The descent of Darwin : a handbook of doubts about Darwinism / Brian Leith.

  • Leith, Brian.
Date:
1982
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)

Credit: The descent of Darwin : a handbook of doubts about Darwinism / Brian Leith. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    The Descent of Darwin that life had not evolved after all, or that it had evolved in a fundamentally non-Darwinian way, the effect on our lives would be tangible. Not only would the biologists have to rethink their observations of nature, but theologians, philosophers and probably even politicians would be forced to look afresh at man's place in nature. In the one hundred and twenty years or so since the publication of The Origin of Species Darwinian principles have seeped into every corner of our 'world-view'. Why does a baby cry? To ensure its survival. Are all men born equal? No, some are fitter and more competitive than others. Why is there such a thing as altruism? So that the altruist may ultimately be the benefactor. Like it or not, many of the central issues of Darwinism are also the central issues of our culture and politics: over-population, the struggle for existence, the sensible use of resources, and so on. A theory about man's origins is bound to entail more than straightforward science. It is therefore of immediate concern to both biologist and layman that Darwinism is under attack. The theory of life that undermined nineteenth-century religion has virtually become a religion itself and in its turn is being threatened by fresh ideas. The attacks are certainly not limited to those of the creationists and religious fundamentalists who deny Darwinism for political and moral reasons. The main thrust of the criticism comes from within science itself. The doubts about Darwinism represent a potential revolt from within rather than a seige from without. What is even more surprising is that these doubts are arising simultaneously from several independent branches of science. With a growth in the appreciation of the philosophy of science—largely due to the influence of the philosopher Karl Popper—has come a doubt about whether Darwinism is, strictly speaking, scientific. Is the theory actually testable—as good theories must be? Is the idea of natural selection based on a tautology, a simple restatement of some initial assumptions? From within biology the doubts have come from scientists in half a dozen, separate fields. Many palaeontologists are unconvinced by the supposed gradualness of Darwinian evolution; they feel that the 10