Description
Book SynopsisOffers an introduction to the theory of evolution: its beginning with Darwin, its key concepts, and how it may affect us in the future. This book explains how evolutionary biology has been used to support both valuable applied research, particularly in agriculture, and frightening objectives, such as Nazi eugenics.
Trade Review"A world of grand ideas, daring speculation... Best of all is his discussion of the ideas surrounding evolution and human behavior... Rose plumps for a more flexible, less deterministic (but, he is keen to stress, no less Darwinian) view of the human mind."--Martin Brookes, New Scientist "Ironically, Rose evokes the image of a hovering Darwinian ghost in this altogether rational, absorbing account of the past 150 years of Darwinism... He makes an excellent case for the importance of evolutionary biology to all of science."--Kirkus Reviews
Table of ContentsAcknowledgmentsIntroduction3Pt. 1Darwin and Darwinian Science71Darwin: The Reluctant Revolutionary112Heredity: The Problem of Variation293Selection: Nature Red in Tooth and Claw484Evolution: The Tree of Life75Pt. 2Applications of Darwinism935Agriculture: Malthus Postponed976Medicine: Dying of Ignorance1107Eugenics: Promethean Darwinism134Pt. 3Understanding Human Nature1478Origins: From Baboons to Archbishops1519Psyche: Darwinism Meets Film Noir16710Society: Ideology as Biology18411Religion: The Spectre Haunting202Conclusion210Bibliographic Material and Notes213Index229
