User:Dave souza/Reception of the Origin
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Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species (published 24 November 1859) is a seminal work in scientific literature and a landmark work in evolutionary biology. The full title was On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life, in which "races" refers to biological varieties. For the 6th edition of 1872, the title was changed to The Origin of Species. It introduced the theory that populations evolve over the course of generations through a process of natural selection. Darwin's book presented a body of evidence that the diversity of life arose through a branching pattern of evolution and common descent, evidence he had accumulated on the voyage of the Beagle in the 1830s and subsequently expanded through research, correspondence, and experimentation.
![]() The title page of the 1859 edition of On the Origin of Species | |
Author | Charles Darwin |
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Language | English |
Subject | Evolutionary biology |
Publisher | John Murray |
Publication date | 24 November 1859 |
Publication place | ![]() |
Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
ISBN | 0-486-45006-6 |
![Thumb image](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/86/Charles_Darwin_seated.jpg/640px-Charles_Darwin_seated.jpg)
The book was written to be read by non-specialists, and it attracted widespread interest on its publication. Evolution was highly controversial during the first half of the 19th century, as the idea of transmutation of species was at odds with the accepted notion that species were unchanging parts of a designed hierarchy. It was the subject of political and theological debates, with competing ideas of biology trying to explain new findings. Support for evolutionary ideas was already growing among a new generation of anatomists and the general public, but to a scientific establishment closely tied to the Church of England, science was part of natural theology. Some naturalists long committed to natural theology found it difficult to accept that humans were descended from other animals.
The evidence Darwin presented in his book generated scientific, philosophical, and religious discussion, which led to widespread acceptance that evolution had occurred, and the replacement of natural theology by methodological naturalism. This shift also contributed significantly to the professionalisation of British science. The theory of evolution has continued to advance since Darwin's time, but the scientific consensus remains that natural selection is the primary explanation for the development of new species, although political and religious controversies continue.