Page:Carroll Lane Fenton - Darwin and the Theory of Evolution.djvu/8



Although eminent in the fields of geology, botany, and systematic zoology, Charles Darwin's chief fame rests upon his part in the development of the theory of organic evolution. For decades this theory was considered to be almost inseparable from the man and his work; even today there are thousands of people who know nothing of it except as it is associated with Darwin. Their conception of evolution may be true, it may be partly true, or it may be as false as the combined forces of ignorance and distortion can make it; yet to them it is "Darwinism," to be accepted, tolerated, or attacked, as the case may be. What evolution may have been without Darwin it is useless to speculate; what its rate of progress would have been there is no need to wonder. The mere fact that there were no men of Darwin's generation who accomplished what he accomplished is enough to show that the theory would have had to wait decades had he been lacking. And that alone is enough to establish the importance of his work.

So we shall begin this volume with a study of his relation to, and his influence on, the theory of organic descent. Such an inquiry, compressed into fewer than three score pages obviously cannot do full justice to the subject, nor can it add a great deal that has not already been said in more pretentious criticisms. But it can ask, however, two questions that often are slighted, and by stressing the answers to them, give a background for further work. The first of these questions is, how much did Darwin owe to those who studied and speculated before him; the second, by what course of inquiry and thought did he arrive at his final position with regard to the origin and development of living things?