Darwin's Historical Sketch An Examination of the 'Preface' to the Origin of Species

Charles Darwin's "Historical Sketch" has appeared as a preface to nearly every authorized edition of Darwin's Origin of Species since the second English edition was published in 1860. The "Historical Sketch" provides a brief history of opinion about the species question as a prelude to Darwin's own independent contribution to the subject, but its provenance is somewhat obscure. While some previous thinkers anticipated portions of Darwin's theory long before he did, none of them saw the complete picture as clearly as Darwin. As such, he was able to claim originality and priority for the idea that has transformed our understanding of nature. His "Historical Sketch" was written as an attempt to address these issues. Some things are known about its production, such as when it first appeared and what changes were made to it between its first appearance in 1860 and its final form in 1866. Other questions remain unanswered. How did it evolve in Darwin's mind? Why did he write it at all? What did he think he was accomplishing by prefacing it to Origin of Species? Curtis Johnson approaches these questions, offering some clarity on the originality of Darwin's work.

Darwin's "Historical Sketch" is the first comprehensive study of Darwin's "Preface" to Origin of Species. Johnson conveys the pressure Darwin felt from friends and other correspondents to showcase the originality of his theory, and he tackles questions of originality by carefully examining the 35 authors Darwin referenced in this monumental text.

Curtis Johnson is Robert B. Pamplin Jr. Chair of Government Emeritus at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. His areas of expertise include the history of political thought, with emphasis on ancient political theory, and Darwin in the context of 19th century biological theory. He has published books and articles on the political thought of Aristotle and Plato and recently on Darwin's thought (Darwin's Dice, 2014). He was drawn to Darwin studies from a long-standing interest in Aristotle's biological works.

Preface
Acknowledgments
The Preface to Darwin's Origin of Species: The Curious History of the "Historical Sketch"

Chapter I: Darwin's "Priority": Baden Powell and A.R. Wallace
Chapter II: Darwin's Earliest Sources. Authors to be "passed over": Buffon, Maillet, Aristotle
Chapter III: Early Transmutationists: J.B. Lamarck, Erasmus Darwin, Goethe, Etienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire
Chapter IV: W.C. Wells and William Herbert
Chapter V: Robert Grant and Patrick Matthew
Chapter VI: Leopold von Buch, C.S Rafinesque, and Samuel Haldeman
Chapter VII: Robert Chambers, J.B.J. d'Omalius d'Halloy, and Henry Freke
Chapter VIII: Richard Owen, Part I: Owen Before the Origin and his 1860 Review
Chapter IX. Richard Owen, Part II: Owen After the Origin
Chapter X: Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire
Chapter XI: Herbert Spencer and Charles Victor Naudin
Chapter XII: Heinrich Bronn, Franz Unger, J.W.E. d'Alton, and Lorenz Oken
Chapter XIII: D.A. Gordon, J.B.G.N. Bory de Saint Vincent, K.F. Burdach, J.L.M. Poiret, E.M. Fries
Chapter XIV: Alexander Keyserling, Hermann Schaafhausen, and Henri Lecoq
Chapter XV: Karl Ernst Ritter von Baer
Epilogue: T.H. Huxley and J.D. Hooker

Bibliography