The Cambridge companion to the "Origin of species" / edited by Michael Ruse, Robert J. Richards.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Ruse, Michael.

Richards, Robert J. (Robert John), 1942-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Darwin, Charles, 1809-1882. On the origin of species.

Darwin, Charles.

Evolution (Biology).

Natural selection.

Physical Description:

xxvii, 395 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Cambridge ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 2009.

Summary:

The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin is universally recognized as one of the most important science books ever written. Published in 1859, it was where Darwin argued for both the fact of evolution and the mechanism of natural selection. The Origin of Species is also a work of great cultural and religious significance, in that Darwin maintained that all organisms, including humans, are part of a natural process of growth from simple forms. This Companion commemorates the 150th anniversary of the publication of the Origin of Species and examines its main arguments. Drawing on the expertise of leading authorities in the field, it also provides the contexts-religious, social, political, literary, and philosophical-in which the Origin was composed. Written in a clear and friendly yet authoritative manner, this volume will be essential reading for both scholars and students. More broadly, it will appeal to general readers who want to learn more about one of the most important and controversial books of modern times.

Contents:

The origin of the Origin / Michael Ruse

Darwin's analogy between artificial and natural selection in the origin of species / Mark A. Largent

Variation and inheritance / Robert Olby

Darwin's theory of natural selection and its moral purpose / Robert J. Richards

Originating species : Darwin on the species problem / Phillip R. Sloan

Darwin's keystone : the principle of divergence / David Kohn

Darwin's difficulties / A.J. Lustig

Darwin's geology and perspective on the fossil record / Sandra Herbert and David Norman

Geographical distribution in the Origin of species / Peter J. Bowler

Classification in Darwin's Origin / Richard A. Richards

Embryology and morphology / Lynn K. Nyhart

Darwin's botany in the Origin of species / Vassiliki Betty Smocovitis

The rhetoric of the Origin of species / David J. Depew

'Laws impressed on matter by the Creator'? : the Origin and the question of religion / John Hedley Brooke

'Lineal descendants' : the Origin's literary progeny / Gillian Beer

The Origin and political thought : from liberalism to Marxism / Naomi Beck

The Origin and philosophy / Tim Lewens

The Origin of species as a book / Michèle Kohler and Chris Kohler.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 353-371) and index.

ISBN:

9780521870795

0521870798

9780521691291

052169129X

OCLC:

191090233

Online:

Contributor biographical information

Publisher description