Darwin's Evolving Identity: Adventure, Ambition, and the Sin of Speculation
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.91 (789 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 022652311X |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 336 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2013-09-18 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
. It was this obligation to moderate his theoretical ambitions in general, rather than the prospect of public outcry over evolution in particular, that made Darwin such a cautious author of Origin of Species. Far from being tormented by guilt about developing his evolutionary theory, Darwin was chastened by a publishing strategy that had forced him to disavow his “sin of speculation” about coral reefs, volcanoes, and earthquakes. Drawing on his own ambitious research in Darwin’s manuscripts and at the Beagle’s remotest ports of call, Sponsel takes us from the ocean to the Origin and beyond, providing a vivid new picture of Darwin’s career as a voyaging naturalist and metropolitan author and, through this example, of the range of skills involved in the development of scientific the
Alistair Sponsel is assistant professor of history at Vanderbilt University.
About the AuthorAlistair Sponsel is assistant professor of history at Vanderbilt University.