Contributions to the Theory of Natural Selection: A Series of Essays / Edition 2

by Alfred Russel Wallace

Overview

Alfred Russel Wallace (1823–1913) is regarded as the co-discoverer with Darwin of the theory of evolution. It was an essay which Wallace sent in 1858 to Darwin (to whom he had dedicated his most famous book, The Malay Archipelago) which impelled Darwin to publish an article on his own long-pondered theory simultaneously with that of Wallace. As a travelling naturalist and collector in the Far East and South America, Wallace already inclined towards the Lamarckian theory of transmutation of species, and his own researches convinced him of the reality of evolution. On the publication of On the Origin of Species, Wallace became one of its most prominent advocates. This second, corrected, edition (1871) of a series of essays published in book form in 1870, shows the development of his thinking about evolution, and emphasises his admiration for, and support of, Darwin's work.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781108001540
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	07/20/2009
Series:	Cambridge Library Collection - Darwin, Evolution and Genetics
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	416
Product dimensions:	5.51(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.94(d)

About the Author

Janice M. Hughes is an avid ornithologist and an award-winning professor of biology at Lakehead University. She is the author of numerous books and articles on birds, travel, handicrafts, and other subjects including the Field Guide to Birds of Ontario, Migration of Birds: Seasons on the Wing, Cranes: A Natural History of a Bird in Crisis, The Healthy RVers Cookbook: Good Food on the Go, and Stupid Dog Toys. Dr. Hughes lives in the boreal forest with her family and dogs.

Table of Contents

Preface; Additions and corrections to the essays as originally published; Preface to the second edition; 1. On the law which has regulated the introduction of new species; 2. On the tendency of varieties to depart indefinitely from the original type; 3. Mimicry and other protective resemblances among animals; 4. The Malayan Papilionidae, or swallow-tailed butterflies, as illustrative of the theory of natural selection; 5. On instinct in Man and animals; 6. The philosophy of birds' nests; 7. A theory of birds' nests; 8. Creation by law; 9. The development of human races under the law of natural selection; 10. The limits of natural selection as applied to Man; Notes; Index.