“THIS whole volume is one long argument.” That was among Charles Darwin’s concluding comments in arguably the most revolutionary science book of all, The Origin of Species.
In the 150 years since its publication, The Origin has been subjected to intense argument, not all of it edifying. Opponents of evolution often make the ludicrous claim that the book is treated like a bible, a sacred text of science.
That is why copies of Darwin’s great work, adulterated with a creationist introduction, are . This is part of the same disinformation campaign that brought us intelligent design – invented to provide a “scientific” alternative – and teachers now fear to teach evolution because of a creationist backlash.
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“Free copies of The Origin with a creationist introduction are to be distributed on US college campuses”
One reason creationists make this argument is that they can then claim that if the scientific bible can’t provide all the answers (and, of course, it never will), then turn to Christianity because the real one can. By pointing out the fallacy of this argument, Richard Dawkins was last month. A cardinal warmed to this repellent theme , explaining that both of them see humans only as vehicles for good genes.
Here we should invoke Godwin’s law (whoever makes a comparison with Nazism loses the debate) and remember what was really the substance of Darwin’s argument as he wrote The Origin. Although aware of the struggle between faith and reason, this does not come into the book at all. Instead, Darwin was preoccupied by the science.
Those who label The Origin as a sacrosanct text display a profound ignorance of how science works. Scientific understanding develops, changes and evolves all the time. Here Dawkins should be applauded for his diligent efforts to show how, as the great scientific enterprise rolls on, it has consistently confirmed Darwin’s ideas.
What is remarkable is that, though it is 150 years to the very month since John Murray published Darwin’s landmark work, its key ideas are still compatible with what we know from modern research, notably genetics. To underline this, Steve Jones of University College London has condensed and updated The Origin for this magazine.
In the heart of this issue is a 21st-century version of the founding text of evolutionary thought. Use it to peer inside the brilliant mind of Darwin and to read modern examples of the evidence that demonstrates the argument put forward in The Origin is no longer just a theory (in the colloquial sense). The veracity of Darwin’s thinking shines out with clarity. The long argument is over and, as Darwin himself aptly put it: “There is grandeur in this view of life.”
Read more: On the Origin of Species, Revisited
