The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to SexJohn Murray, 1871 - 712 pages During the successive reprints of the first edition of this work, published in 1871, I was able to introduce several important corrections; and now that more time has elapsed, I have endeavoured to profit by the fiery ordeal through which the book has passed, and have taken advantage of all the criticisms which seem to me sound. I am also greatly indebted to a large number of correspondents for the communication of a surprising number of new facts and remarks. These have been so numerous, that I have been able to use only the more important ones; and of these, as well as of the more important corrections, I will append a list. Some new illustrations have been introduced, and four of the old drawings have been replaced by better ones, done from life by Mr. T.W. Wood. I must especially call attention to some observations which I owe to the kindness of Prof. Huxley (given as a supplement at the end of Part I.), on the nature of the differences between the brains of man and the higher apes. I have been particularly glad to give these observations, because during the last few years several memoirs on the subject have appeared on the Continent, and their importance has been, in some cases, greatly exaggerated by popular writers. I may take this opportunity of remarking that my critics frequently assume that I attribute all changes of corporeal structure and mental power exclusively to the natural selection of such variations as are often called spontaneous; whereas, even in the first edition of the 'Origin of Species,' I distinctly stated that great weight must be attributed to the inherited effects of use and disuse, with respect both to the body and mind. I also attributed some amount of modification to the direct and prolonged action of changed conditions of life. |
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Page 19
... the hand , but appears from time to time in a more or less rudimentary condition . 22 Prof. W. Turner , ' Proc . Royal Soc . Edinburgh , ' 1866-67 , p . 65 . curred in the proportion of about 3 per cent . c 2 CHAP . I. 19 RUDIMENTS .
... the hand , but appears from time to time in a more or less rudimentary condition . 22 Prof. W. Turner , ' Proc . Royal Soc . Edinburgh , ' 1866-67 , p . 65 . curred in the proportion of about 3 per cent . c 2 CHAP . I. 19 RUDIMENTS .
Page 20
Charles Darwin. curred in the proportion of about 3 per cent . in upwards of 600 bodies : he adds , that this muscle affords " an " excellent illustration of the statement that occasional " and rudimentary structures are especially ...
Charles Darwin. curred in the proportion of about 3 per cent . in upwards of 600 bodies : he adds , that this muscle affords " an " excellent illustration of the statement that occasional " and rudimentary structures are especially ...
Page 28
... proportion , he thinks , might be due to the cavern having been a sort of 66 66 6 36 M. C. Martins ( " De l'Unité Organique , " in ' Revue des Deux Mondes , ' June 15 , 1862 , p . 16 ) , and Häckel ( ' Generelle Morphologie , ' B. ii ...
... proportion , he thinks , might be due to the cavern having been a sort of 66 66 6 36 M. C. Martins ( " De l'Unité Organique , " in ' Revue des Deux Mondes , ' June 15 , 1862 , p . 16 ) , and Häckel ( ' Generelle Morphologie , ' B. ii ...
Page 108
... proportions and dimensions of the various parts of the body ; the length of the legs being one of the most variable points . Although in some quarters of the world an elongated skull , and in other quarters a short skull prevails , yet ...
... proportions and dimensions of the various parts of the body ; the length of the legs being one of the most variable points . Although in some quarters of the world an elongated skull , and in other quarters a short skull prevails , yet ...
Page 116
... proportion shorter in relation to 21 20 I have given authorities for these several statements in my ' Varia- tion of Animals under Domestication , ' vol . ii . p . 297-300 . Dr. Jaeger , " Ueber das Längenwachsthum der Knochen ...
... proportion shorter in relation to 21 20 I have given authorities for these several statements in my ' Varia- tion of Animals under Domestication , ' vol . ii . p . 297-300 . Dr. Jaeger , " Ueber das Längenwachsthum der Knochen ...
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The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex, Volume 2 Professor Charles Darwin No preview available - 2016 |
The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex, Volume 2 Charles Darwin No preview available - 2016 |
Common terms and phrases
acquired anthropomorphous apes appear baboons Bates beautiful become beetles believe birds birth body breeds Brehm butterflies chapter civilised coccyx common crustaceans degree developed differ in colour distinct species doubt early progenitors elytra entomologists existence extremely fact faculties feel females Fritz Müller genus greater number habits hair highly Hist horns individuals inhabit inherited insects instance kind large number larger larv¿ latter Lepidoptera less lower animals Lubbock males mamm¿ mammals manner Marsupials mental powers modified monkeys moral moths muscles natural selection naturalists observed offspring organs Origin of Species Orthoptera pair period Plants under Domestication polygamous possess probably Proc Prof proportion Quadrumana races racters rasp remarks resemble respect rudimentary rudiments SAMUEL SMILES savages secondary sexual characters sexual selection shew shewn skull social instincts stridulating structure surface sympathy tion transmitted tribe variability Variation of Animals various Vertebrates Wallace whilst wings Woodcuts young Zoolog
Popular passages
Page 152 - I probably attributed too much to the action of natural selection or the survival of the fittest. I have altered the fifth edition of the Origin so as to confine my remarks to adaptive changes of structure.
Page 213 - We may thus ascend to the Lemuridae ; and the interval is not wide from these to the Simiadae. The Simiadee then branched off into two great stems, the New World and Old World monkeys ; and from the latter, at a remote period, Man, the wonder and glory of the Universe, proceeded.
Page 101 - ... and small tribes are united into larger communities, the simplest reason would tell each individual that he ought to extend his social instincts and sympathies to all the members of the same nation, though personally unknown to him. This point being once reached, there is only an artificial barrier to prevent his sympathies extending to the men of all nations and races.
Page 200 - The great break in the organic chain between man and his nearest allies, which cannot be bridged over by any extinct or living species, has often been advanced as a grave objection to the belief that man is descended from some lower form; but this objection will not appear of much weight to those who, from general reasons, believe in the general principle of evolution.
Page 102 - I believe that the experiences of utility organized and consolidated through all past generations of the human race, have been producing corresponding nervous modifications, which, by continued transmission and accumulation, have become in us certain faculties of moral intuition — certain emotions responding to right and wrong conduct, which have no apparent basis in the individual experiences of utility.
Page 104 - Looking to future generations, there is no cause to fear that the social instincts will grow weaker, and we may expect that virtuous habits will grow stronger, becoming perhaps fixed by inheritance. In this case the struggle between our higher and lower impulses will be less severe, and virtue will be triumphant.
Page 179 - All other series of events — as that which resulted in the culture of mind in Greece, and that which resulted in the Empire of Rome — only appear to have purpose and value when viewed in connection with, or rather as subsidiary to, the great stream of Anglo-Saxon emigration to the West.
Page 17 - Without question, the mode of origin and the early stages of the development of man are identical with those of the animals immediately below him in the scale: — without a doubt, in these respects, he is far nearer the Apes, than the Apes are to the Dog.
Page 68 - The same high mental faculties which first led man to believe in unseen spiritual agencies, then in fetishism, polytheism, and ultimately in monotheism, would infallibly lead him, as long as his reasoning powers remained poorly developed, to various strange superstitions and customs.