Darwinism (book)
Darwinism: An Exposition of the Theory of Natural Selection with Some of Its Applications is an 1889 book on evolution by Alfred Russel Wallace, the co-discoverer of evolution by natural selection together with Charles Darwin. This was a book Wallace wrote as a defensive response to the scientific critics of natural selection.[1] Of all Wallace's books, it is cited by scholarly publications the most.[2]
Synopsis
In Darwinism's fifteen chapters,
warning coloration and mimicry, discussing how these are produced by selection. Animal coloration and ornamentation that differs between the sexes are discussed, though he largely disagrees with Darwin's theory of sexual selection. Wallace then explores the co-evolution of flowers with their pollinators including insects and birds. He then describes the geographical distribution of organisms, arguing that this was created by long-distance dispersal of pioneer organisms, such as insects blown across the sea. He explains the geological evidence for evolution, the fossil
record in successive layers of rock. He then examines objections to Darwinism concerning variation and heredity. Finally, he looks at how Darwinism may apply to humans.
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Wallace discusses the purposes of herbivore coloration as danger and recognition signals, with an illustration of Soemmerring's gazelle. -
Wallace discusses Batesian mimicry with a plate of a beetle that closely mimics a wasp. -
Wallace discusses the coevolution of flowers and pollinators, illustrating it with a bird-pollinated flower.
Analysis
In the preface to Darwinism, Wallace had used the term pure-Darwinism which proposed a "greater efficacy" for natural selection. The book is notable for defending
inheritance of acquired characteristics and the concept of sexual selection which Darwin gave credence to.[3][4][5] George Romanes dubbed this view as "Wallaceism", noting that in contrast to Darwin, this position was advocating a "pure theory of natural selection to the exclusion of any supplementary theory."[6][7] The book is seen as laying the foundation for the neo-Darwinian theory of evolution.[6][8]
References
- ISBN 978-0-231-13011-0
- ISBN 978-0-19-985653-4
- ^ Wallace, Alfred Russel. (1889). Darwinism: An Exposition of the Theory of Natural Selection, with Some of Its Applications. Macmillan and Company. pp. 283–444
- ISBN 978-0-19-511229-0
- ^
Stack, David. (2003). The First Darwinian Left: Socialism and Darwinism, 1859–1914. New Clarion Press. p. 25. ISBN 978-1-873797-37-2
- ^ a b Romanes, John George. (1906). Darwin and After Darwin: An Exposition of the Darwinian Theory and a Discussion of Post-Darwinian Questions Volume 2. The Open Court Publishing Company. p. 12
- ISBN 978-0-674-72969-8
- .
Further reading
- Hutton, Frederick. (1900). New-Darwinism. Science 11: 588–589.
- Romanes, John George. (1889). Mr. Wallace on Darwinism. Science 14: 150–155.