The "Origin" Then and Now: An Interpretive Guide to the "Origin of Species"

449 Pages·2009·8.993 MB·English

by  David N. Reznick

The Origin Then and Now
“Jaws not so strong as [to] produce pain to finger”
This specimen, referred to by Darwin as a male stag beetle
in the genus Lucanus, is now classified as Chiasognathus granti.
Darwin encountered these beetles on Chiloe Island, off the coast
of Chile, and near Valdivia, Chile. The specimen pictured here
was photographed in native forest near Valdivia in February 2009.
The Chilean name for this beetle is ciervo volante, or flying deer.
The Origin Then and Now
An Interpretive Guide to the Origin of Species
David N. Reznick
With an Introduction by Michael Ruse
PRINCetoN UNIVeRsIty PRess
Princeton and oxford
Copyright © 2010 by Princeton University Press
Published by Princeton University Press, 41 William street, Princeton, New Jersey 08540
In the United Kingdom: Princeton University Press, 6 oxford street, Woodstock,
oxfordshire OX20 1TW
press.princeton.edu
All Rights Reserved
Third printing, and first paperback printing, 2012
Paperback IsBN 978-0-691-15257-8
The Library of Congress has cataloged the cloth edition of this book as follows
Reznick, David N., 1952–
The origin then and now : an interpretive guide to The origin of species / David N. Reznick ;
with an introduction by Michael Ruse.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
IsBN 978-0-691-12978-5 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Darwin, Charles, 1809–1882. on the
origin of species. 2. evolution (Biology) 3. Natural selection. I. title.
QH365.o8R49 2010
576.8—dc22 2009013200
British Library Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available
This book has been composed in Minion
Printed on acid-free paper. ∞
Printed in the United states of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3
I dedicate this book to my wife, Melody, and daughters, tess and Kate,
for their support and tolerance during the very long time that I spent
writing this book. My daughters are young enough and this project took
long enough that I am sure they grew up with some properties in common
with Darwin’s children. some of Darwin’s children thought that all fathers
had a special room where they hid away to study barnacles. Mine surely
think that all fathers hide away on evenings and weekends to write books.
This page intentionally left blank
Contents
Preface ix
Correspondence between Chapters xiv
Acknowledgments xv
Introduction: Charles Darwin
and the Origin of Species 3
Michael Ruse
Part one 1 Preamble to Natural selection 29
Natural selection 2 Variation under Domestication 38
3 Variation under Nature I 56
4 The struggle for existence 66
5 Natural selection I 77
6 Laws of Variation 102
7 evolution today: A Modern Perspective
on Natural selection 119
Part two 8 Preamble to speciation 137
speciation 9 Variation under Nature II 152
10 Natural selection II 164
11 Hybridism 190
12 evolution today: The Mosquitoes
of the London Underground 205
viii contents
Part Three 13 Preamble: What Is a Theory? 219
Theory 14 Difficulties on Theory 227
15 Instinct 250
16 Geology I: Background 264
17 Geology II: on the Imperfection
of the Geological Record 275
18 Geology III: on the Geological succession
of organic Beings 288
19 Geology IV: evolution today 301
20 Geographical Distribution 314
21 Geographical Distribution, Continued 331
22 Mutual Affinities of organic Beings: Morphology:
embryology: Rudimentary organs 346
23 Recapitulation and Conclusion 381
24 evolution today: The Witness Has Been Found,
Again and Again 401
Illustration Credits 417
Index 419
Preface
Darwin’s Origin of Species has been described as one of the books that
is most widely referred to, but least likely to be read. My goal is to
make the Origin accessible to a larger audience and to do so by placing it
in a continuum of science. The Origin was the inception of a new, unifying
theory of the life sciences, but it was also strongly influenced by the science
that preceded it; so understanding the Origin requires looking back in time
to define the context in which it was written. sometimes this also means
understanding that some details that were critical to Darwin’s theory were
not yet known. The Origin was an inspiration to science because it high-
lighted these gaps in our knowledge and why it was important to fill them.
It was much more of an inspiration because it defined so many new areas of
inquiry. to appreciate the Origin, then, it is also important to look forward
in time to see how it changed science.
I am an evolutionary biologist and have been studying evolution for over
thirty years. I have specialized in the experimental evaluation of facets of
the theory of evolution in nature. No one should be surprised to hear that
someone like me is a fan of Charles Darwin. But being a fan of Darwin and
his ideas is different from being an admirer of the Origin of Species. I first
read the Origin during the summer break between completing my bach-
elor’s degree at Washington University and beginning PhD studies at the
University of Pennsylvania. I cannot recall much about what I learned from
that first reading. I do recall finding it very hard going. I finished it out of a
sense of obligation. I did not read the Origin again until I was an assistant
professor at the University of California, when I decided to use it as part
of a graduate class. It was not until I had read the first and sixth editions a
few times, plus learned more about the development of evolution as a disci-
pline, that I appreciated the scope and lasting importance of the book. More
ix