Darwin's Argument by Analogy
Darwin's Argument by Analogy
M. J. S. Hodge, University of Leeds
Gregory Radick, University of Leeds
In On the Origin of Species (1859), Charles Darwin put forward his theory of natural selection. Conventionally, Darwin's argument for this theory has been understood as based on an analogy with artificial selection. But there has been no consensus on how, exactly, this analogical argument is supposed to work – and some suspicion too that analogical arguments on the whole are embarrassingly weak. Drawing on new insights into the history of analogical argumentation from the ancient Greeks onward, as well as on in-depth studies of Darwin's public and private writings, this book offers an original perspective on Darwin's argument, restoring to view the intellectual traditions which Darwin took for granted in arguing as he did. From this perspective come new appreciations not only of Darwin's argument but of the metaphors based on it, the range of wider traditions the argument touched upon, and its legacies for science after the Origin.
- Integrates historical and philosophical perspectives to throw new light on Darwin's analogical argument for his theory of natural selection
- Explains how the metaphors that Darwin developed from the analogy between artificial and natural selection served the argument for natural selection
- Shows how a more historically accurate understanding of Darwin's argument illuminates a range of other debates in the interpretation of Darwin and his legacy
Reviews & endorsements
‘Darwin's comparison between natural and artificial selection is not ‘just a metaphor.' It exemplifies a figure of argumentation that goes back to ancient Greek mathematics: proportional analogy. The implications of this fact, spelled out by the distinguished co-authors of Darwin's Argument by Analogy, are sure to change Darwin studies, both historical and philosophical, for good.' David J. Depew, University of Iowa
'… an event in Darwin scholarship …' David Depew, Metascience
'This original, thoughtful, and thought-provoking book examines one of the most debated arguments in the history of biology … the book is an exemplary work of history and philosophy of science.' S. Andrew Inkpen, Metascience
'… best explains Darwin’s overall argument strategy in the Origin, but they also contend that it provides insight into 'the broader historiographical, philosophical, and socio-economic themes and issues' associated with Darwin and his research.' Andrea Sullivan-Clarke, Metascience
Product details
November 2021Hardback
9781108477284
260 pages
236 × 158 × 19 mm
0.53kg
Available
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- 1. Analogy in classical Greece
- 2. Analogy in the background to the Origin
- 3. Darwin's analogical theorising before the Origin
- 4. The 'one long argument' of the Origin
- 5. An analysis of Darwin's argument by analogy
- 6. Darwin's use of metaphor in the Origin
- 7. Rebuttals of the revisionists
- 8. Wider issues concerning Darwinian science.
