Darwin's dice : the idea of chance in the thought of Charles Darwin / Curtis Johnson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Johnson, Curtis N., 1948- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Serendipity in science.

Creative ability in science.

Darwin, Charles, 1809-1882--Psychology.

Darwin, Charles.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (254 pages) : illustrations (black and white)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Oxford, [England] ; New York, New York : Oxford University Press, [2015]

Language Note:

English

Summary:

For evolutionary biologists, the concept of chance has always played a significant role in the formation of evolutionary theory. As far back as Greek antiquity, chance and ""luck"" were understood to be key factors in the evolution of the natural world. Emphasizing chance is an entire way of thinking about nature, and it is also one of the key ideas that separates Charles Darwin from other systematic biologists of his time. Studying the concept of chance in Darwin's writing reveals core ideas in his theory of evolution, as well as his reflections on design, purpose, and randomness in nature's progression over the course of history.In Darwin's Dice: The Idea of Chance in the Thought of Charles Darwin, Curtis Johnson examines Darwin's early notebooks, his collected correspondence (now in 19 volumes), and most of his published writing to trace the evolution of his ideas about chance in evolution. This proved to be one of Darwin's most controversial ideas among his reading public, so much so that it drew hostile reactions even from Darwin's scientific friends, not to mention the more general reader. The firestorm of criticism forced Darwin to forge a retreat, not in terms of removing chance from his theory--his commitment to it was unshakable--but in terms of how he chose to present his theory. Briefly, by changing his wording and by introducing metaphors and images (the stone-house metaphor, the evolution of giraffes, and others), Darwin succeeded in making his ideas seem less threatening than before without actually changing his views. Randomness remained a focal point for Darwin throughout his life. Through the lens of randomness, Johnson reveals implications of Darwin's views for religion, free will, and moral theory. Darwin's Dice presents a new way to look at Darwinist thought and the writings of Charles Darwin.

Contents:

Darwin's Dice; Copyright; Contents; Acknowledgments; Introduction; 1 Two faces of chance; 2 Chance transport; 3 Causes and laws of variations; 4 Chance, nature, and intelligence; 5 Darwin's evolving views about chance; 6 "So-Called Spontaneous Variation"; 7 Darwin's architect metaphor; 8 Darwin's giraffes; 9 Chance and free will; 10 Chance and human morality; Appendix: The Primary Sources; Bibliography; General index; Index Nominum

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and indexes

Description based on print version record.

Other Format:

Print version

ISBN:

9780199361427

9780199361410

0199361428

OCLC:

885123855