Department of English and American Studies

Transcription

1 Masaryk University Faculty of Arts Department of English and American Studies English Language and Literature Nika Göthová Darwin and his On the Origin of Species as a part of the evolution of thought in nineteenth century Britain Bachelor s Diploma Thesis Supervisor: Stephen Paul Hardy, Ph. D. 2016

2 I declare that I have worked on this thesis independently, using only the primary and secondary sources listed in the bibliography... Nika Göthová

3 I would like to thank my supervisor for taking up my thesis, even though so late, for his advice and for providing me with the key publications for my thesis.

4 Table of Contents Introduction The Structure of On the Origin of Species An Overview of prior evolutionary thought Structure and the argument of On the Origin of Species The Language of On the Origin of Species On The Origin of Species throughout the editions Circumstances and aftermath of the publication Legacy of On the Origin of Species in Literature Alice in Wonderland A case study Conclusion Works cited Summary Resumé

5 Introduction On the Origin of Species (1859) contains concepts and ideas, the contribution of which was vital to the formation of the nineteenth century way of thinking. This thesis presents an attempt to evaluate the aspects of the existence of the book that contributed to the status which has been often ascribed to both Darwin and his work, and which they earned already in the nineteenth century. The main objectives of the thesis will be to describe the reasons for the popularity of the book, the extent and nature of its reception and the diversity of sections of the British society, in which the discussion took place. Since literature is one of the cultural and, at the same time, intellectual products of civilisation, and thus serves as a reflexion of the impacts of various movements, the last aim of the thesis is to demonstrate Darwin s influence on literature. One of the components of the success of The Origin dwells in the composition of the book itself. The first chapter explores the way in which the nineteenth century reader might have been affected by the structure, language and content of The Origin. A brief introduction of Darwin s predecessors and possible sources of some of his concepts is followed by a comment on the structure of the book and its contribution to the clarity with which the theory is presented. The language used contributes to the general clarity of the text, and yet in this subchapter, a few challenges of language are selected to demonstrate the difficulties Darwin had to overcome, and solutions he found. The last section describes the transformation of The Origin throughout the edition and the importance and implications of this process. A great part of the language analysis is derived from Gillian Beer s Darwin s plots (1983) and George Levine s Darwin the Writer (2011). Darwin s plots created a precedent, which, in some ways, established the manner in which The Origin has been 5

6 treated in the literary community. The book presents a result of deep contemplation about the language used by Darwin and the obstacles he had to face. The book exemplifies a thorough analysis of the differences in the structures of language used in literature before and after the publication of The Origin and thus indicates the impact of Darwin s book. The possible influences of Darwinism are demonstrated in an analysis of George Eliot s Middlemarch. Levine attempts to provide a literary analysis of The Origin as well. He argues that the role of the language used and literary nature of Darwin s work played as vital role as the ideas themselves in the process of the spread of the book. Darwin the Writer provides a connection of Darwin s language with the language of the prior, contemporary and later authors. Levine demonstrates the impact Darwin had on literature on Hardy s novel The Woodlander in particular. The second chapter is focused on the reception of the book in the society during the post-publishing period. The aim of the chapter is to prove the dependency of the reception of Darwin s theory on the social conditions of the time and on the will and decision made by every individual involved in the debate. It provides a closer look at the actions Darwin and his friends took in order to promote The Origin and to accommodate the theory with a platform required for a wide discussion. Subsequently, a short account of the reception of the theory in scientific circles and clergy is presented, followed by a few instances of the way Darwin s ideas were implemented in the interdisciplinary debates. This chapter is based on Janet Browne s description of events and actions that accompanied the pre- and post-publishing process. In her book Charles Darwin: The Power of Place (2002), a complex picture of Darwin s life in the context of the wider circumstances of his environment. It offers a depiction of Darwin s connections, status and actions and their influence on the spread of the book. Browne, however, does not limit the circumstances of the publication to the immediate 6

7 surroundings of Darwin only. She rather extends the description of the causes and effects to the reception and actions of various individuals, who became the decisive power that drove the circulation of the thoughts. The Origin and the consequent circulation of the ideas expressed in it influenced the literary world as well. The third chapter of the thesis shortly summarises the impact of Darwin s concepts and their formulation on the world of literature and the techniques and systems that writers constructed in their books. This is mainly a brief outline of the points Beer and Levine make. It serves as an illustration of the fact that some of the ideas Darwin used were adapted from the public discourse, and at the same time as a proof of The Origin having a certain effect on the world of literature. One of such possible influences on a literary work is illustrated on the story by Lewis Carroll, Alice s Adventures in Wonderland (1865). The main source for the analysis of the role of the animals in the text is an essay by Rose Lovell-Smith The Animals of Wonderland: Tenniel as Carroll s Readers (2003), the main topic of which is the realism of Tenniel s illustrations. The book also attends the problem of predation in Alice s Adventures and the reasons for the choice of the animal kingdom as the key feature of the environment of the story. The key source for the examination of the possibility of Carroll incorporating his opinions on education of children will be an essay by Ruth Murphy Darwin and 1860s Children s Literature (2012). This essay provides a short account of Carroll s perception of the changes caused produced by The Origin and its possible reflexion in Alice s Adventures that is supposed to guide the readers to a world of different, rather practical, way of teaching children. 7

8 1. The Structure of On the Origin of Species The concept of natural selection and of the theory that later came to be called evolution was presented in a book, thus a part of the analysis of its influence should be based on the literary qualities of The Origin. Certain parts of Darwin s concept of natural selection derived from the previous research of other scientist. He adopted parts of their theories, phrases and structure. Thus he was not entirely original. It seems that the thorough structure of his argument, including the language and the changes it underwent between various editions, made The Origin more appealing to the audience. Therefore the literary aspect of the book made the delivery of Darwin s message more effective An Overview of prior evolutionary thought A human mind can only very scarcely, if ever, conceive a completely new idea. The availability of a certain amount of material, gathered from practical experience or gained by theoretical study, is the key. Accumulation of information is followed by combining the material of diverse origin which leads to the production of a seemingly revolutionary thought in the human brain. The brain of Charles Darwin was one of such places of combination. The ideas as presented in his probably best known book On the Origin of Species (1859) were a well written combination of his experience and observations of the world with a set of ideas, which can be traced in the field of natural history prior to the formulation of his theory. Loren Eiseley, who demonstrated the abundant number of sources that were available to Darwin, was a professor of physical anthropology at University of Pennsylvania and the chairman of its Anthropology Department since His works focused on the meaning and history of the perception of humanity, culture and science 8

9 (Pitts 2015). In 1961 he published a book, Darwin s Century, which offers quite a complex analysis of the track of scientific thought that shared ideas with parts of Darwin s theory. Eiseley probably overestimates the role of prior scientists in The Origin when calling it the master synthesis, yet their theories, as source of ideas or at least notions on various subjects, are vital to the conception of the theory (142) 1. Eiseley s trail starts with the voyages, which supplied material for extensive research and thus a wider range of ideas. Because of the voyages and discoveries of the new parts of the world a great stock of new species became available (Eiseley 1). These species were in many aspects similar to the ones found in Europe, yet also different. A huge number of scientists and adventures underwent expeditions to see such creatures, many of them writing afterwards to Doctor Carl Linnaeus. This was the man who named the new species using the binominal nomenclature, which is still in use today (Eiseley 16-22). On the one hand, naming, hence classifying species suggests their fixity, but on the other hand, it sets a basis and, more importantly, terminology for the subsequent research. The research, as presented in Darwin s Century, took place mainly in Britain and France. Eiseley mentions Benoit de Maillet and his research of fossils (Eiseley 30), followed by Buffon s ideas of degeneration, variations and extinction (Eiseley 39-42). One whole chapter is dedicated to Lamarck and Erasmus Darwin, who are referred to as the predecessors of Charles Darwin most commonly. They are illustrated as the sources of the idea of the change of organisms and their striving for survival (Eiseley 51). At the beginning of the nineteenth century, catastrophism offers a reinforcement of the notion of organic change. Although this concept supposed a notion of a sudden 1 Browne states that Darwin s writing was ultimately both unique and part of a larger corpus of preexisting evolutionary thought (62). 9

10 change in structure (Eiseley 68), which was rejected first by Lyell and then also by Darwin, it shifted science to a firmer establishment of the doctrine of organic change. Lyell, supposedly the main source of Darwin s ideas, replaced catastrophism with his uniformitarianism. This means that in his three volume book Principles of Geology, Lyell explained that the world has been developing constantly and gradually and that all natural phenomena can be explained by a cause now in operation (Levine 45). More importantly, however, the book contained a summary of some of already mentioned, and many other sources (Eiseley 103). Hence it became one of the main and in certain aspects immediate sources of Darwin s web of thought. Other such sources which are confirmed are Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation (1844) by Robert Chambers and Treatise on Natural Inheritance ( ) by the French physician Prosper Lucas. In the case of Vestiges, the excitement it evoked in the public and number of copies it sold can be used as one argument for the accessibility of the ideas to Darwin. The second one is the fact that he owned a copy and made notes in the margins. This definitely proves his interest in the publication (Eiseley ). The same applies to Treatise. In their essay on importance of Prosper Lucas to Darwin s theory Noguera Solano and Gutiérrez point out that Darwin had a copy of the book and read it carefully as the annotations in the margins prove (699). Notwithstanding the probable uselessness of most of the information directly pointed out by Lucas, the book supplied Darwin with questions that required answers before publishing, and with suitable vocabulary, namely the term inheritance (Noguera Solano 699). Another part of nomenclature Darwin uses originates in an economic theory. 10

11 In 1798 Malthus published An Essay on the Principle of Population which, after a few reeditions, became available to Darwin. This came to be one of the main inspirations for The Struggle for Existence (Hodge 161). Malthus propounded a theory which explained that the exponential growth of population could not be equalled by the increase in resources production, which would eventually lead to famine. Darwin adjusted the theory, or rather saw its reflexion in nature, and applied it on the principle of natural selection. Thus the Malthusian theory became one of the inspirations for Darwin and his theory, and the inspirations were many. Much literature is dedicated to the predecessors of Darwin. Janet Browne sums up publications with similar topics to Eiseley s in endnotes when stating that it has long been clear that Darwinian revolution was neither completely Darwinian nor completely revolutionary (8). Darwin s revolution did not dwell in the uniqueness of his ideas but in its validity and its ability to transmit across the world and throughout society (Browne 102) Structure and the argument of On the Origin of Species Darwin himself attributed a part of the success to the length of the book (The Autobiography 40). He had started to write various essays on the subject already around 1842 (Eiseley 186). The amount of the already referenced material with vast number of examples was so huge that a mere abstract, which was eventually published as On the Origin of Species, numbered approximately five hundred pages. In his autobiography, Darwin mentions that the length of the original version was supposed to be four to five times as large as the final abstract. At the same time, he also admits that scarcely anyone would have had the patience to read it (Darwin, The Autobiography 40). The reasonable length was a product of the negotiations of Darwin and his publisher Murray. At his request, Darwin promised to keep the size of the book down to an 11

12 economical four hundred pages (Browne 74). That was to be the length that determined the rearrangement of economy and structure of the book. Another condition which decided the structure of The Origin were Darwin s striving for scientific completeness (Browne 48) and persuasion of the reader (Levin, Darwin the Writer 16). The text is divided into clear chapters. Each of them has its function in the long argument. The most important chapters, such as Struggle for Existence and Natural Selection, introduce and explain new or not entirely familiar concepts. Second type of chapters is the one that serves an analogy which Darwin uses to familiarise parts of the theory to the reader. Two of this sort of chapters are Variation under Domestication and Variation under Nature. The third of the main types helps to support the argument and explain possible problems or unclarities of the theory. Almost all chapters that follow the chapter Laws of Variation belong to this group. The organisation of chapters helps the reader to comprehend the message of The Origin. Hodge associates this structure with the customary interpretation of the argument of Newtonian celestial mechanics, which was supposed to consist of three parts: phenomena, laws and causes (Hodge 54). This truly seems to be the vertical structure of the argument, which might have given the argument more scientific relevance. The horizontal structure of the argument, however, made the trail of thought easier to follow. The argument starts with known and easily comprehensible topics, the first one being domestic breeding. Then it continues with a slightly more distant Variation under Nature and the characteristics it shares with domestic breeding. Following is the chapter that clarifies the nature of conditions in which processes explained in the theory happen. Subsequently, the biggest novelty, Struggle for Existence and Natural Selection, is presented to the reader. The sequence of information is selected very cleverly, as it is fluid and allows the reader to come to the centre, and, at 12

13 the same time, the most important part quite gradually and quickly, while they have already been acquainted with all concepts crucial to the understanding of the points presented. What follows after the most important chapters is the explanation and support of the argument. The reader, being already familiar with the proposed discovery, can then read the supporting arguments, material and reflexions, knowing what is to be considered and judged, in this case: thesis of natural selection. The discovery that Darwin introduces is stated in the name of the first edition: On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection. The origin of various species dwells in the process of natural selection. It is the product of the interactions of animals with other animals and nature. It is important to clarify, however, that Darwin never exactly poses the question of origin of life. Rather than looking for the beginning he describes the process, trying to avoid the question of deity or creation of humans (Browne 60-61). The general content of The Origin and laws presented in it are today broadly familiar. These laws, inexplicable in only a few sentences are the laws of survival, inheritance and variation, in today s terminology all comprised in the term evolution. It is important to mention that these are the laws that Darwin described, not invented (Beer 46), as he demonstrates by his arguments, they are all his or other scientists observations. Darwin offered a few observations as the support examples to almost every statement in the book. For Darwin himself, it was unsatisfactory that only one or two examples to every statement can be fitted in the book of such quantitative limitations as was The Origin (Browne 52). Throughout the book, however, especially in the innovative parts, the number of instances of the demonstrations of laws and their visibility in the organic kingdom is abundant. The most common is a simple listing of the names of plants and animals accompanied by a brief comment on the relevance of 13

14 the examples. Less common, yet more significant, are instances of considerable length that insert animal behaviour into a context. A few such examples are beetles in Madeira (Darwin, The Origin 128) or slave-making ants (Darwin, The Origin 182). Nevertheless, some examples are more efficient in capturing the readership than others. The choice of instances from Darwin s personal research conveyed in Downe is probably the best strategy for explaining new concepts to the British society. Darwin s personal experience and its consequent mediation offer at least a partial notion of immediate interaction with the subject of examination to the reader. The familiarity of the reader with organisms and environment employed in the experiments and observations only adds to the feeling of immediacy. Darwin brings exotic research home and provides British with numerous examples that they themselves can see. He emphasises, as Beer puts it, conversation rather than abstraction (61). This does not mean, however, that the examples used are only from The United Kingdom, or that they originate purely in Darwin s research. Darwin uses also names of scientists and researchers who did not support his argument. In the first few chapters, over forty scientists are mentioned. They are botanists, zoologists, biologists, chemists or even economists. Darwin mentions names of the colleagues with whom he was in correspondence, like Asa Gray, Wallace or Hooker. Yet also those whose publications he read, but never met, such as Malthus or Linneaus. Such extensive use of what can be called big names might have more than supportive effect. It probably amazed the laymen readers of the book. An ordinary reader, which in this case means higher and middle classes, might have bene overwhelmed by Darwin s abilities to gather material and, at the same time discouraged from arguing, even in their mind, with so many scientific authorities. Because the 14

15 ordinary reader possibly did not realise that not all of those scientist would not have been of the same opinion as Darwin and footnotes are not there to clarify it. The absence of footnotes may cause an impression of vagueness, but it also releases text of needless complications for readers. Darwin had to eliminate them for the sake of length of the book (Browne 54). The scientific community might have seen a lack of footnotes as an aspect of The Origin that diminished its scientific value. A layman, however, could have enjoyed the book even more when footnotes were absent. To read a book so distinctive by its fluid style allowed the reader, without any disturbances, to concentrate more, and perceive the message of a text and context better. Hence the absence of footnotes might have been more beneficial to the spread of the book among laymen than it was hurtful to its respectability in scientific circles. But since Darwin aimed for both groups to be persuaded, he put a great emphasis on facts. Darwin s handling of facts is very peculiar, since in his theory a gap arises between various kinds of facts. He did not reject the empirical truths or the state of existence as it was. He rather changed the perception of it. Every new theory looks at set of examined objects from a different perspective than the prior theories. Thus the facts deducted or induced by the prior theories may cease to be perceived as facts. Consequently, a complete rejection of the concept of fact is possible. Darwin, however, did not reject such a concept, rather used it for persuasion. All in all, he used the word itself close to three hundred times in The Origin (Levine, Darwin the Writer 81). Such overuse of a word might affect the reader s subconscious and convince them of the book being full of facts. According to Beer this was not unusual in Victorian scientific circles as the definition of the word fact was less specific than today. Darwin took pleasure in making strange, in skimming off the familiar and restoring it, enriched and stabilised (Beer 75). In another words he compelled the reader to 15

16 observe familiar organisms and their interactions as from an entirely new perspective, hence they re-examined the experience of all of their senses and to reorganise the way in which they understood the processes of nature. Browne formulates this method as an analogy between what is known, and what is unknown (55). One of the types of analogy Darwin uses is the analogy of subjects. This kind of analogy works in the book on many levels. He compares numbers of offspring that various animals annually produce to the number of casualties the same animals annually suffer (Darwin 84). The similarity of resulting ratios in so many organisms supports the theory. Another kind is on level of chapters. One such example is chapter Geographical distribution, which focuses on similarities and differences of flora and fauna of the Old and the New World. The last level of analogy is between chapters. The importance and usefulness of coupling of Variation under Domestication and Variation under Nature has already been described. All of these analogies help to create a map in the head of the reader. This web of information makes the argument more approachable. More analogies are used in the language itself The Language of On the Origin of Species Levine claims that much of the success of Darwin s ideas originates in the style of his writing (Darwin the Writer 2). It is true that Darwin did not write a discourse that would be called scientific today. However, it is crucial to emphasise again that it was not intended for scientific public only 2. Much of the choice of language was not determined only by the image of the target audience, but also by the restrictions encompassed in Darwin s topic. The unfamiliarity and habit of any audience to think in accordance with certain structures, which were in part incompatible with Darwin s theory, posed a copies went to Mudie s Circulating Library, which allowed access to the book to a broader public (Browne 88). 16

17 challenge to his choice of language. Besides finding balance between the scientific and the ordinary, Beer stresses three more problems that Darwin faced. The first is the anthropomorphism of the language (Beer 48). Darwin tries to describe the world and its laws by language, but as Beer explains, as opposed to the world, language is anthropomorphic (45). Not only were expressions such as natural selection or evolution non-existent, many expressions today typical of zoology and botany had not been naturalised either 3. Therefore, Darwin was forced by circumstances to use language that is descriptive of human structures. Beer s example for anthropomorphism is use of expression face of nature. She claims that the poetic language of face is a part of Milton s heritage (Beer 31). She offers examples of language made by humans for humans: parent and birthplace (Beer 61). Levine s examples are the self-destructive bee and the dreadful parasites ( ). Beer calls these analogies or metaphors. With help of the metaphors, Darwin overcomes the second problem that Beer stresses: the text being agentless was crucial (48). Such and extensive use of metaphor suggest that the extent of strangeness of the concept was so vast that it lacked language and thus means of explanation. All concepts of creation and development the Victorian society was dwelling upon comprised a certain notion of the Deity or an agent who created, alternatively also moves the world. Darwin does not reject the existence of the Deity. He tries to avoid the questions of this sort entirely (Browne 60). The process he explains is, however, as he sees it, agentless. Thus he invents one of the leading metaphors of his book natural selection (Levine, Darwin the Writer 8). Today, the 3 Even though Royal Society had existed for almost 300 years already, Linnean society for almost 70 years and universities served the purpose of research as well, institutional scientific work and establishment of terminology of various fields of science was still in the initial phase. Also Hodge states that There was no unitary science of biology at the time, for there was a huge intellectual and institutional gab between the various branches of natural history (266) 17

18 symbolism of the phrase is quite well known among the general public. Nonetheless, in the nineteenth century it represented a strange metaphor. At first, the readers of The Origin transferred the role of Deity and its quality of agency on nature (Levine, Darwin the Writer 8). That was one of the reasons for Darwin to comment on the meaning of the metaphor and extensive explanation of his intentions when inventing it, because in the first edition nature appeared to be an agent (Beer 62). Besides the explanation, Darwin did not change the phrase in any significant way in the later editions. Even though the notion of selection might have evoke a feeling of cruelty, as it judges to death, the rest of the text helps to weaken such notion. The optimistic tone of Darwin s argument makes the book more appealing. Darwin loved nature. He dedicated most of his life to it. Therefore, it is comprehensible that his description of it is conveyed in a kind manner. Beer calls the tone of the discourse warmly human (61). It is not only his observations, but also his conclusions, the innovative parts of the theory are disclosed by the language of positive connotations. As a priest who tries to convert pagans, Darwin introduces the kindness of nature. He introduces her as a generous lady (Levine, Darwin the Writer 85). This is not indicated only in the description of animals. He uses her kindness as an argument for the physical change of animals. Since genetics and the general laws of inheritance and mutations were unknown at the time of publication Darwin depended upon the argument of generosity. As without knowledge of existence of dominant and recessive genes, a mysterious, even magic, generosity of nature was the only argument that could have explained that the newly arisen characteristics in individuals do not perish among vast number of characteristics of the other individuals. This choice was compared to the choice of humans when breeding animals. The reason for the survival of species, as Darwin proposed it, explained the plain truth: the weak individuals die, yet made the 18

19 truth less bleak when claiming that it is the kindness of nature that in consequence helps the species to survive. A comparison of the choice of nature for survival to choice of man to their own liking made the nature look not only kinder, but also superior (Beer 28). Such kindness and wisdom and concept of sacrifice of an individual for the sake of many were not a strange image to Victorians. It was one of the aspects of Darwin s theory that suited the already existing structures of Victorian thinking. The language of the observation and description of nature, not as a part of the selective process but as mere habitat, is also optimistic. Levine claims that Darwin s writing belongs to a great tradition of romantic writing and thinking that imagines nature (Darwin Loves You 41). Such claim is defendable. Darwin read Romantics, as almost every one of his social status in the period. Moreover, he looked at nature the way that romantics did: with the wonder and curiosity that is reflected in The Origin. The book was intended to convey this special outlook on the world. The book was so personal that Darwin narrated in the first person in the present tense. Use of the present tense was inspired by an attempt to remind people that what is described in the book are general and ever working laws of what was later to be called evolution. Beer writes that the present tense reinforces the effect of discovery. She also suggests that it deletes the space between us and the future (43). It is possibly true in the context of connection of the text and readership, but the present tense might also reflect the ongoing change, its permanence. The use of the present tense is frequent even in today s scholarly writing, especially when it focuses on permanent laws. Yet it is not considered scientific to use a first person narrator. Although Darwin s choice was not entirely scientific, it was beneficial when it came to the reception of his theory. His testimony served as an honest testimony of a witness. It is vital not to forget, that Darwin was an English gentleman. Hence his word had a certain value in the British 19

20 society of the time. The statements and claims of a gentleman were still of a higher value and more trustworthy than the same statements would be if they were proclaimed by a member of a lower class. The first person narrator also added to the warmth of the book. It gave the book the personality of a human and made it more relatable and readable, as it shifted its discourse nearer to being story-like. Browne points out that the Victorian reader was familiar with such discourse from the pastoral writings of Gilbert White as well as biographical stories like Tristram Shandy. She also states that such style was thoroughly sympathetic and genial, creating a distinctive magic between author and reader (55). The support for such arguments comes also from a different source: a man who was brought up in Victorian society. Francis Darwin, son of Charles Darwin, attributes a significant part of his father s success to the style of his writing (Browne 55). Even though the choice of language of The Origin played an important part in presentation of the book, its character was plausibly not much different from other popular philosophical discourses of the nineteenth century. The Origin was by its content bound to be philosophical, since it was a hypothesis. Darwin himself considered his position to be that of a philosophical naturalist (Hodge13) Therefor it is true that language and formulations used by Darwin were rare and special in his own field, in natural history, but such statements are invalid in context of philosophical writings of the century. Hayden White in his book Metahistory compares discourses of four historians and four philosophers of the nineteenth century, concentrating on literary modes and tropes contained in the discourses 4. Thee selected texts, which were some of 4 He tries to prove that all the historical and philosophical discourses that were employed in his research are pure literature and do not convey any kind of neutral message or fact as was intended by the authors. To confirm his theory, he uses texts of Nietzsche, Hegel, Marx, Croce, Ranke, Burkhardt, Michelet and Tocqueville. 20

21 the most significant texts of the nineteenth century, had obviously enough literary material and style in them to make a construction of such theory possible and relevant for a number of scholars of the field of history and literature. The common aspects of these discourses with The Origin are the presentation of unfamiliar topics and their persuasive character, as the authors tried to convey the importance of their outlook. The role of these texts is not to reorganise the already known and accepted facts. It is rather to offer a new view of the world and that is what makes them philosophical. The Origin shares this feature and hence is inevitably philosophical. Another argument to support such a claim is that the formulation of language Darwin uses allows various social interpretations. Many sociologists, philosophers and economists used parts of The Origin to support their statements and theories. According to Levine, evidence for almost all social interpretations can be found in The Origin (Darwin Loves You 21). This is not a testimony of a lack of clarity. As Beer explaines Darwin was forced by the circumstances on Beagle to develop a style of writing that was accurate, concise and vivid enough, so that it remind him of any details which would have been useful in the future (Cambridge University, Gillian Beer). The applicability of so many theories might be the consequence of Darwin s literary style of writing 5. The idea of natural selection has served the purposes of everyone from Walter Bagehot to Adolf Hitler and those connected to Malthus and his terminology provided support to capitalism (Levine ). The support for capitalism is perhaps the most visible in the use of language. Darwin uses the expression economy of nature over ten times in the first edition. This is not a significant number. Competition, as a part of economic system of nature is mentioned, however, approximately forty five times. For individual organisms which 5 He starts to use exact terminology for certain phenomena, but generally speaking, most of the book is opened to various interpretations. Especially in the first edition (Beer 33) 21

22 share an ecosystem he uses expressions like enemy or competitor. A reader, even if not looking for a proof of capitalism being the natural state of the environment, realises the frequency with which this kind of terminology is used. And if the individual words are left unnoticed, there are still formulations such as as each area is already fully stocked with inhabitants, the other species will decrease (Darwin, The Origin 84) that are phrases which suggest that current state of society was a reflexion of the nature itself. This was cause by the employment of Malthusian comment on the state of society. Thus his views of the social processes were recycled through The Origin and thus, The Origin itself became a theory which reflects a competitive, urban, industrial [environment] (Hodge 159). Of course, as previously explained, the book also comprises notions of kindness of the nature. Thus, power of the discourse dwells in the fact, that every reader can see themselves in it. And the conclusion and way of reading always depends on the reader. The ambiguity of The Origin only added to its popularity. The more interpretations a book has, the more people can identify with its content. Such identification is important in spreading the thoughts of the book and thus also in broadening of the number of readers. In this case, it would be irrelevant to examine and judge the presence of various interpretations in the language or in the theory as Darwin intended to propose it. Because in any case, the wide range of the possibilities of the ways of reading the book either helped to spread it or they can be used as a testimony of the high value that was attributed to The Origin at the time. Because a supporting argument of this kind is usually relevant if provided not by just anyone, but by a highly regarded scientist. The prerequisite as well as consequence of the latter is, therefore, the spread and general acceptance of the ideas that the book represents. Another feature that helped Darwin s breakthrough was his ability to adjust. 22

23 1.4. On the Origin of Species throughout the editions In Darwin s lifetime, six editions of The Origin were published 6, each one slightly different from the previous one. The most famous changes were the omission of On after the first edition 7 (Beer 63) and acceptance of an equivalent of natural selection. Spencer s survival of the fittest was introduced for the first time in the 5 th edition (Levine, Darwin the Writer 9). In the 6 th edition, evolution appeared for the first time (Schönborn XVIII). While it is striking that some of the concepts that are today ascribed to Darwin originated somewhere else and Darwin only adopted them, it shows that Darwin, as a scientist who was convinced of the fidelity of his theory, was willing to sacrifice parts of his work, in order to serve the accuracy and survival of the theory. Nevertheless, alternation and addition of terminology were only the minor changes to the theory. Darwin used the other editions to answer the questions that were posed in reviews, personal letters and debates. Darwin owed a part of his questions to the past. Much of his theory is an explanation of the blank spaces in theories of prior scientists. He completed many already half constructed equations that were supposed to explain natural processes. Nonetheless, his theory and its publication brought up many new equations to be solved and explained. Darwin, as a true scientist who sought the truth and wanted to defend his theory, did not reject and neglect objections. He rather used them for further expansion of his book. Wallace tried to persuade Darwin, not to incorporate the objections to the theory (Eiseley 191), yet Darwin collected reviews and tried to answer and soothe the most commonly discussed flaws and gaps in the theory (Browne 104). He saw the explanation and clarification of unclear expressions or ideas 6 The number only counts the number of editions published in Britain. 7 On suggests contemplation. With its omission, a notion of factuality replaces notion of contemplation and the name of the text suggest that results described in the theory are more certain. 23

24 as a possible advantage of the book. Inclusion of the questions, evolution of the book, might be one of the reasons why it was gradually accepted more and more. After the first edition, the explanation of the intended meaning of the phrase natural selection was added (Beer 62). And in latter editions, not less than a few chapters were added to the book. The volume broadened with increase of the demand of specific answers, clarifications and information. Darwin learned from his theory of adaptation and adjusted The Origin so that it survives the criticism and explains all that is unclear. The success and acceptance of the book dwelt partially in its content. Whether it was the ideas, language or style, all of them contributed to the final effect. The familiarity of discourse in which the book is conducted balanced the distance of its subject. Additionally, the unknown is explained by the metaphors, analogies and anthropomorphic language that linked it to more familiar phenomena. The book as a whole, with both intended and unintended meanings, appeared to be complex to those scientists who were in favour of the theory and reader friendly to laymen. 24

25 2. Circumstances and aftermath of the publication The role of the outer factors and conditions that accompanied the publication of The Origin and its aftermath in the spread of Darwin s ideas should not be underestimated. The process was influenced by Darwin s status, his connections among scientists and actions of his friends, who were scientists as well. The extent of the influence of The Origin cannot be defined definitely, since the decision about the acceptance of the theory depended on every individual alone. Moreover, the formulation and content of the theory mutated in every debate and in many cases, it was the new rather than the original version that reached the ears of the individuals. In addition, the consequence of the uniqueness of the persuasion of every single being was that the opinions of the theory varied wildly in every field of science and in every class. The Origin was published on 24 November The whole process of preparation for the publishing of what was an abstract of a much more extensive work had started in 1956, when Lyell had pressed [Darwin] to get on and publish (Browne 7). At the time, Darwin had already had an extensive active network of correspondents who had supplied him with objects of scientific enquiry that he had requested in exchange for advices on their research. This was the nature of his relationship with Alfred Russell Wallace. In June 1858, Darwin received a package from Wallace. This package contained a notebook where a theory almost identical to Darwin s was presented (Browne 14). Although the content of the notebook shattered Darwin s surmise of his idea being original, Darwin decided to deal with the situation as a gentleman. He let Lyell and Hooker to publish and to read the paper in the Linnean Society of London, and Wallace was to be regarded as one of the authors of the theory. Browne, however, claims that Lyell s and Hooker s intention was to secure Darwin s claim to originality (39). Lyell 25

26 continued to pressure Darwin into publishing the abstract that he had been preparing. Darwin either did not want any scandal to be connected with the publication of the book or his conscience would not allow him, but he would not take any further measures without Wallace s consent. The consent was granted in a letter that Darwin received in January The letter served as a signal that it was the time to start to work diligently on the publication 8. The Origin was published by John Murray, its print run being 1250 copies. The number of orders which Murray took prior to the print was around That is also the reason why all the copies of The Origin were sold in one day 9. Mudie s Circulating Library purchased five hundred copies (Browne 88). Other 40 copies were sent to review journals (Browne 87). And more than 80 copies were ordered on Darwin s expense to be sent to most influential geologists, botanist, zoologists etc., each accompanied by a letter which was delicately tailored to its recipient and aiming to defuse the worst of the anticipated criticism (Browne 84). With help of a few selected quotations Browne shows one of Darwin s tools of prevention of negative responses among members of scientific community. 10 She argues that a letter and a book received directly form the author not only drew the recipient to the debate about the publication, but it probably also made them less inclined to attack any part of the argument (86). Darwin s current status helped to promote and establish The Origin as well. Darwin was a gentleman with an already constituted scientific reputation. He owed much of his success to his acquaintances. With help of F. W. Hope he became a founding member in absentia of Royal Entomological Society when he was only 24 8 Darwin did not work on perfecting of the book alone. He consulted the language and clarity of his arguments with Hooker and, more commonly, with his wife Emma (Browne 75-76). 9 Browne also compares the print run of The Origin to other influential publications of the period and thus proves that 1250 copies were not considered to be a high number (88). 10 The selected passages are of apologetic and suggestive nature. Darwin manipulates human feelings. One of Browne s examples is from a letter that Darwin wrote to John Henslow: I fear, however, that you will not approve of your pupil in this case (Browne 84). 26

27 years old (Hodge 39). When Darwin was still on Beagle, Henslow published an unauthorised selection of Darwin s geological reflections that were mentioned in their correspondence. Additionally, his collections of animals were very popular in Zoological Society of London. Thus, as Hodge explains, Darwin had been gaining a complex intellectual make-up and rising scientific reputation (40) long before The Origin. A combination of this pattern of mutual help among scientist, or in this case the help that other scientist offered to Darwin, and what is known about Darwin s life, could become a vicious circle. 11 The multiplication of his connections and the consequent debates with them would have increased his credibility and vice versa. This was very important to his scientific status. Yet, not forgetting his worldly status, the combination of the two made his work more visible, therefore more probable to be discussed in various circles. Darwin connections spread across political and literary circles as well (Hodge 57). The meaning of Darwin s social status in the publication process of The Origin was immense. 12 Not only because of his connections, but also because, as Hodge formulates it: How one was treated depended on who one was not simply on what one said (209). Moreover, Darwin developed his own style of presentation that materially advanced his cause (Browne 83). This official image, accompanied by the characteristic long grey beard of an old wise man or a prophet, and the mystery of his personality, because of the scarcity of his public appearance, probably supported the debates about him and the book even more (Lightman 340). The possibility of restraining from the public eye was conditioned by Darwin s ability to [marshal] his friends into an effective army which was supposed to defend the theory (Browne 84). 11 or virtuous 12 Spencer and Chambers probably assigned a big part of Darwin s success to his social status as well (Browne 184). 27

28 The four most important supporters and Darwin s close acquaintances were Lyell, Hooker, Huxley and Asa Grey. Browne calls them four musketeers (126). The domain of Asa Gray was propagation in North America. One of his main quests was to arrange the publication of an American version of The Origin (Browne 132). Hooker s task was to secure position of the theory in botanical circles. With a similar network of correspondents to Darwin s, he had a chance to emphasise the importance of ideas presented in The Origin in his letters, which were spinning out across the globe (Browne 132). He was also supposed to persuade the editors of botanical magazines in Britain and Europe to run favourable reviews of [The] Origin of Species (writing them himself, if necessary) (Browne 131). Lyell s authority helped to establish Darwin s ideas among the geological scientific community. For several years already, Lyell had been mainly revising his Principles of Geology, the publication that made him highly respected in geological circles. He, however, found a new interest in defending Darwin s ideas and building on them. Lyell s new project, the book Antiquity of Man (1863), was the result of the interactions of his questions and Darwin s theory (Browne 91, 131). As a still active scientist, he also engaged in a number of debates and discussions, official and private, where he defended Darwin s opinions. In consequence, Lyell s public support gave Darwin s theory a great deal of credibility (Browne 127). The last musketeer tried to be the most persuasive of all four. Huxley s engagement in the post-publication process brought him the status of one of the leading publicists for science in the period (Browne 13). The manner in which he defended Darwin was the fiercest of all four musketeers. He called himself Darwin s bulldog. Darwin himself admitted that Huxley s style was so aggressive that if he had written an anti-darwinian article, it might have caused problems (Browne 28

29 136). At the beginning Huxley s career as a Darwin s defender, he caused a few troubles by emphasising gaps in Darwin s theory. One of such statements was connected to the fact that Darwin s theory was only an unproved theory, which was true but any reminder of the fact was undesired (Hodge 189). Huxley was also the only one of the four who attempted to spread the idea of natural selection, together with other facts about natural history, among wider society. For approximately a year he held special lectures for working men at Royal Mines Academy in London (Browne 138). Besides the lectures, he also defended Darwin s theory in scientific debates, the most famous being the Oxford debate. A great number of scientists and students met at an Oxford university museum in order to listen to the debate. The speakers were Draper, a self-proclaimed cultural evolutionist, antievolutionist bishop Samuel Wilberforce, Huxley, Hooker, Henslow and a few other scientific authorities. The biggest controversy of the debate is supposed to be the clash of Wilberforce s opinions and objections to the theory and Huxley s reaction to these objections. Browne claims that both speakers were charismatic and they created atmosphere of tension and excitement in the audience ( ). The downside of this debate, and eventually of most of the debates about Darwinism in this period, was that the idea of natural selection and of what is currently called evolution was reduced to the question of whether humans are descended from apes or not (Browne 125). To be more specific, Huxley was ever after credited with having said that he would rather be a monkey than a bishop (Browne 122). This statement shows one kind of the polarisation of society. For many, including Huxley, the implications of The Origin were a weapon against the authority of the Church. On the one hand, Hodge claims that for Huxley the theory was extra-christian (209), on the other hand Browne states that Huxley used 29