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Charles Darwin (1809-1882), naturaliste, géologue et biologiste, a révolutionné science, philosophie, religion et même politique, en proposant une théorie de l’évolution par la sélection naturelle. Avec L’Origine des Espèces (1859), il a imposé l’idée d’une continuité entre l’homme et l’animal, inscrivant toutes les espèces dans le temps d’une histoire contingente, sans ordre général et sans progrès déterminé. Théorie générale de la biologie, la théorie de la sélection naturelle a défini de nouveaux programmes de recherches, en particulier sur l’hérédité. Nouveau schème explicatif, elle a été mobilisée là où il fallait rendre compte de structures “finalisées” (linguistique, économie, épistémologie, etc.) sans faire intervenir d’intentionnalité. Nouvelle perspective sur l’origine de l’homme, elle a servi de justification au matérialisme, au libéralisme ou à l’eugénisme... Dans quelles conditions et par quelle opération intellectuelle cette théorie s’est-elle constituée ? Dans quelle mesure était-elle nouvelle ? Et comment s’est-elle imposée ? On essaie ici de répondre à ces questions en éclairant le sens du “hasard” à l’œuvre dans le principe de sélection naturelle et ses conséquences sur l’idée, aux considérables enjeux théoriques et moraux, d’un progrès dans l’évolution.

Darwin, Charles

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"In choosing letters for publication I have been largely guided by the wish to illustrate my father's personal character. But his life was so essentially one of work, that a history of the man could not be written without following closely the career of the author. Thus it comes about that the chief part of the book falls into chapters whose titles correspond to the names of his books. In arranging the letters I have adhered as far as possible to chronological sequence, but the character and variety of his researches make a strictly chronological order an impossibility. It was his habit to work more or less simultaneously at several subjects. Experimental work was often carried on as a refreshment or variety, while books entailing reasoning and the marshalling of large bodies of facts were being written. Moreover, many of his researches were allowed to drop, and only resumed after an interval of years. Thus a rigidly chronological series of letters would present a patchwork of subjects, each of which would be difficult to follow. The Table of Contents will show in what way I have attempted to avoid this result. It will be seen, for instance, that the second volume is not chronologically continuous with the first. Again, in the third volume, the botanical work, which principally occupied my father during the later years of his life, is treated in a separate series of chapters"--

Darwin, Charles,

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Darwin, Charles

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The naturalist and geologist Charles Darwin (1809-82) ranks as one of the most influential scientific thinkers of all time. In the nineteenth century his ideas about the history and diversity of life - including the evolutionary origin of humankind - contributed to major changes in the sciences, philosophy, social thought and religious belief. The Cambridge Companion to Darwin has established itself as an indispensable resource for anyone teaching or researching Darwin's theories and their historical and philosophical interpretations. Its distinguished team of contributors examines Darwin's main scientific ideas and their development; Darwin's science in the context of its times; the influence of Darwinian thought in recent philosophical, social and religious debate; and the importance of Darwinian thought for the future of naturalist philosophy. For this second edition, coverage has been expanded to include two new chapters: on Darwin, Hume and human nature, and on Darwin's theories in the intellectual long run, from the pre-Socratics to the present.

Darwin, Charles,

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The naturalist and geologist Charles Darwin (1809-82) ranks as one of the most influential scientific thinkers of all time. In the nineteenth century his ideas about the history and diversity of life - including the evolutionary origin of humankind - contributed to major changes in the sciences, philosophy, social thought and religious belief. This volume provides the reader with clear, lively and balanced introductions to the most recent scholarship on Darwin and his intellectual legacies. A distinguished team of contributors examines Darwin's main scientific ideas and their development; Darwin's science in the context of its times; the influence of Darwinian thought in recent philosophical, social and religious debate; and the importance of Darwinian thought for the future of naturalist philosophy. New readers will find this a most convenient and accessible guide to Darwin. Advanced students and specialists will find a conspectus of recent developments in the interpretation of Darwin.

Darwin, Charles,