Charles Darwin and the Origin of Species

About this experience

Tuesdays, 10:30 am – 12:00 pm     
February 3 – March 3

Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, published in 1859, initiated a revolution in our understanding of the living world, yet it is rarely read today, even by biologists. This course begins by surveying the ways in which students of natural history explained the living world prior to Darwin’s evolutionary proposals. Darwin drew on his own extensive experience as a naturalist, especially during his voyage on the H.M.S. Beagle from 1831-1836, as well as on discoveries by other naturalists in the early decades of the 19th century. Darwin described his book as “one long argument,” and we’ll dissect the elements of that argument, examining the evidence on which Darwin based his proposed mechanism of natural selection, as well as the rhetorical strategies he used in presenting his argument to an audience he was sure would be critical of his ideas. The book was an immediate sensation, and it provoked strong reactions both pro and con. Many of Darwin’s contemporaries supported his theory as heralding a new, revolutionary approach to the study of the natural world; critics included those who took philosophical or religious exception to his ideas, as well as those who pointed out scientific problems. Darwin’s writing did not end with the Origin. In the remaining 23 years of his life, he published 10 additional books (half his total output) on a wide range of topics, all of them focused on further supporting his view that all species have descended from a common ancestor, primarily through the mechanism of natural selection.

Session 1: Prelude – Natural History Before Darwin
Session 2: The Origins of the Origin of Species
Session 3: Darwin’s Evolutionary Argument
Session 4: Victorian Reactions to Darwinism
Session 5: Darwin’s Writings after the Origin

Refund Policy

To receive a refund, a written request must be received 3 business days before the first class. A $25 processing fee will be deducted from the refund. Cancellation requests received less than 3 business days before the first class but before the second meeting will receive a 50% refund.  ALL written requests should be emailed to emeritus@spartanstrategiesinc.org or mailed to the address above.