Natural selection is one of the most famous metaphors in the history of science. Charles Darwin used the metaphor and the underlying analogy to frame his ideas about evolution and its main driving mechanism into a full-fledged theory. Because the metaphor turned out to be such a powerful epistemic tool, Darwin naturally assumed that he could also…

This article traces the personal as well as the intellectual and scientific relationship between Charles Darwin and his younger half-cousin Francis Galton. Although they had been on friendly terms as young men, and Darwin had in some ways been a role model for Galton, the two did not share major scientific interests until after the publication of…

George Sarton had a strong influence on modern history of science. The method he pursued throughout his life was the method he had discovered in Ernst Mach's "Mechanics" when he was a student in Ghent. Sarton was in fact throughout his life implementing a research program inspired by the epistemology of Mach. Sarton in turn inspired many…

Modern thought is most dependent upon the influence of Charles Darwin. Discusses Darwin's contributions to the fields of evolutionary biology, philosophy of science, and modern zeitgeist. (WRM)

In this article, the author shares some of the background material that did not make it into his biography of Charles Darwin, "The Tree of Life." Specifically, he discusses the important role that teachers played in Darwin's life, from his demanding father (Dr. Darwin) to zoologist Dr. Robert Grant and taxidermist John Edmonstone (a freed slave).

Argues that religious themes persist in the public rhetoric of science, but that they have been transposed into an evolutionary symbolism. Examines the discourse of two practitioners of scientism, Francis Bacon and Jacob Bronowski, to illustrate the religious features of scientism and to show the continuity of the ideological work that it has…

The essence of William James's vision can sometimes be hard to discover due to emotional volatility and exploratory impulsiveness. On the other hand, beneath James's apparent inconsistency was a constancy of purpose that can be easily underestimated. This paper argues that the center of James's vision lay in an interpretation of Darwinism. By…