Darwin and Modern Science Essays in Commemoration of the Centenary of the Birth of Charles Darwin and of the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Publication of The Origin of Species

About this book

A reprint of a classical work in the Cambridge Library Collection.

The Cambridge Philosophical Society collected this series of essays in commemoration of the centenary of the birth of Charles Darwin and the 50th anniversary of the publication of The Origin of Species. Aiming to be accessible to the 'educated layman', the eminent contributors reviewed the impact of Darwin's ideas in many spheres. They addressed contemporary (1909) attitudes, Darwin's theories and their far-reaching implications, and the progress of new lines of research that had emerged from them. The diversity of views among biologists regarding both the origin of species and the best directions for further research is clearly evident. In his work, Darwin had sought only the truth, writing 'Absolute accuracy is the hardest merit to attain, and the highest merit. Any deviation is ruin.' However dramatic the controversies he stirred, what shines from these essays is profound admiration for both Darwin's intellect and the quality of his character.

Contents

1. Introductory letter to the editor Joseph Dalton Hooker
2. Darwin's predecessors J. Arthur Thomson
3. The selection theory August Weismann
4. Variation Hugo de Vries
5. Heredity and variation in modern lights W. Bateson
6. The minute structure of cells in relation to heredity Eduard Strasburger
7. 'The descent of man' G. Schwalbe
8. Charles Darwin as an anthropologist Ernst Haeckel
9. Some primitive theories of the origin of man J. G. Frazer
10. The influence of Darwin on the study of animal embryology A. Sedgwick
11. The palaeontological record, animals W. B. Scott
12. The palaeontological record, plants D. H. Scott
13. The influence of environment on the forms of plants Georg Klebs
14. Experimental study of the influence of environment on animals Jacques Loeb
15. The value of colour in the struggle for life E. B. Poulton
16. Geographical distribution of plants William Thiselton-Dyer
17. Geographical distribution of animals Hans Gadow
18. Darwin and geology J. W. Judd
19. Darwin's work on the movements of plants Francis Darwin
20. The biology of flowers K. Goebel
21. Mental factors in evolution C. Lloyd Morgan
22. The influence of the conception of evolution on modern philosophy H. Höffding
23. Darwinism and sociology C. Bouglé
24. The influence of Darwin upon religious thought P. N. Waggett
25. The influence of Darwin on the study of religions Jane Ellen Harrison
26. Evolution and the science of language P. Giles
27. Darwinism and history J. B. Bury
28. The genesis of double stars George Darwin
29. The evolution of matter W. C. D. Whetham

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