arising spontaneously, generating new phylogenetic lines of organisms throughout deep evolutionary time. The discovery of the (almost) "universal" genetic code in the 1950s by Crick, Nirenberg, Holley, Khorana, et al provided strong evidence for the "one origin" hypothesis.

However, the fact that there is currently no evidence for an alternative "many origins" hypothesis doesn't necessarily support the conclusion that this hypothesis has been falsified. On the contrary, as the recent discovery by Felisa Wolfe-Simon of a "shadow arsenic metabolism" indicates, this lack of evidence is the result of lack of investigation, rather than actual lack of such origins. It is, in other words, quite possible that life (or at least biochemical processes similar to metabolic processes and molecules similar to "standard" biomolecules, and even cell-like structures incorporating both) is "originating" spontaneously all the time, but that we haven't noticed it because we haven't been looking. After all, nobody suspected the existence of an entire domain of living organisms (i.e. the Archaea) until Carl Woese starting looking two decades ago.

As J. B. S. Haldane — who formulated an early hypothesis for the origin of life — once quipped,

"[T]he Universe is not only queerer than we suppose, but queerer than we can suppose." [Haldane, J. B. S. (1927) Possible Worlds and Other Papers, page 227]

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As always, comments, criticisms, and suggestions are warmly welcomed!

--Allen

Gauss, ID, and the Red Queen Hypothesis

Robert Sheldon has posted a blog entry at Uncommon Descent that is a masterpiece of misdirection, misunderstanding, and mendacity. His post is linked to a longer post at TownHall.com, which I would like to analyze in some detail, as it represents a paradigm of the kind of twisted "logic" that passes for "science" among supporters of "intelligent design". Let's start at the beginning:

First of all, Sheldon asserts that

"a "Gaussian" or "normal" distribution...is the result of a random process in which small steps are taken in any direction."

This is a gross distortion of the definition of a Gaussian distribution. To be specific, a Gaussian distribution is not "the result of a random process in which small steps are taken in any direction". On the contrary, a Gaussian distribution is "a continuous probability distribution that often gives a good description of data that cluster around [a] mean (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaussian_distribution). There is a huge difference between these two "definitions".

• The first – the one invented by Robert Sheldon – completely leaves out any reference to a mean value or the concept of variation from a mean value, and makes it sound like a Gaussian distribution is the result of purely random processes.

• The second – the one defined by Gauss and used by virtually all statisticians and probability theorists – assumes that there is a non-random mean value for a particular measured variable, and illustrates the deviation from this mean value.

Typically, a researcher counts or measures a particular environmental variable (e.g. height in humans), collates this data into discrete cohorts (e.g. meters), and then constructs a histogram in which the abscissa/x axis is the counted/measured variable (e.g. meters) and the ordinate/y axis is the number of individual data points per cohort (e.g. the number of people tallied at each height in meters). Depending on how broad the data cohort, the resulting histogram may be very smooth (i.e. exhibiting “continuous variation”) or “stepped” (i.e. exhibiting “discontinuous variation”).

Graphs of variables exhibiting continuous variation approximate what is often referred to as a “normal distribution” (also called a “bell-shaped curve”). This distribution is formally referred to as a Gaussian distribution, in honor of its discoverer, Carl Friedrich Gauss (this, by the way, is one of only three accurate statements conveyed by Sheldon in the post at TownHall.com). While it is the case that Gaussian distributions are the result of random deviations, they are random deviations from a mean value, which is assumed to be the result of a determinative process.

In the example above, height in humans is not random the way Sheldon defines “random”. If it were, there would be no detectible pattern in human height at all, and we would observe a purely random distribution of human heights from about 0.57 meters to about 2.5 meters. Indeed, we would see no pattern at all in human height, and every possible height would be approximately equally likely.

Instead, we see a bell-shaped (i.e. “normal” or “Gaussian”) distribution of heights centered on a mean value (around 1.6 meters for adults, disregarding gender). The “tightness” of the normal distribution around this mean value can be expressed as either the variance or (more typically) as the standard deviation, both of which are a measure of the deviation from the mean value, and therefore of the variation between the measured values.

Sheldon goes on to state in the post at TownHall.com that “[s]o universal is the "Gaussian" in all areas of life that it is taken to be prima facie evidence of a random process.” This is simply wrong; very, very wrong – in fact, profoundly wrong and deeply misleading. A Gaussian distribution is evidence of random deviation from a determined value (i.e. a value that is the result of a determinative process). Indeed, discovering that a set of measured values exhibits a Gaussian distribution indicates that there is indeed some non-random process determining the mean value, but that there is some non-determined (i.e. “random”) deviation from that determined value.

Why does Sheldon so profoundly misrepresent the definitions and implications of Gaussian distributions? He says so himself:

“Because many people predict that Darwinian evolution is driven by random processes of small steps. This implies that there must be some Gaussians there if we knew where to look.”

This is only the second accurate statement conveyed in the OP, but Sheldon goes on to grossly misrepresent it. It is the case that the “modern evolutionary synthesis” is grounded upon R. A. Fisher’s mathematical model for the population genetics of natural selection, in which the traits of living organisms are both assumed and shown to exhibit exactly the kind of “continuous variation” that is reflected in Gaussian distributions. Fisher showed mathematically that such variation is necessary for evolution by natural selection to occur. In fact, he showed mathematically that there is a necessary (i.e. determinative) relationship between the amount of variation present in a population and the rate of change due to natural selection, which he called
the fundamental theorem of natural selection.

But in his post at TownHall.com Sheldon goes on to strongly imply that such Gaussian distributions are not found in nature, and that instead most or all variation in nature is “discontinuous”. Along the way, Sheldon also drops a standard creationist canard: “Darwin didn't seem to produce any new species, or even any remarkable cultivars.” Let’s consider these one at a time.

First, most of the characteristics of living organisms exhibit exactly the kind of variation recognized by Gauss and depicted in “normal” (i.e. “bell-shaped”) distributions. There are exceptions: the traits that Mendel studied in his experiments on garden peas are superficially discontinuous (this is Sheldon’s third and only other accurate statement in his post). However, almost any other characteristic (i.e. “trait”) that one chooses to quantify in biology exhibits Fisherian “continuous variation”.

I have already given the example of height in humans. To this one could add weight, skin color, density of hair follicles, strength, hematocrit, bone density, life span, number of children, intelligence (as measured by IQ tests), visual acuity, aural acuity, number of point mutations in the amino acid sequence for virtually all enzymes...the list for humans is almost endless, and is similar for everything from the smallest viruses to the largest biotic entities in the biosphere.

Furthermore, Darwin did indeed produce some important results from his domestic breeding programs. For example, he showed empirically that, contrary to the common belief among Victorian pigeon breeders, all of the domesticated breeds of pigeons are derived from the wild rock dove (Columba livia). He used this demonstration as an analogy for the "descent with modification" of species in the wild. Indeed, much of his argument in the first four chapters of the Origin of Species was precisely to this point: that artificial selection could produce the same patterns of species differences found in nature. No, Darwin didn’t produce any new “species” as the result of his breeding experiments, but he did provide empirical support for his theory that “descent with modification” (his term for “evolution”) could indeed be caused by unequal, non-random survival and reproduction; that is, natural selection.

To return to the main line of argument, by asserting that Mendel’s discovery of “discontinuous variation” undermined Darwin’s assumption that variation was “continuous”, Sheldon has revived the “mutationist” theory of evolution of the first decade of the 20th century. In doing so, he has (deliberately?) misrepresented both evolutionary biology and population genetics. He admits that the “modern evolutionary synthesis” did indeed show that there is a rigorously mathematical way to reconcile Mendelian genetics with population genetics, but he then states

”…finding Gaussians in the spatial distribution of Mendel's genes would restore the "randomness" Darwin predicted….But are Gaussians present in the genes themselves? Neo-Darwinists would say "Yes", because that is the way new information should be discovered by evolution. After all, if the information were not random, then we would have to say it was "put" there, or (shudder) "designed".

And then he makes a spectacular misrepresentation, one so spectacular that one is strongly tempted toward the conclusion that this massive and obvious error is not accidental, but rather is a deliberate misrepresentation. What is this egregious error? He equates the “spatial distribution of Mendel's genes” (i.e. the Gaussian distribution of “continuous variation” of the heritable traits of organisms) with “the distribution of ‘forks’ (i.e. random genetic changes, or “mutations”) in time (i.e. in a phylogenetic sequence).

He does so in the context of Venditti, Meade, and Pagel’s recent letter to Nature on phylogenies and Van Valen’s “red queen hypothesis”. Venditti, Meade, and Pagel’s letter outlined the results of a meta-analysis of speciation events in 101 species of metacellular eukaryotes (animals, fungi, and plants). Van Valen’s “red queen hypothesis” states (among other things) that speciation is a continuous process in evolutionary lineages as the result of “coevolutionary arms races”.

Van Valen suggested (but did not explicitly state) that the rate of speciation would therefore be continuous. Most evolutionary biologists have assumed that this also meant that the rate of formation of new species would not only be continuous, but that it would also be regular, with new species forming at regular, widely spaced intervals as the result of the accumulation of relatively small genetic differences that eventually resulted in reproductive incompatibility. This assumption was neither rigorously derived from first principles nor empirically derived, but rather was based on the assumption that “continuous variation” is the overwhelming rule in both traits and the genes that produce them.

What Venditti, Meade, and Pagel’s analysis showed was that

“… the hypotheses that speciation follows the accumulation of many small events that act either multiplicatively or additively found support in 8% and none of the trees, respectively. A further 8% of trees hinted that the probability of speciation changes according to the amount of divergence from the ancestral species, and 6% suggested speciation rates vary among taxa. “

That is, the original hypothesis that speciation rates are regular (i.e. “clock-like”) as the result of the accumulation of small genetic changes was not supported.

Instead, Venditti, Meade, and Pagel’s analysis showed that

“…78% of the trees fit the simplest model in which new species emerge from single events, each rare but individually sufficient to cause speciation.”

In other words, the genetic events that cause reproductive isolation (and hence splitting of lineages, or “cladogenesis”) are not cumulative, but rather occur at random intervals throughout evolving lineages, thereby producing “…a constant rate of speciation”. Let me emphasize that conclusion again:

The genetic events that cause reproductive isolation…occur at random intervals throughout evolving lineages, thereby producing “…a constant rate of speciation”.

In other words (and in direct and complete contradiction to Sheldon’s assertions in his blog post), Venditti, Meade, and Pagel’s fully support the assumption that the events that cause speciation (i.e. macroevolution) are random:

“…speciation [is the result of] rare stochastic events that cause reproductive isolation.

But it’s worse than that, if (like Sheldon) one is a supporter of “intelligent design”. The underlying implications of the work of Venditti, Meade, and Pagel is not that the events that result in speciation are “designed”, nor even that they are the result of a determinative process like natural selection. Like Einstein’s anathema, a God who “plays dice” with nature, the events that result in speciation are, like the spontaneous decay of the nucleus of a radioactive isotope, completely random and unpredictable. Not only is there no “design” detectible in the events that result in speciation, there is no regular pattern either. Given enough time, such purely random events eventually happen within evolving phylogenies, causing them to branch into reproductively isolated clades, but there is no deterministic process (such as natural selection) that causes them.

Here is Venditti, Meade, and Pagel's conclusion in a nutshell:

Speciation is not the result of natural selection or any other “regular” determinative process. Rather, speciation is the result of “rare stochastic events that cause reproductive isolation.”

And stochastic events are not what Sheldon tried (and failed) to assert they are: they are not regular, determinative events resulting from either the deliberate intervention in nature by a supernatural “designer” nor are they the result of a regular, determinative process such as “natural selection”. No, they are the result of genuinely random, unpredictable, unrepeatable, and irregular “accidents”. Einstein’s God may not “play dice” with nature (although a century of discoveries in quantum mechanics all point to the opposite conclusion), but Darwin’s most emphatically does.

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As always, comments, criticisms, and suggestions are warmly welcomed!

--Allen

Books in Celebration of the 150th Anniversary of the Origin of Species

2009 marks several important anniversaries in the science of evolutionary biology. Perhaps the two most important are the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin and the 150th anniversary of the publication of his most important book, On the Origin of Species, originally published in November of 1859. Scientific societies around the world are celebrating these two events, with “Darwin Day” observances at hundreds of colleges, universities, and museums, including Cornell University and the Museum of the Earth at the Paleontological Research Institution in Ithaca, New York.

Publishers are also celebrating these two anniversaries, bringing out a flood of books on Darwin and evolution. There isn’t space in this blogpost to note all of these publications, but we can mention some of the most noteworthy and relevant of these publications. Here is an annotated list of some of the best and most comprehensive publications that have come out recently, celebrating the life and work of Charles Darwin and his theory of evolution by natural selection. The full publication information for each work is included in this list, followed by a brief paragraph describing its contents.

DARWIN'S BOOKS (in print)
Darwin, Charles (Edward O. Wilson, editor) (2005) From So Simple a Beginning: Darwin's Four Great Books. W.W. Norton & Co.: New York, NY, ISBN 0393061345 (hardcover, $39.95), 1706 pages. Available here.

Perhaps the best way to celebrate Darwin’s life and work is to read his most important and influential books. In preparation for the Darwin bicentennial several publishers have brought out various versions of his books. This one is the best, not only because it includes his four most influential publications, but also because the editor, evolutionary biologist Edward O. Wilson, provides a brief but illuminating introduction to each one. Wilson places Darwin’s work in its historical and scientific context, and shows how each of his four great books laid the groundwork for the modern science of biology. If you only have time for one of these books, let this compendium be the one you read this year.

Darwin, Charles (James T. Costa, editor) (2009) The Annotated Origin: A Facsimile of the First Edition of On the Origin of Species. Belknap Press of Harvard University Press: Cambridge, MA, ISBN 0674032810 (hardcover, $35.00), 576 pages. Available here.

Darwin didn’t originally intend to publish the book we now know as the Origin of Species. He was working on a much longer multi-volume work that he intended to call Natural Selection, and rushed to publish an “abstract” of this work in 1859 to forestall losing his priority for the idea to Alfred Russell Wallace. As a consequence, the Origin of Species has no footnotes, endnotes, nor bibliography. This version of the Origin makes up for that lack. Ably edited by James Costa, The Annotated Origin contains many of the annotations that the original Origin of Species lacked, and provides the reader with a comprehensive grounding in the natural history that Darwin marshaled in support of his revolutionary theory.

Darwin, Charles (David Quammen, editor) (2008) On the Origin of Species: The Illustrated Edition. Sterling Publishers: New York, NY, ISBN 1402756399 (hardcover, $35.00), 560 pages. Available here.

Darwin rushed to publish the Origin of Species, and included only one technical illustration in the first edition. This lack of illustrations has been rectified in David Quammen’s beautifully illustrated version of the Origin. Perhaps best known for his masterful book on island biogeography and extinction, The Song of the Dodo, Quammen has chosen a huge selection of images that illuminate Darwin’s theory in ways that Darwin himself would have found both fascinating and extremely valuable for a deeper understanding of his theory.

DARWIN'S BOOKS (online)

The Internet has provided readers and scholars today with an unparalleled opportunity to study the works of Darwin online. By far the best of these electronic resources is a website initiated and maintained by John Van Whye and his colleagues in England. Available online at http://darwin-online.org.uk/, The Complete Works of Charles Darwin includes not only all of Darwin’s books (available in all of their various editions), but also photographic facsimiles of these works side-by-side with searchable full text versions, plus all of Darwin’s scientific publications and a massive and growing collection of his voluminous correspondence. Here is a sampling:

Darwin, Charles (1845) Journal of Researches into the Natural History and Geology of the Countries Visited During the Voyage of H.M.S. Beagle Round the World, Under the Command of Capt. Fitz Roy, R.N. 2d edition. John Murray: London, UK, 536 pages. Text and images available here.

This was Darwin’s first and most popular book for the general public, establishing him as the premier naturalist in England at the time of its publication. Continuously in print since 1845, the Voyage of the Beagle (as it is most often referred to) is both a marvelous compendium of natural history and a fascinating journal of a voyage of discovery almost unparalleled in the literature of science.

Darwin, Charles (1859) On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life. John Murray: London, UK, 522 pages. Text and images available here.

Darwin’s most important book, and perhaps the most important book ever published in the science of biology. Indeed, a strong argument could be made that this book single-handedly founded the modern science of biology. This online edition juxtaposes the text of the Origin with photographs of the corresponding pages from the first edition.

Darwin, Charles (1871) The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex. John Murray: London, UK, 424 pages. Text and images available here.

Darwin’s second most important book, and perhaps the most controversial of his published works, the Descent of Man (as it is most often referred to) contains Darwin’s proposal that humans have evolved from “lower” primates, and a detailed exploration of what Darwin believed to be the most important mechanism in the evolution of humans: sexual selection. Darwin also speculates on the evolutionary origin of such uniquely human traits as art, language, and morality.

Darwin, Charles (1871) The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals. John Murray: London, UK, 374 pages. Text and images available here.

One of Darwin’s lesser-known books, but no less important in its own way, The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals is often credited with founding the modern science of animal behavior. In it, Darwin explored the biological basis for the expression of emotions in humans and other animals, with detailed examples (many with accompanying photographs) that show how human emotions are most probably derived from the emotions of other “lower” animals, including dogs as well as monkeys and other primates.

DARWIN'S LIFE AND WORK (adults/general)

Many people (including many evolutionary biologists) not only have never read Darwin's books, but also do not know how Darwin came to write them. Furthermore, opponents of Darwin's theories often portray Darwin's life and personal beliefs in as negative a light as possible, in an attempt to discredit his theories. Perhaps the best antidotes to both of these deficiencies are the books listed here, which together provide a comprehensive view of Darwin's life and work. Most of them are written for non-scientists, and all of them provide a fascinating glimpse into the work of the founder of the science of biology.

Browne, Janet (1996) Charles Darwin: A Biography, Volume 1: Voyaging. Princeton University Press: Princeton, NJ, ISBN 0691026068 (paperback, $25.95), 622 pages. Available here.

Although not explicitly published in celebration of the Darwin bicentennial, Janet Browne’s two-volume biography of Darwin is widely recognized as the premier biography of the founder of evolutionary biology. This first volume covers Darwin’s youth and early career, up to the completion of the voyage of HMS Beagle and the germination of his theory of evolution by natural selection. Using the extensive collection of Darwin’s correspondence along with personal papers and those of his family and scientific associates, Browne draws a detailed and sometimes surprising portrait of the founder of the most comprehensive and controversial theory in the natural sciences.

Browne, Janet (2003) Charles Darwin: A Biography, Volume 2: The Power of Place. Princeton University Press: Princeton, NJ, ISBN 0691114390 (paperback, $25.95), 600 pages. Available here.

In this second volume of Janet Browne’s two-volume biography of Darwin, Janet Browne explores the origin of the Origin of Species and Darwin’s other ground breaking and revolutionary works. Unlike some of Darwin’s other biographers, Browne gets most of the science right in her biography, and illuminates Darwin’s ideas in light of his detailed work in natural history. She also provides insights into Darwin’s personality, including his much-noted reclusive nature, and shows how his scientific work and ideas were influenced by events in his private life.

Darwin, Charles (Nora Barlow, editor) (1993) The Autobiography of Charles Darwin: 1809-1882. W.W. Norton & Co.: New York, NY, ISBN 0393310698 (paperback, $14.95), 224 pages. Available here.

Although Darwin wrote an autobiography, he never intended it to be a comprehensive history of his life or his ideas. Rather, he did it almost on a lark, as a kind of “gift” to the members of his family and closest friends. Despite this, his autobiography provides some fascinating insights into his personality, and especially his views on art, literature, religion, ethics, and philosophy. This edition includes autobiographical material that was suppressed by Darwin’s widow and son, and should be considered to be the definitive edition.

Darwin, Charles (Gordon Chancellor & John Van Wyhe, editors) (2009) Charles Darwin’s Notebooks from the Voyage of the Beagle. Cambridge University Press: New York, NY, ISBN 0521517575 (hardcover, $150.00), 650 pages. Available here.

This is an expensive, but absolutely invaluable publication, brought out by Cambridge University Press as part of this year’s bicentennial celebration and edited by Gordon Chancellor and John Van Whye (the same John Whye who maintains the complete works of Darwin online). It contains the entirety of Darwin’s handwritten journals of the voyage of HMS Beagle, written during the voyage. In it one can trace the development of Darwin’s revolutionary ideas as they first occurred to him, and see how the events of the voyage laid the groundwork for his revolutionary theories. This is a must-have edition for anyone who wants to understand how and when the Darwinian revolution began.

Desmond, Adrian & Moore, James (2009) Darwin's Sacred Cause: How a Hatred of Slavery Shaped Darwin's Views on Human Evolution. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt: New York, NY, ISBN 0547055269 (hardcover, $14.95), 448 pages. Available here.

Charles Darwin was born on February 12, 1809, the same day as Abraham Lincoln. This propinquity of origins is all the more notable when one realizes that Darwin and his family were staunch abolitionists. Darwin himself tells how he became horrified by the institution of slavery while on the voyage of HMS Beagle.

Desmond and Moore, whose 1994 biography of Darwin (Darwin: The Life of a Tormented Evolutionist, available here) is widely recognized as one of the best biographies of Darwin, have in this volume dug deeper into Darwin’s personal history, showing how his views on slavery and its abolition helped shape his views on the evolution of humans, as outlined in his Descent of Man.

McCalman, Iain (2009) Darwin's Armada: Four Voyages and the Battle for the Theory of Evolution. W.W. Norton & Co.: New York, NY, ISBN 0393068145 (hardcover, $29.95), 432 pages. Available here.

Although perhaps the best known, Darwin’s round-the-world voyage aboard HMS Beagle was not by any means the only such voyage of discovery in the 19th century. Three of Darwin’s closest friends and collaborators in evolutionary biology — botanist Joseph Hooker, zoologist Thomas Henry Huxley, and professional collector and naturalist Alfred Russell Wallace — all participated in similar voyages, and all contributed to Darwin’s theories. McCalman describes all four voyages, and shows how the insights and information about natural history gained by these four great naturalists provided the foundation for the science of evolutionary biology in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Quammen, David) (2007) The Reluctant Mr. Darwin: An Intimate Portrait of Charles Darwin and the Making of His Theory of Evolution. Atlas Books: New York, NY, ISBN 039332995X (paperback, $35.00), 304 pages. Available here.

Quammen’s biography of Darwin’s personal origin of the Origin is a perfect companion to Janet Browne’s two-volume biography of Darwin. Focusing on the period in Darwin’s life leading up to the original publication of the Origin, Quammen shows how Darwin’s personality and early education predisposed him to the intellectual and emotional labor that resulted in the publication of the Origin and its reception by the scientific community.

DARWIN'S LIFE AND WORK (children/school)

All too often people think that the work of great scientists such as Charles Darwin is only accessible to adults, especially scientists. Here is a brief selection of books for children, all published during this bicentennial year, which present Darwin and his work in a way that anyone, including young children, can understand and appreciate.

Heiligman, Deborah (2009) Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith. Henry Holt and Co.: New York, NY, ISBN 0805087214 (hardcover, $18.95), 272 pages. Available here.

Heiligman’s biography of Charles and Emma Darwin begins with Charles drawing up a list of the pros and cons of marriage to his first cousin, Emma. His decision to marry her set in motion an emotional odyssey for Charles and Emma, who had very different views of religion. Charles’ theory of evolution threatened Emma’s deep religious belief, and forced Darwin to thoroughly document his views before publishing them. This sympathetic rendering of their happy, though sometimes turbulent, marriage is a wonderful introduction to the real life of a famous scientist, one that young adults will find particularly relevant to their own lives.

Lasky, Kathryn (2009) One Beetle Too Many: The Extraordinary Adventures of Charles Darwin. Candlewick Press: Somerville, MA, ISBN 076361436X (hardcover, $17.99), 48 pages. Available here.

Lasky’s copiously illustrated account of Darwin’s life and work, focusing especially on his adventures while on the voyage of HMS Beagle, gives younger readers an engaging look at the work of the founder of the theory of evolution by natural selection. Lasky does not shy away from Darwin’s views on evolution and religion, presenting them in Darwin’s own words. The illustrations are particularly charming, rendered in various media in a quirky and engaging style.

McGinty, Alice B. & Azarian, Mary (2009) Darwin, with Glimpses into his Private Journal and Letters. Houghton Mifflin Books for Children: New York, NY, ISBN 0618995315 (hardcover, $18.00), 48 pages. Available here.

Another illustrated account of Darwin’s life and work, this time covering his childhood, his adventures while on the voyage of HMS Beagle, and the subsequent development of his theory of evolution by natural selection. gives younger readers an engaging look at the work of the founder of the theory of evolution by natural selection. Illustrated with woodcuts and watercolor, McGinty and Azarian’s biographical history also touches on Darwin’s views on religion and philosophy in a way that is accessible to younger readers.

Schanzer, Rosalyn (2009) What Darwin Saw: The Journey That Changed the World. National Geographic Children's Books: Des Moines, IA, ISBN 1426303963 (hardcover, $18.00), 48 pages. Available here.

Schanzer’s illustrated account of Darwin’s voyage of HMS Beagle is more limited in scope than the others in this list, but succeeds in presenting Darwin’s natural history investigations in an engaging (and sometimes humorous) way. More like a graphic novel than a standard biography (complete with cartoon-like illustrations and speech balloons), Schanzer presents selected observations that led Darwin to his theory of evolution. Unlike the other three books for younger readers in this list, Schanzer avoids discussion of Darwin’s views on religion and philosophy, sticky strictly to the natural history of his historic voyage and the science that it inspired.

In addition to the books listed and reviewed here, those who are interested in the life and works of Charles Darwin can search Amazon.com, where most of the books listed above can be browsed, along with many others published in connection with the Darwin bicentennial. Books on the subject of evolution are listed here, including books both supportive of Darwin’s theory and critical of it.

I hope this list provides you with some ideas of how to celebrate Darwin's life and work by learning more about it.

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As always, comments, criticisms, and suggestions are warmly welcomed!

--Allen

The Darwinian Revolutions Video Series

The Darwinian Revolutions

An online video lecture series
in honor of the 150th anniversary
of the original publication of
Charles Darwin's Origin of Species


Produced by:
The Cybertower at Cornell University

Written, directed and narrated by:
Allen MacNeill, Senior Lecturer
The Biology Learning Skills Center
Ecology & Evolutionary Biology

Videography by:
Dina Banning

Sound Engineering by:
Colbert McClennan

Technical Direction by:
Becky Lane

Videotaped at:
The Museum of the Earth
The Paleontological Research Institution
Ithaca, New York

Voiceover Narration Recorded at:
Fall Creek Studios
1201 North Tioga Street
Ithaca, New York

Images Obtained at:
WikiMedia Commons
Stebbins/Simpson/Dobzhanky photo credit: Martin Tracey

Galapagos Video Credit:
Prof. William Provine

It's finally done! After more than a year of meetings, writing, image acquisition, videotaping, sound recording, editing, revising, captioning, and (most of all) thinking, our video series on the Darwinian revolutions is now online!

This series of six online videos is a brief introduction to Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection and its implications. Here is a brief synopsis of the six episodes (click on each episode title to go to the linked video):


Episode One: Darwinian Revolutions
We begin with an overview of the series, which has been released to coincide with the 150th anniversary of the publication of Darwin's Origin of Species. Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection revolutionized both the biological sciences and our understanding of ourselves and the world around us. In this episode we learn that Darwin's theory has itself evolved in the 150 years since it was published. We also learn that Darwin actually presented two theories:
• a theory of descent with modification from common ancestors, and
• the theory of natural selection, Darwin's mechanism for evolution.


Episode Two: Evolutionary Ancestors
Beginning with an overview of Darwin's predecessors, we learn how the idea of evolution by natural means alone goes back more than two thousand years, to ancient Greece and Rome. Democritus of Abdera first proposed the "ground rules" for naturalist evolution, which were later extended by the Roman poet and philosopher, Lucretius. However, these early naturalistic theories were eclipsed for almost two millennia by the ideas of Plato and Aristotle.


Episode Three: Lamarck's Theory
In the 19th century, Jean Baptiste Lamarck set the stage for Darwin's monumental achievement with his Philosophie Zoologique (published in 1809), which advanced a theory of evolution by means of the inheritance of acquired characteristics. Lamarck's theory was the first theory of evolution to include a testable mechanism for evolutionary change — the inheritance of acquired characteristics — and provides a useful comparison with Darwin's theory.


Episode Four: One Long Argument
Darwin, whose academic training at Cambridge University was in Anglican theology, became an acclaimed naturalist and science writer following the five-year voyage of HMS Beagle. Using the notes and specimens that he had collected during the voyage, Darwin spent twenty years refining his theory, first published in 1859, of evolution by natural selection.


Episode Five: Mendel and the Eclipse of Darwin
Darwin's theory of descent with modification was accepted by most scientists worldwide within ten years of its publication in 1859. However, his theory of natural selection was widely criticized, and by the turn of the 20th century was widely considered to be dead. However, the work of Gregor Mendel, who discovered the foundations of what we now call genetics, provided a mechanism by which Darwin's theory could be revived and expanded.


Episode Six: The Evolving Synthesis
In the final segment of this series, we visit the The Museum of the Earth in Ithaca, New York, whose director, Dr. Warren Allman, discusses the importance of such museums to the science of evolutionary biology. We also hear from Cornell professor William Provine, who discusses Darwin's work and its importance to the history and philosophy of biology. He tells us how Darwin's original theory of natural selection was integrated into the sciences of population genetics, ecology, physiology, paleontology, embryology, and botany, to produce a "modern synthesis" of evolutionary theory. Prof. Provine also tells us how the "modern synthesis" has continued to evolve, and that today is the most exciting time yet in the history of Darwin's scientific revolution.

This has been an exciting year: the 200th anniversary of the publication of Lamarck's Philosophy Zoologique, the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin, and the 150th anniversary of the publication of Darwin's Origin of Species. There have been many events marking these anniversaries, and there will be many more. As Will Provine says, the theory of evolution is more dynamic, more exciting, more widely accepted, and more widely applied than at any time in the past century and a half. With the accelerating pace of discoveries in evolutionary biology and their applications in biology, medicine, psychology, economics, and even literature and art, the 21st century shows all indications of being what the founders of the "modern synthesis" called it back in 1959: the "century of Darwin" and his theory of evolution by natural selection.

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As always, comments, criticisms, and suggestions are warmly welcomed!

--Allen

Evolution: Is Free Will An Illusion?

Every summer I teach a seminar course at Cornell in which we examine the historical, philosophical, religious, and scientific implications of evolutionary theory. This summer our seminar course will consider the question: Is free will an illusion?

On the 15th of July, 1838, Charles Darwin began a notebook which he labeled as “M”, in which he intended to write down his correspondence, discoveries, musings, and speculations on “Metaphysics on Morals and Speculations on Expression”. On page 27 of that notebook, he wrote

“…one doubts existence of free will every action determined by hereditary constitution, example of others or teaching of others. (…man…probably the only [animal] affected by various knowledge which is not heredetary & instinctive) & the others are learnt, what they teach by the same means & therefore properly no free will. [Emphasis added]

In his private musing on the question of free will, Darwin came to the conclusion that human free will is an illusion, and that all of our actions (and, by extension, our thoughts and intentions) are the result of our “hereditary constitution” and “the example…or teaching of others.”

Some evolutionary biologists, notably William Provine of Cornell University, have followed Darwin’s lead and asserted that human free will is an illusion. Most philosophers disagree, asserting that free will is the principle difference between humans and non-human animals. Many Christian theologians go further, asserting that free will is the foundation of all human action, without which no rational ethics or theology is possible.

In our seminar course this summer we will take up this debate by considering two alternative hypotheses: (1) that human free will is real and forms the basis for our morals and ethics, or (2) that human free will is an illusion, the capacity for which is a product of the same evolutionary processes that have shaped our anatomical and behavioral adaptations. Included in this debate will be an extended consideration of the hypothesis that the capacity for ethical decision making is an evolutionary adaptation that has evolved by natural selection. We will read from some of the leading authors on both sides of the subject, including George Ainslie, Daniel Dennett, Robert Kane, Daniel Wegner, and Edward O. Wilson. Our intent will be to sort out the various issues at play, and to come to clarity on how those issues can be integrated into a perspective of the interplay between philosophy and the natural sciences.

Here are some particulars for the course:

INTENDED AUDIENCE: This course is intended primarily for students in biology, history, philosophy, religious studies, and science & technology studies. The approach will be interdisciplinary, and the format will consist of in-depth readings across the disciplines and discussion of the issues raised by such readings.

PREREQUISITES: None, although a knowledge of general evolutionary theory, evolutionary psychology, sociobiology, and the philosophy of human free will would be useful.

DAYS, TIMES, & PLACES: The course will meet on Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 6:00 to 9:00 PM in Mudd Hall, Room 409 (The Whittaker Seminar Room), beginning on Tuesday 23 June 2009 and ending on Thursday 30 July 2009.

CREDIT & GRADES: The course will be offered for 4 hours of credit, regardless of which course listing students choose to register for. Unless otherwise noted, course credit in BIOEE 4670 / BSOC 4471 can be used to fulfill biology/science distribution requirements and HIST 4150 / STS 4471 can be used to fulfill humanities distribution requirements (check with your college registrar's office for more information). Letter grades for this course will be based on the quality of written work on original research papers written by students, plus participation in class discussion. All participants must be registered in the Cornell Six-Week Summer Session to attend class meetings and receive credit for the course (click here for for more information and to enroll for this course). Registration will be limited to the first 18 students who enroll for credit.

REQUIRED TEXTS:

Ainslie, G. (2008) Breakdown of Will, Cambridge University Press, ISBN: 0521596947 (paperback: $34.99), 272 pages.

Dennett, D. (2004) Freedom Evolves, Penguin Books, ISBN: 0142003840 (paperback: $17.00), 368 pages.

Kane, R. (2005) A Contemporary Introduction to Free Will, Oxford University Press (USA), ISBN: 019514970X (paperback: $19.95), 208 pages.

Wegner, D. (2003) The Illusion of Conscious Will, MIT Press, ISBN-10: 0262731622 (paperback: $21.95), 419 pages.

Wilson, E. O. (2004) On Human Nature (Revised Edition), Harvard University Press, ISBN: 0674016386 (paperback: $22.00), 284 pages.

OPTIONAL TEXTS:

Darwin, Charles (E. O. Wilson, ed.) (2006) From So Simple a Beginning: Darwin's Four Great Books. W. W. Norton, ISBN-10: 0393061345 (hardcover, $39.95), 1,706 pages. Available online here.

Fisher, J., Kane, R., Pereboom, D., & Vargas, M. (2007) Four Views on Free Will, Wiley-Blackwell, ISBN: 1405134860 (paperback: $33.95), 240 pages.

Kane, R. (2001) Free Will (Blackwell Readings in Philosophy), Wiley-Blackwell, ISBN: 0631221026 (paperback: $33.95), 328 pages.

Wilson, E. O. (2000) Sociobiology: The New Synthesis (25th Anniversary Edition), Belknap Press, ISBN: 0674002350 (paperback: $44.00), 720 pages

Our summer seminar course is always fascinating, and often quite controversial (see this and this). Over the years we have explored many of the implications of Darwin's theory, and the participants have always found our discussions (perhaps they should be called "debates") enlightening. As always, the intent is not necessarily to reach unanimity, but rather for each participant to come to clarity on where they stand on the issues and to be able to defend that stance using evidence and rational argument.

So, please consider taking our seminar on free will this summer - the choice is yours!

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As always, comments, criticisms, and suggestions are warmly welcomed!

--Allen

Evolution: The Darwinian Revolutions

Long-time readers of this blog will know that every summer I teach an introductory evolution course for non-scientists at Cornell. This year the focus of the course will be somewhat different. In honor of the bicentennial of the birth of Charles Darwin and the 150th anniversary of the publication of his monumental book, On the Origin of Species..., we will be focusing on the impact of Darwin's concept of evolution by natural selection, both on the sciences and on society as a whole.

Darwin's theory of evolution is the most revolutionary idea ever entertained by the human mind. It fundamentally alters our perception of reality. In profound and unsettling ways the theory of evolution changes our understanding of who we are, where we come from, why we do the things we do, and where we might be going. It does this by making us look carefully and dispassionately at the world around us, asking questions and seeking answers in the things we can observe.

This summer we will explore Darwin's theory and the impact that it has had on the sciences and on human society. Here is the syllabus for the course:

EVOLUTION: THE DARWINIAN REVOLUTIONS
BIOEE 2070 / HIST 2870 / STS 2871
Cornell University Six-Week Summer Session – Summer 2009

PREREQUISITES: None - Intended for non-science majors with an interest in evolutionary theory

CREDIT HOURS: 3 (does not count toward evolution distribution requirement in biological sciences)

CLASS TIMES: Mondays and Wednesdays 6-9 PM, Monday 22 June 2009 to Wednesday 29 July 2009

CLASS LOCATION: Lectures in Morrison Room, Corson-Mudd Atrium. Discussions TBA in class.

COURSE FORMAT: The format for each class will be a two-hour interactive lecture/discussion, in which the professor outlines the major concepts, followed by a one-hour discussion section in which all participants present their interpretations and opinions of the concepts and readings under consideration. Participants will also have the opportunity to make full-length presentations of their original work. Grades will be based on the quality of three essays, due at the end of each two-week segment. Students may also opt to do one essay and a research paper (see description and point scores, below).

GRADE BASED ON: Attendance and participation in lecture and section, plus combined letter grade on three essays (suggested length = 4 to 8 pages) or one essay and one research paper (maximum length = 20 pages), for a total of 100 points (electronic/email submission encouraged, but not required)

COURSE DESCRIPTION: Evolution is the founding concept of the science of biology. This course examines evolution in historical and cultural contexts. Aims of the course include understanding the major issues in the history and current status of evolutionary theory and exploring the implications of evolution for culture and human psychology. Issues range from controversies over mechanisms of evolution in natural populations to the philosophical implications of evolutionary theory.

REQUIRED TEXTS:

Darwin, Charles (E. O. Wilson, ed.) (2006) From So Simple a Beginning: Darwin's Four Great Books. W. W. Norton, ISBN: 0393061345 (hardcover, $39.95), 1,706 pages. Available online here

Goldschmidt, Tijs (1998) Darwin's dreampond: Drama in Lake Victoria, MIT Press, ISBN: 0262571218 (paperback, $27.00), 274 pages.

Jabloka, Eva & Lamb, Marion J. (2006) Evolution in Four Dimensions: Genetic, Epigenetic, Behavioral, and Symbolic Variation in the History of Life, MIT Press, ISBN: 0262600692 (paperback, $19.95), 474 pages.

Raup, David M. (1991) Extinction: Bad genes or bad luck? W.W. Norton, ISBN: 0393309274 (paperback, $14.95), 228 pages.

Ruse, Michael (2004) Darwin and design: Does evolution have a purpose? Harvard University Press, ISBN: 0674016319 (paperback, $19.50), 371 pages.

OPTIONAL TEXTS:

Darwin, Charles (1892) The autobiography of Charles Darwin (Nora Barlow, ed.), W.W. Norton, ISBN: 0393310698 (paperback, $14.95), 365 pages. Available online here

COURSE PACKET:

All of the course packet readings listed below are available from the course website. The password to access the course packet is “evolutioncp” (without the quotation marks). Alternate weblinks are provided for your convenience.

NOTE: Students will not be required to read all of these articles. Your instructor and/or TA will tell you which articles you are responsible for.

Ayala, F. (1970). Teleological explanations in evolutionary biology. Philosophy of Science, vol. 37, pp. 1–7.

Behe, M. (2002) Intelligent design as an alternative explanation for the existence of biomolecular machines. Unpublished manuscript.

Cosmides, L. & Tooby, J. (1997) Evolutionary psychology: A primer. Center for Evolutionary Psychology. Available online here

Dembski, W. (2005) What every theologian should know about creation, evolution, and design. Orthodoxy Today. Available online
here

Dobzhansky, T. (1973) Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution. The American Biology Teacher, vol. 35 (March 1973), pp. 125–129. Available online
here

Eldredge, N. and Gould, S. J. (1972) Punctuated equilibria: An alternative to phyletic gradualism. In Schopf, T. J. M. (1972) Models in Paleobiology, Freeman, Cooper, & Co., pp. 82–115. Available online here

Gould, S. J. And Lewontin, R. C. (1979) The spandrels of San Marco and the Panglossian paradigm: A critique of the adaptationist programme. Proceedings Of The Royal Society of London, Series B, vol. 205, no. 1161, pp. 581-598. Available online here

Huxley, T. H. (1860) Letter to Charles Kingsley, Available online
here

Jenkin, F. (1867) Review of Origin of Species. The North British Review, June 1867, vol. 46, pp. 277-318.
Available online here

Kaviar, B. (2003) A history of the eugenics movement at Cornell. Unpublished manuscript.

MacNeill, A. (2004) The capacity for religious experience is an evolutionary adaptation for warfare. Evolution and Cognition 10:1, pages 43 to 60.

MacNeill, A. (2005) Natural selection, sparrows, and a stochastic God. Available online here

MacNeill, A. (2006) Vertical polygyny in modern America: An evolutionary perspective. Available online here

Mayr, E. (1974) Telological and teleonomic: A new analysis. Boston Studies in the Philosophy of Science, XIV, pages 91 to 117.

Mayr, E. (1982) The growth of biological thought. Harvard University Press. Chapters 12 & 13, pages 535 to 627.

Pinker, S. (2004) The evolutionary psychology of religion. Freedom From Religion Foundation. Available online here

Wegner, D. (2002) The illusion of conscious will. MIT Press: Cambridge. Chapter 3, pages 63 to 98.

PART ONE: THE ORIGIN OF EVOLUTIONARY THEORY
The science of evolutionary biology began with the publication of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species. It is one of the most important books ever written and should be read by any person who wants to understand who we are, where we come from, and why we are here (and how we know).

PART TWO: THE MODERN SYNTHESIS
Darwin's theory was accepted by most scientists of his generation within a surprisingly short time. Then, within just one more generation, it fell out of favor, replaced by genetic theories of evolution suggested by the rediscovered work of Gregor Mendel. Then, in another generation, the pendulum swung the other way, and Darwin's ideas were integrated with Mendel's and codified in the "modern synthesis."

PART THREE: MACROEVOLUTION, EVO-DEVO, AND BEYOND
Evolutionary theory has exploded in the fifty years since the "modern synthesis" was proclaimed. Sociobiology, punctuated equilibrium and new ideas about evolutionary psychology, genetic engineering, macroevolution, speciation…these are just a few of the directions that evolutionary theory and biology have expanded in the second half of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st.

I would like to invite anyone who has found this blog interesting to take this course, or follow along with us by keeping up with the course materials posted at the course website. Either way, you will find your mind being stretched and your view of reality challenged. What better way could one spend a few summer evenings?

See you this summer!

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As always, comments, criticisms, and suggestions are warmly welcomed!

--Allen

Teleology vs Teleonomy: Can a "Program" Exist Before Its "Programmer"?

This post is a follow-up to the previous post on the subject of the "randomness" in the processes that generate the variation that is necessary for biological evolution.

Can a "program" exist before its "programmer" (and therefore bring it into being)? This seems to be the core of the disagreement between ID supporters and mainstream scientists. The former (which include Charles Darwin's very close friend, Asa Gray) advocate the idea that the variation upon which natural selection and other evolutionary processes work is neither random nor unintentional. The latter (which include Darwin and his intellectual heirs) do not disagree with the idea that such variation is not "random". What they disagree with is the idea that there is some "intention" or "plan" guiding the variation that occurs, so that certain outcomes (including, but not limited to, the origin of humans) are more likely than others.

To answer the question that stands at the head of this post, I think it's essential to emphasize (as I did in the original blogpost) that the terms “foresighted” and “goal-oriented” are not equivalent, nor are the processes to which they are applied. As I have pointed out in many posts, there is no inherent contradiction between a process being purely "natural" (i.e. the result of the operation of purely natural processes) and being "goal-oriented".

Ernst Mayr (surely no advocate of "intelligent design") argued forcefully (and, in my opinion, convincingly) that biological organisms are indeed "goal-oriented". That is, their genomes provide a program, the function of which is to bring about a particular state of affairs: the survival and reproduction of the organism via its interactions with its environment.

The origin of the genome (i.e. the "program" itself) is an entirely different situation, however. Ever since Darwin it has been a standard assumption that the evolutionary processes by which the genetic "programs" that direct the assembly and operation of living organisms are not goal-oriented. These evolutionary processes – natural selection, sexual selection, founder effects, genetic bottlenecks, neutral "drift" in deep evolutionary time, exaptation, heterochronic development, changes in homeotic development, interspecific competition, species-level selection, serial endosymbiosis, convergence/divergence, hybridization, phylogenetic fusion, background and mass extinction/adaptive radiation, and internal variance – do not require any kind of "goal orientation" to produce the living entities and processes we observe around and within us. And, since such processes do not require goal-orientation or intentionality, these are not included in evolutionary explanations. Some, but not all, evolutionary biologists extend this idea to the assumption that goal-orientation or intentionality do not exist in nature, in the absence of pre-existing genomic "programs").

The main reason for this assumption has been that it is extremely problematic to agree on how one would go about showing that the aforementioned evolutionary processes have indeed been goal-oriented. The most serious objection to this idea is that there seems to be nowhere for such a "directing agency" to exist in material form, nor any natural means by which its goals could be impressed upon physical organisms.

The genomes of organisms are physical/chemical "stuff", which is translated via physical/chemical "machinery" into biological entities and processes. That is, there is a physical/chemical "vehicle" in which the information for assembling and operating organisms is carried and expressed.

The same would not the case for the putative source of the "evolutionary program" which might direct the evolution of the genomes of living organisms. Since such an "evolutionary program" would cause the evolution of the "genomic programs" which direct the assembly and operation of living organisms, such a program would necessarily have to exist before the origin and evolution of biological genomes, as it would be necessary for it to do so to direct their coming into being.

This presents two serious problems:

• By what mechanism(s) would such an "evolutionary program" cause "genomic programs" to come into existence, and

• Precisely where in the physical universe would such a pre-existing "evolutionary program" itself exist?

We seem to have two direct logical contradictions in terms:

• How can a non-natural "evolutionary program" cause a natural "genomic program" to come into existence, and

• How can a programmer pre-exist the program which brings itself into existence?

There is a proposed answer to these two questions, but one which most ID supporters seem loathe to invoke:

• That the "pre-existing program" that directs the evolution of the genomic programs of living organisms is woven into the structure of physical reality itself.

This is the line of inquiry pursued by Ilya Prigogine and Stuart Kauffman (among others), but which is rejected out-of-hand by nearly all ID supporters (most notably Michael Behe, William Dembski, and Phillip Johnson), who prefer a purely "supernatural" source for the "pre-existing program" by which evolution has been directed).

As always, comments, criticisms, and suggestions are warmly welcomed!

--Allen

Charles Robert Darwin, Born 12 February 1809

AUTHOR: Charles Darwin

SOURCE: Origin of Species

COMMENTARY: Allen MacNeill (following the excerpt)

"In the distant future I see open fields for far more important researches. Psychology will be based on a new foundation, that of the necessary acquirement of each mental power and capacity by gradation. Light will be thrown on the origin of man and his history.

"Authors of the highest eminence seem to be fully satisfied with the view that each species has been independently created. To my mind it accords better with what we know of the laws impressed on matter by the Creator, that the production and extinction of the past and present inhabitants of the world should have been due to secondary causes, like those determining the birth and death of the individual. When I view all beings not as special creations, but as the lineal descendants of some few beings which lived long before the first bed of the Silurian system was deposited, they seem to me to become ennobled. Judging from the past, we may safely infer that not one living species will transmit its unaltered likeness to a distant futurity. And of the species now living very few will transmit progeny of any kind to a far distant futurity; for the manner in which all organic beings are grouped, shows that the greater number of species of each genus, and all the species of many genera, have left no descendants, but have become utterly extinct. We can so far take a prophetic glance into futurity as to foretell that it will be the common and widely-spread species, belonging to the larger and dominant groups, which will ultimately prevail and procreate new and dominant species. As all the living forms of life are the lineal descendants of those which lived long before the Silurian epoch, we may feel certain that the ordinary succession by generation has never once been broken, and that no cataclysm has desolated the whole world. Hence we may look with some confidence to a secure future of equally inappreciable length. And as natural selection works solely by and for the good of each being, all corporeal and mental endowments will tend to progress towards perfection.

"It is interesting to contemplate an entangled bank, clothed with many plants of many kinds, with birds singing on the bushes, with various insects flitting about, and with worms crawling through the damp earth, and to reflect that these elaborately constructed forms, so different from each other, and dependent on each other in so complex a manner, have all been produced by laws acting around us. These laws, taken in the largest sense, being Growth with Reproduction; Inheritance which is almost implied by reproduction; Variability from the indirect and direct action of the external conditions of life, and from use and disuse; a Ratio of Increase so high as to lead to a Struggle for Life, and as a consequence to Natural Selection, entailing Divergence of Character and the Extinction of less-improved forms. Thus, from the war of nature, from famine and death, the most exalted object which we are capable of conceiving, namely, the production of the higher animals, directly follows. 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."
- Charles Darwin,
On the Origin of Species [pages 488 to 490]

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COMMENTARY:

Today is the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin (and Abraham Lincoln). Just a few comments about this anniversary and about the passage, above (from the end of the first edition of the Origin of Species).

• Here is how Darwin felt on the morning of 12 February 1859 (the year the Origin of Species was published), according to a letter he wrote to W. D. Fox:

"I have been extra bad of late, with the old severe vomiting rather often & much distressing swimming of the head…

Doesn't sound much like a man who was about to turn the whole world upside down, does it? Darwin was a chronic hypochondriac, and this account of a "bad morning" was pretty typical.


• Years ago I created, directed, produced, and starred in a one-man play called "An Evening with Charles Darwin," based on excerpts from Darwin's correspondence and autobiography. In it, I had the character of Darwin (in the last year of his life) talk about the coincidence of his birthday falling on the same day as that of Abraham Lincoln. This coincidence is significant from a biographical and historical standpoint because Darwin and his family were firm and outspoken abolitionists, and counted Abraham Lincoln among their moral and political heroes. Although I am not aware that Darwin ever mentioned this coincidence, I found it useful for his character to mention it in the play, as it illustrated a facet of Darwin's personality that is rarely mentioned in popular biographical treatments of his life and character.

• In predicting the future impact of his theory, Darwin mentioned specifically only psychology and human evolutionary history. As a partisan for evolutionary psychology, I find this both gratifying and curious. Gratifying, because we really are beginning (finally!) to base psychology on "a new foundation" (i.e. comparative human ethology) and are starting to investigate how (and even, in some cases, when) "each mental power and capacity" was acquired. It's an exciting and very productive time to be working on these subjects!

• Sharp-eyed readers will note the lack of reference to "the Creator" in the final paragraph. This passage is taken from the first edition of the Origin, published in 1859. In that original edition, Darwin wrote

"There is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been originally breathed into a few forms or into one..."

Poetic, but more to the point, clearly not theological, as asserted by some creationists, who are motivated to show that even Darwin refers to creation in the Origin.

• However, Darwin does refer to the Creator, even in this first edition:

"To my mind it accords better with what we know of the laws impressed on matter by the Creator, that the production and extinction of the past and present inhabitants of the world should have been due to secondary causes, like those determining the birth and death of the individual."

From this passage, it is clear that the full extent of the intervention in nature by the Creator was to establish the natural laws that govern what happens in nature. Throughout the Origin, Darwin makes it clear that it isn't necessary to ascribe any other kind of intervention into by Creator, for any reason. Therefore, the Creator cited by Darwin in this concluding passage is clearly the kind of God venerated by Deists. And Deism, as Will Provine and others have repeatedly pointed out, is functionally equivalent to atheism. A Creator that is, by His own choice, constrained to function entirely through the laws of nature (which He Himself created) is unnecessary for the creation and implementation of "secondary causes" (i.e. everything that happens after the universe and its governing laws have been created).

• Think of the courage it must have taken for Darwin to publish the Origin:

"Authors of the highest eminence seem to be fully satisfied with the view that each species has been independently created." [emphasis added].

Despite his modest fame among the educated public as author of the
Journal of the Voyages of HMS Beagle and his reputation among naturalists as the author of four monographs on barnacles, Darwin was essentially an amateur naturalist who dared to propose a theory that was in direct opposition to the publicly stated positions of the most admired professional naturalists and scientists of his time, not to mention two millennia of European history and politics.It is a measure of his confidence in the truth of his own ideas and observations that he went ahead and published the Origin. After that, writing and publishing The Descent of Man... would have been a relative cakewalk.

So, happy birthday, Charles Darwin (and all of his admirers out there in cyberspace) – Many happy returns!

--Allen