Darwin Week Activity: Book Club: Origin of Species by Charles Darwin
We will focus only on the first half of the book (chapters 1-7)
From Amazon.com:
When on board H.M.S. 'Beagle,' as naturalist, I was much struck with certain facts in the distribution of the inhabitants of South America, and in the geological relations of the present to the past inhabitants of that continent. These facts seemed to me to throw some light on the origin of species - that mystery of mysteries, as it has been called by one of our greatest philosophers. On my return home, it occurred to me, in 1837, that something might perhaps be made out on this question by patiently accumulating and reflecting on all sorts of facts which could possibly have any bearing on it.
(from Wikipedia)
The book is readable even for the non-specialist and attracted widespread interest on publication. The book was controversial because
it contradicted religious beliefs that underlay the then current theories of biology, and it generated much discussion on scientific,
philosophical, and religious grounds. The scientific theory of evolution has itself evolved since Darwin's contributions, but natural selection remains the most widely accepted scientific model of speciation. Despite the overwhelming scientific consensus, legal
challenges to the theory of evolution continue to this day in some countries.
Because the book is quite a thick volume, we will be discussing only the first half of the book. However, nothing inhibits readers from
discussing other parts of the book if time permits. Chapters to discuss: 1-7
Please bring a snack to share - $2 donation at the door.
Related
- File Attachment: the_origin_of_species.GIF