Paul Camp (2008), in his PhysLrnR post "happy birthday evolution" wrote:
"150 years ago today, Darwin and Wallace jointly published the first
announcement of the principle of evolution by natural selection.
Remarkable for a number of reasons, not least because it was a joint
paper with the elder Darwin not seizing all the glory (pay attention
people!), and also because 150 years later the idea still manages to
be controversial. . . . ."
Skeptic Michael Shermer, author of "In Darwin's Shadow: The Life and
Science of Alfred Russel Wallace: A Biographical Study on the
Psychology of History" [Shermer (2002)] had this to say in a recent
essay "The Real Evolution Anniversary" [Shermer (2008)] [bracketed by
lines "SSSSS. . . ."]:
SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
Next year much fanfare will unfold over the 200th anniversary of the
birth of Charles Darwin (February 12, 1809) and the 150th anniversary
of the publication of On the Origin of Species (November 24, 1859).
Arguably, an even more significant anniversary is the date of the
announcement of the discovery of natural selection on July 1, 1858,
by Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace, read into the record of
the Linnean Society of London.
Ever since that date controversy has surrounded natural selection
(are there other mechanisms of evolutionary change?), evolutionary
theory (its religious, political, and social implications), and even
the discovery itself (did Darwin steal some of Wallace's priority
when he received the latter's paper outlining the theory?). This
article, based on a chapter in my biography of Alfred Russel Wallace
- "In Darwin's Shadow" (Oxford University Press) - recounts how the
discovery came to be noted in the historical record, and who really
deserves the credit.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
A plus-sum model - the gain of one is the gain of another -
recognizes the contingent, cooperative, and interdependent nature of
scientific discovery. Both Darwin and Wallace were winners in the
game to understand the origin of species. Certainly Wallace believed
he profited from the Linnean Society arrangement, as indicated in a
letter to his mother on October 6, 1858, the same day he wrote
Darwin: "I have received letters from Mr. Darwin and Dr. Hooker, two
of the most eminent naturalists in England, which has highly
gratified me. I sent Mr. Darwin an essay on a subject on which he is
now writing a great work. He showed it to Dr. Hooker and Sir C.
Lyell, who thought so highly of it that they immediately read it
before the Linnean Society. This assures me the acquaintance and
assistance of these eminent men on my return home."
Consider Wallace's position at this time. He was a relatively unknown
35-year-old amateur naturalist whose only theoretical work - the 1855
Sarawak Law paper - was largely ignored. He had been away from
England and the center of scientific activity already four years, and
was, by all rights, still cutting his teeth on such weighty
theoretical matters. Darwin, by contrast, was 49 years old, fairly
well-known in scientific circles, had already published numerous
important scientific books and articles, and had shared his
theoretical ideas with the most important scientists in England and
America. Wallace did not feel the loser because he was not. An essay
written in two nights, sent to the right place at the right time, put
him in the scientific inner circle and into the historical record -
his name next to Darwin's - forever.
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REFERENCES
Camp, P. 2008. "Happy Birthday Evolution," PhysLrnR post of 2 Jul
2008 00:08:28 -0400; online at <http://tinyurl.com/64lrmz>. To access
the archives of PhysLnR one needs to subscribe :-(, but that takes
only a few minutes by clicking on
<http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/physlrnr.html> and then
clicking on "Join or leave the list (or change settings)." If you're
busy, then subscribe using the "NOMAIL" option under "Miscellaneous."
Then, as a subscriber, you may access the archives and/or post
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Shermer, M. 2002. "In Darwin's Shadow: The Life and Science of Alfred
Russel Wallace: A Biographical Study on the Psychology of History,"
Oxford University Press, publisher's information at
<http://tinyurl.com/3mpz3r>. Amazon.com information at
<http://tinyurl.com/4ccdoy>. Note the "Search Inside" feature. This
book can evidently be purchased for $10 at "Shop Skeptic"
<http://tinyurl.com/69k3m6>, far below the Amazon.com price of
$35.40, and the list price of $50.