9781780234465
9781780234755
Charles Darwin published On the Origin of Species a little over one hundred and fifty years ago, and it changed everything. But many don’t realize that it took Darwin over twenty years to develop his theory, that others had been advocating a similar theory before him, and many others have been developing it since. In A Remarkable Journey, R. Paul Thompson tells the story of evolutionary theory, of the empirical and theoretical discoveries and the endless heated debates that have led to our understanding of it today.
As Thompson shows, the tortuous path from Darwin’s brilliant formulation to today’s robust and vibrant model is filled with intrigue. Evolutionary theory has become, in many respects, the center of biological science, and its maturation is an indication of a larger and more sophisticated scientific understanding more generally. But this development was not easily won, a point Thompson makes clear as he takes readers from one stage of the theory’s maturation to the next, detailing all that went into the development of what most of us now take for granted as a basic—and beautiful—principle of life.
As Thompson shows, the tortuous path from Darwin’s brilliant formulation to today’s robust and vibrant model is filled with intrigue. Evolutionary theory has become, in many respects, the center of biological science, and its maturation is an indication of a larger and more sophisticated scientific understanding more generally. But this development was not easily won, a point Thompson makes clear as he takes readers from one stage of the theory’s maturation to the next, detailing all that went into the development of what most of us now take for granted as a basic—and beautiful—principle of life.
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Table of Contents
Introduction
1. Prologue
2. A New Dawn: Darwin Transforms Biology
3. Missing Pieces: Heredity and Variation
4. Mendel Unlocks one of Nature’s Secrets
5. Troubled Waters
6. A Bridge over Troubled Water
7. Evolutionary Biology Comes of Age
8. Extending Genetics: The Molecular and Chemical Basis of Heredity and Life
9. The Evaluation of Behaviour: Sociobiology
10. Development: From Genes to Organisms
11. Science and the Death Throes of Biblical Literalism
Appendices
Timeline
Glossary
Bibliography
Acknowledgements
Photo Acknowledgements
Index
1. Prologue
2. A New Dawn: Darwin Transforms Biology
3. Missing Pieces: Heredity and Variation
4. Mendel Unlocks one of Nature’s Secrets
5. Troubled Waters
6. A Bridge over Troubled Water
7. Evolutionary Biology Comes of Age
8. Extending Genetics: The Molecular and Chemical Basis of Heredity and Life
9. The Evaluation of Behaviour: Sociobiology
10. Development: From Genes to Organisms
11. Science and the Death Throes of Biblical Literalism
Appendices
Timeline
Glossary
Bibliography
Acknowledgements
Photo Acknowledgements
Index
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