Darwin Book

150411: useful exploration of philosophy and impact of essential themes of darwin: evolution by natural selection of populations. of species transforming into entirely new species. of how this is scientifically rigorous, believable, truthful, from the vast compilations of gathered species. this is not dogma. surprises me how darwin continues to be relevant, inspiring, useful in a wide range of fields of science.

does not avoid controversy about relevance of id. does not neglect ways in which his theories are in error, how some arguments can be easily born of the varied political perspectives evolution spawns. does not make the man a saint. but overall, very concise understanding of his generous thoughts, on the role of environment, on the question of altruism, on the role of sex as well as resource limitations, on spurring change. how ultimately humans must learn to make moral claims through the niche we intend to inhabit, and leave for our descendants.

evolutionary thought is too often harnessed to contemporary structure of environment, but there is also something of a tree of life that can prune errors. evolutionary thought is not the first, or the final, way to decide how to be human. but it is an effective and useful aid...