Philosophy
It took Darwin about twenty years to publish the theory that made him feel like he was confessing to a murder (God's perhaps?), but how did he come to articulate the theory in his own mind? His voyage in the HMS Beagle had a lot to do with it, certainly, but it's not all confined to the Galapagos Islands only, nor was it confined to his observations of non-human animals...
Part of it started with his politically and philosophically liberal views concerning the equality of all human beings, and the logical consequences of such equality: if we're all equal, then slavery, and the exploitation of blacks and other foreigners must be wrong.
In the first part of this truly fascinating documentary, Andrew Marr explores the scientific idea of natural selection as formulated by Darwin, as well as some of the ways in which this description of the living world has taken on a life of its own, with implications that go far beyond the world of science, revolutionizing the way we think about ourselves, challenging the need for a creator, undermining dogma, tradition and authority, and making us question the origin and nature of human morality.
Happy birthday, Chuck!
He's an enthusiastic fellow, isn't he? :)
And yes, I may have failed to mention there would be some remarks about thinkers as wide-ranging as Marx, Nietzsche, Malthus, J.B.S. Haldane, William Hamilton and George Price, but now you know :)
- The Origin Of Species And The Historicization Of Science
Today is the 150th anniversary of the publishing of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species, a book that changed our view of biology, ourselves, and of science itself. What is interesting about it is that it was a book that was never meant to be...
- What Darwin Never Knew
Darwin's idea of evolution through natural and sexual selection has been dubbed by many as perhaps the greatest single idea anyone has ever come up with. In a remarkable stroke of genius, Chuck was able to bridge the gap between the world of inanimate...
- Darwin: The Most Revolutionary Scientist Of All Time
150 years ago today, Chuck Darwin published his famous On the Origin of Species, so it's appropriate to dedicate today's entry to the brilliance and imaginative power of this radical intellectual. In the following thought-provoking lecture, Richard...
- What Darwin Didn't Know
Darwin has become an icon of scientific virtue, not only because he sought naturalistic explanations for the biological phenomena around him, as well as the mechanisms through which nature, unaided by some supernatural force or agency, would gradually...
- Olivia Judson [new York Times] Celebrates Darwin
Olivia Judson of The New York Times has begun a series of essays on Charles Darwin. "In a week or so, the trumpets will sound, heralding the start of 18 months of non-stop festivities in honor of Charles Darwin. July 1, 2008, is the 150th anniversary...
Philosophy
Darwin's Dangerous Idea - Body & Soul
Part of it started with his politically and philosophically liberal views concerning the equality of all human beings, and the logical consequences of such equality: if we're all equal, then slavery, and the exploitation of blacks and other foreigners must be wrong.
Happy birthday, Chuck!
He's an enthusiastic fellow, isn't he? :)
And yes, I may have failed to mention there would be some remarks about thinkers as wide-ranging as Marx, Nietzsche, Malthus, J.B.S. Haldane, William Hamilton and George Price, but now you know :)
- The Origin Of Species And The Historicization Of Science
Today is the 150th anniversary of the publishing of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species, a book that changed our view of biology, ourselves, and of science itself. What is interesting about it is that it was a book that was never meant to be...
- What Darwin Never Knew
Darwin's idea of evolution through natural and sexual selection has been dubbed by many as perhaps the greatest single idea anyone has ever come up with. In a remarkable stroke of genius, Chuck was able to bridge the gap between the world of inanimate...
- Darwin: The Most Revolutionary Scientist Of All Time
150 years ago today, Chuck Darwin published his famous On the Origin of Species, so it's appropriate to dedicate today's entry to the brilliance and imaginative power of this radical intellectual. In the following thought-provoking lecture, Richard...
- What Darwin Didn't Know
Darwin has become an icon of scientific virtue, not only because he sought naturalistic explanations for the biological phenomena around him, as well as the mechanisms through which nature, unaided by some supernatural force or agency, would gradually...
- Olivia Judson [new York Times] Celebrates Darwin
Olivia Judson of The New York Times has begun a series of essays on Charles Darwin. "In a week or so, the trumpets will sound, heralding the start of 18 months of non-stop festivities in honor of Charles Darwin. July 1, 2008, is the 150th anniversary...