BY PAUL JOHNSON
Contains Darwin’s methodical approach in deciding whether to marry.
5 stars out of 5 stars
It is hard to find someone who does not know that Charles Darwin was the author of “On the Origin of Species” and the proponent of evolution, with its associated themes of natural selection and survival of the fittest. However, this same person is probably unaware that Darwin also authored both “The Descent of Man” and “The Expressions of the Emotions in Men and Animals”. These two less well-known books by Darwin, as well as many other aspects of Darwin’s life, are nicely described by historian Paul Johnson in one of his short (151 pages) books, “Darwin - Portrait of Genius”. The book is printed in a good size type, with comfortable spacings between lines. This is unlike “A History of Christianity” by the same author, which has very small type and narrow line spacings, a combination which strains the eyes.
The following are some notable elements of Darwin’s life as described by Johnson:
● The family lineage of Charles Darwin was remarkable. His paternal grandfather, Erasmus, was educated in Cambridge and trained as a doctor in Edinburgh. He practiced medicine but was interested in every aspect of science, both theoretical and empirical. He was probably the earliest person who hypothesized, in his treatise “The Laws of Organic Life”, an enormous time span for the earth. Charles’ father, Robert, also a doctor who studied medicine in Edinburgh. He became one of the wealthiest general practitioners in England. Intuitive penetration was his distinguished medical skills. Charles’ maternal grandfather, Josiah Wedgwood, inherited the family’s pottery business when he was very young. He transformed a clumsy handicraft trade into a vast domestic and export industry employing a range of high technologies. Paul Johnson described the three men, Erasmus and Robert Darwin and Josian Wedgwood as “the imaginative genius, the intuitive genius, and the empirical genius”, concluding that “Charles Darwin thus had access to a gene pool of the highest possible quality”.
● The three also were very talented in making and handling money. Indeed, they were able to provide Darwin with generous financial support, before and after his marriage. Charles was never short of financial resources to secure what he needed for his research, and he never had to compromise or adjust his scientific activities for financial reasons. He led a very sheltered life.
● During his years at Edinburgh and Cambridge, Darwin cultivated a circle of influential friends. Among those at Cambridge was the Reverend John Stevens Henslow, formerly professor of mineralogy and later professor of botany. He was a general scientific polymath from which Darwin learned much, including drawing conclusions from long continued minute observations. Henslow also had influential connections in government. The biggest stroke of luck in Darwin’s entire life was when Henslow recommended him to accompany a global voyage by a naval vessel, HMS Beagle, for scientific purposes. The captain was Robert FitzRoy, who got along well with Darwin. Using funds provided by his father, he hired a young assistant named Syms Covington. The Beagle expedition lasted five years. It left Devonport on December 27, 1831 and returned to London on October 2, 1936. It visited most of South America and went as far as Australia and New Zealand. During the voyage, Darwin was able to spend considerable time (a total of about three years) on land. He gathered specimens of all kinds, botanical, organic, animal, mineral, fossil. He recorded his observations. One of Covington’s duties was to make sure that all Darwin’s specimens and notes were periodically sent back to England by the safest and most expeditious route. The observations and discoveries were widely circulated among the academic community during the voyage. By the time Darwin returned from the voyage, he was already well known and highly respected among his peers.
● Darwin’s seminal work, On the Origin of Species, published in Nov. 1859, could have been published much earlier. The delay was intentional. One reason was that Darwin was determined to accumulate the maximum possible number of examples that fitted his working theory before it was made public, to avoid any chance of being labeled speculative. The other reason was that Darwin was haunted by the experience of Joseph Priestley, who was a friend of Erasmus, his paternal father. Priestley was an atheist. He apparently offended the religious folks. A mob was incited to burn down his house. Although Priestley and his family’s lives were saved, they had to be exiled overseas. The Priestley factor, and his concerned that the book would upset his beloved wife Emma, who was a deeply religious Christian, subconsciously kept Darwin working on small projects, one after another, thus delaying the publication of The Origin, despite repeated urgings and warnings from Sir Charles Lyell. As it turned out, The Origin did not cause much adverse reaction from the Church, partly because the idea of evolution was already talked about in society and the Church folks were busy fighting among different factions. As for Emma, instead of being upset, she was glad when the book was published.
● Unlike Origin, portions of Decent were unsupported by evidence. It was less successful and regarded much less highly than Origin.
● Darwin’s religious posture was best described as indifferent. He did not regularly read the Bible or believe in it, except the guidance in conduct. He thought the doctrine of everlasting punishment not only untrue but positively evil.
● In the chapter about evils of social Darwinism, Johnson points out that Hitler, Lenin, Stalin and Mao used the ideas of natural selection, and survival for the fittest, to promote a superior race and to justify the mass genocide of what they regarded as an inferior race. It is sad to see a major scientific discovery used for an evil purpose.
On a brighter note, it is amusing that, in deciding whether to marry or not marry, Darwin approached the problem methodically. He prepared two columns, with one listing the reasons for and the other the reasons against. Folks contemplating marriage should at least consult Darwin’s two columns before deciding.
Finally, one cannot help but smile at what Darwin said of his wife Emma: “the most interesting specimen in the whole series of vertebrate animals.”
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