Elementary Writing

“Nothing in Biology Makes Sense Except in the Light of Evolution” | Dobzhansky.

Surprisingly, both Charles Darwin and Abraham Lincoln were born on February 12, 1809. In 2009 we mark the bicentennial, the 200th anniversary of both their births. There are many other things connecting these two influential men, most of all the sense of truth and of championing new possibilities in how we see our world, as well as the fact that deeds of both have changed our world forever.

November 2009 also marks the 150th birthday of Charles Darwin’s epochal evolution text On the The Origin of Species. To commemorate the occasion Danish theater prepare Darwin-Inspired Opera called Tomorrow, in a Year. The piece is set to debut in Copenhagen in November 2009, and takes as its inspiration Darwin’s thoughts on evolution, change, transformation, and mutation.

It brings us to new understanding of intellectual and social roots of Darwin’s main theories, that many scholars now refer to Darwin’s interest in art an literature. As a milestone not only in the history of science but also in cultural history, Darwin certainly developed his theory of evolution by means of natural selection in the context of 19th-century society as well as the science of the time.

Charles Darwin – Reading List

In his childhood Darwin was an avid reader, and this continued throughout his entire life.

His interest in literature may be ascribed to Charles Darwin’s elder brother, Erasmus Alvey (1804—1881). He was interested in literature and art rather than science. Charles wrote that he was “inclined to agree with Francis Galton (a half-cousin of Charles Darwin) in believing that education and environment produce only a small effect on the mind of anyone, and that most of our qualities are innate” (The Life and Letters, London, 1887).

Maybe under his brother influence, Charles attended Revd. Case’s grammar school in Shrewsbury. Ironic as it may seem, Charles Darwin was a lazy young man, and a slow learner in school. His increased interest in natural science was spurred on by hobbies outside his formal education, end his real passions was Hiking, Chammistry and Book Reading.

One book that influenced Darwin a great deal in his youth was titled “Wonders of the World.” It may have been this book that first put the idea into Darwin’s head to explore exotic foreign lands. His reading list in this periods, non surprisingly, also included:

• Shakespeare’s historical plays
• The poems of Byron,
• Scott,
• Thomson, and
• The Odes of Horace.

After his first year at medical school at the University of Edinburgh, during the summer 1825., Darwin spent much of his time hiking around northern Wales and reading Revd. Gilbert White’s book: “The Natural History of Selborne” (published in 1789). This book taught Darwin to appreciate the richness and beauty of birds, insects, and other creatures, so much in fact, that he started his own field notebook on his observations of birds. Most important of all, this book helped young Darwin develop the habit of making very close observations in nature, a habit that would serve him well all his life.

During his last year at Cambridge University, after completing his final exam (he scored 10th place!) Darwin read Sir John Herschel’s “A Preliminary Discourse on the Study of Natural Philosophy“. The primary influence of this book was that it convinced Darwin that there were no limits to the wonders that scientific investigation could uncover, and this instilled in Darwin a burning zeal for science.

Another book he read (in the Spring 1831) was Alexander von Humboldt’s 7-volume “Personal Narrative of Travels to the Equinoctial Regions of America During the Year 1799-1804“. It was this book that really got Darwin’s imagination spinning, and he was now dreaming about exploring the glorious tropical rain forests of South America (he was unaware of the H.M.S. Beagle voyage at this time).

The Origin of Species|	The Young Charles Darwin|	The Life of a Tormented Evolutionist|	Darwin’s Sacred Cause

Charles Darwin’s Favorite Authors

During the Beagle voyage he always read Milton’s “Paradise Lost” when he had a spare moment. While living in London after the voyage, he became fond of the poetry of William Wordsworth, and Samuel Coleridge.

In his later years Darwin was very fond of novels by Jane Austen, and Elizabeth Gaskell, the poems of Lord Byron, and the historical novels of Sir Walter Scott. Darwin was always quick to point out that he did not enjoy novels with a depressing ending. His wife, Emma, would read novels to him twice a day while he reclined on a sofa, and he took great pleasure in this daily routine.

Charles Darwin – Literary Opus

Charles Darwin is known to the world for one book. “On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life”, to give it its full, long-winded Victorian title, was published a century-and-a-half ago this year. In truth Darwin was a prolific author. He churned out volume after bestselling volume on earthworms, coral reefs, emotion, orchids, barnacles, insectivorous plants and, of course, human origins.

Darwin’s literary talent was probably best reflected in his voluminous letters which makes him perhaps the most prolific correspondent in the history of science. This body of work has been edited and presented selectively in a variety of sources, most notably the projected-32-volume “The Correspondence of Charles Darwin” (Cambridge Univ., 1985-), and can be viewed at Darwin Online (darwin-online.org.uk). It begins with a 12 year old’s diary entries about his brother’s rude behavior and proceeds chronologically, one chapter per one year’s smattering of abridged correspondence. Included are letters on Darwin’s studies, his family and personal life, and various reflections on subjects as varied as barnacles and poultry.

These letters also tell a gripping tale of high seas adventure and exploration, but its real value is in unveiling and testifying Darwin’s genius methods. Darwin also heavily marked books, and added plenty of personal remarks in the margins. His method of reading was very methodical – he used to take notes on the scientific books he read, and then made abstracts from his notes.

Charles Darwin’s Beagle Diary	Animals Charles Darwin Saw (Explorers Adventures)	Charles and Emma	Selected Letters of Charles Darwin

Art and Literature Inspired by Charles Darwin

Perhaps because he left behind such an extensive chronicle of his own writings, Darwin, the man, has inspired abundant literature aiming to understand the workings of his mind, his personal passions, and his inner demons.

Darwinian theory inspired directly or indirectly literature and theater. for example, “naturalism,” Emile Zola’s novels, and even played out by the novel and utopian writings prior to 1858. creating a public forum in which the new revolutionary theory would be debated.

Darwin’s writing had a significant influence on Victorian intellectuals and 19th and Early 20th Century English Literature as well. The changes can be traced through consideration of the poetry of Tennyson, the autobiography of Edmund Gossee, and the novels of Elizabeth Gaskell and Thomas Hardy.

While there are numerous books about Darwin for children, many revolving around the voyage of the Beagle, The Voyage of the Beetle is one of the most attractive and effective in teaching about natural selection. Concise and wonderfully illustrated and formatted, The Voyage of the Beetle is a wonderful tale about Darwin’s thought process concerning “that mystery of mysteries” – the mutability of species.

Darwin – The Legacy

By the time Darwin was twenty-two years old he was by no means a “finished naturalist” and most of this talent should be related to the selection of a literature peaces he absorbed by that time. It provided him with a general knowledge of a wide variety of scientific fields. Perhaps what was more important, however, is that through its intensive reading, Darwin had developed a burning passion for natural science and an unbounded enthusiasm for exploration.

The foundation was now set for Darwin to become one of the greatest naturalists of the 19th century, as well as the timeless inspiration for many artisans in the following times.

” There is grandeur in this view of life,
with its several powers,
having been originally breathed into a few forms or into one;
and that, whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity,
from so simple a beginning
endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful
have been, and are being, evolved.”

Charles Darwin

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