Search results for "Charles Darwin"
showing 10 items of 12 documents
A reconciliation with Darwin? Divergent views on evolutionism in Erich Wasmann and Jaime Pujiula, biologists and Jesuits
2016
A diferencia del cas Galileu, l’esglesia Catolica ha gestionat amb discrecio el pensament evolucionista i les obres de Charles Darwin. Entre els cientifics catolics, hi trobem defensors d’un evolucionisme amanit amb remarcables excepcions relacionades amb l’origen divi de la vida i de l’especie humana. L’entomoleg i jesuita Erich Wasmann arriba a la conclusio que la teoria evolutiva podia donar explicacio a les seues observacions sobre els mirmecofils i adopta un evolucionisme catolicament matisat que Ernst Haeckel considerava fraudulent pero molt perillos. El bioleg i jesuita catala Jaume Pujiula segui l’obra de Wasmann tot i prenent posicions ideologiques mes radicals que la de l’entomole…
Evolution education in natural history museums
2009
During 2009, scientists around the world will celebrate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin, the father of the theory of evolution, and the 150th anniversary of the publication of his main thesis, On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection. Today, the theory of evolution is considered to be one of the greatest milestones in the history of science. Despite its undisputed merit in science, there seems to be constant turmoil around the theory in the public, which might be related to the incomplete understanding of the basic principles of evolution [1,2].
Charles Darwin and the Origin of Life
2009
When Charles Darwin published The Origin of Species 150 years ago he consciously avoided discussing the origin of life. However, analysis of some other texts written by Darwin, and of the correspondence he exchanged with friends and colleagues demonstrates that he took for granted the possibility of a natural emergence of the first life forms. As shown by notes from the pages he excised from his private notebooks, as early as 1837 Darwin was convinced that “the intimate relation of Life with laws of chemical combination, & the universality of latter render spontaneous generation not improbable”. Like many of his contemporaries, Darwin rejected the idea that putrefaction of preexisting organ…
Les Irlandais : le maillon manquant de la chaîne de l'évolution ?
2011
International audience; L’historien Lewis Perry Curtis ouvrit un large champ de recherche en publiant Apes and Angels en 1971, à un moment où la situation en Irlande du Nord se tendait.
Viatgers romàntics. Els viatges d’Alexander von Humboldt i de Charles Darwin
2013
Tot i pertànyer a generacions diferents i representar formes diferents d’aproximació a l’estudi de la natura, Humboldt i Darwin comparteixen el fet de tenir en l’aventura individual d’un gran viatge iniciàtic la fita determinant de la seva fructífera carrera científica.
Hybridization as Speciation? The Viewpoint of Greek Folk Biology (and Aristotle) on the Mutation of Species
2008
Modern evolutionary biologists, as for example Michael Arnold, attest that hybridizations could have a strong creative force in organismal evolution. Such an idea was considered as blasphemous by 19th century critics on evolutionism, and did not entirely convince Charles Darwin himself, but it would not have surprised the ancient Greeks and Romans, who knew that inter-specific couplings gave birth to new species. These new species, however, were considered as products of a process of "adulteration" or "involution", rather than "evolution".
Evolutionary biology and beliefs : how ideology can draw different social stances from science
2016
Agreeing that there are often strong connections between fields of science and the ideological convictions of those producing the science, this essay shows that the connections are often complex and rarely straightforward. Taking the example of evolutionary biology, by looking at three key figures ? Herbert Spencer, Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace ? it is shown how very different social beliefs can lead to very different social conclusions being drawn from one?s science. It is argued that this message should be kept firmly in mind by those who today would draw social conclusions from science, for instance suggesting that Darwinian evolutionary biology leads straight to the social p…
Positivism on the move: translators and publishers in Mexico and Argentina (1850-1950)
2013
La historiografía sobre el tema ha mostrado que la introducción de la filosofía de Auguste Comte en Latinoamérica dio lugar a un positivismo profundamente heterogéneo. Su combinación con los escritos de Herbert Spencer, Charles Darwin y John Stuart Mill, la circulación de impresos, tanto en lengua original como en traducción, y el desarrollo de un mercado editorial internacional a fines del siglo XIX son algunos de los factores que contribuyen a explicar dicha heterogeneidad. El presente trabajo estudia la circulación de las ideas positivistas en Argentina y en México desde la perspectiva de los editores y traductores activos entre 1850 y 1950, un periodo clave para la organización política…
Darwin et l'après-Darwin : une histoire de l'hypothèse de sélection dans la théorie de l'évolution
1992
Les historiens et les biologistes n'ont pas assez distingué la théorie et l'hypothèse de sélection naturelle. En tant que théorie générale de l'histoire de la vie, la doctrine de la sélection naturelle a sans aucun doute eu un immense retentissement dans la science et dans la culture de son temps. Mais l'hypothèse centrale de cette théorie, dans la forme très contraignante que lui avait donnée Darwin, s'est trouvée très vite exposée à des difficultés internes suffisamment redoutables pour entrer en crise à peine était-elle née. En liant rigidement l'hypothèse de sélection à l'hérédité, Darwin l'a exposée pour au moins cinquante ans à la menace permanente d'une réfutation. La sélection darwi…