Summary of Charles Darwin's The Origin Of Species

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview:

#1 The first thing that strikes us when we look at the individuals of the same variety or sub-variety of our older cultivated plants and animals is that they differ much more from each other than do the individuals of any one species or variety in a state of nature.

#2 The most common cause of variability is believed to be the male and female reproductive elements having been affected prior to the act of conception. The effects of confinement or cultivation on the functions of the reproductive system are far more pronounced than any other part of the organism.

#3 The effects of the conditions of life are often minimal compared to the effects of reproduction, growth, and inheritance. The direct effects of the conditions of life are sometimes difficult to distinguish from the effects of use.

#4 The variety of laws that govern variation is extremely complex. Any change in the embryo or larva will almost certainly entail changes in the adult. The various, dimly seen laws of variation result in infinitely complex and diversified offspring.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Jul 12, 2022
• ISBN: 9798822545342

IRB Media

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Insights on Charles Darwin's The Origin Of Species

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 3

Insights from Chapter 4

Insights from Chapter 5

Insights from Chapter 6

Insights from Chapter 7

Insights from Chapter 8

Insights from Chapter 9

Insights from Chapter 10

Insights from Chapter 11

Insights from Chapter 12

Insights from Chapter 13

Insights from Chapter 14

Insights from Chapter 15

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

The first thing that strikes us when we look at the individuals of the same variety or sub-variety of our older cultivated plants and animals is that they differ much more from each other than do the individuals of any one species or variety in a state of nature.

#2

The most common cause of variability is believed to be the male and female reproductive elements having been affected prior to the act of conception. The effects of confinement or cultivation on the functions of the reproductive system are far more pronounced than any other part of the organism.

#3

The effects of the conditions of life are often minimal compared to the effects of reproduction, growth, and inheritance. The direct effects of the conditions of life are sometimes difficult to distinguish from the effects of use.

#4

The variety of laws that govern variation is extremely complex. Any change in the embryo or larva will almost certainly entail changes in the adult. The various, dimly seen laws of variation result in infinitely complex and diversified offspring.

#5

The laws governing inheritance are very unknown. We cannot say why the same peculiarity in different individuals of the same species is sometimes inherited and sometimes not.

#6

The idea that we can’t draw any conclusions about the natural world from domestic breeds is incorrect. Many of the most distinct domestic varieties could not survive in the wild. However, it is true that variations and reversions of character do occur under natural conditions.

#7

When we look to the hereditary varieties or races of our domestic animals and plants, and compare them with species that are closely allied together, we often notice in each domestic race less uniformity than in true species. Domestic races of the same species differ from each other in the same manner as do closely-allied species of the same genus in a state of nature.

#8

The question of whether man has chosen for domestication animals and plants with extraordinary inherent tendencies to vary and withstand diverse climates is still unanswered. I believe that man has domesticated animals and plants because they have extraordinary inherent tendencies to vary and withstand climates, but how could a savage know this.

#9

The doctrine of the origin of our several domestic races from several aboriginal stocks has been carried to an absurd extreme by some authors. They believe that every race that breeds true has had its wild prototype. But this is far from being the case. It is difficult to get a race intermediate between two extremely different races or species.

#10

The diversity of the breeds of the domestic pigeon is astonishing. The English carrier and the short-faced tumbler have very different beaks, and this leads to corresponding differences in their skulls.

#11

The skeletons of the several breeds of pigeons differ hugely. The shape, as well as the breadth and length of the ramus of the lower jaw, varies in a highly remarkable manner. The number of the caudal and sacral vertebrae varies.

#12

The common opinion of naturalists is that all the breeds of pigeons have descended from the rock-pigeon, including several geographical races or subspecies that differ from each other in the most minor ways. If the several breeds are not varieties, they must have descended from at least seven or eight aboriginal stocks.

#13

The argument that the above-mentioned breeds, though generally similar to the wild rock-pigeon in their constitution, habits, voice, and color, are nevertheless highly abnormal in other parts of their structure, is very strong. It must be assumed not only that half-civilized man was able to domesticate several species, but that he intentionally or by chance picked out extraordinarily abnormal species.

#14

The rock-pigeon is of a slaty-blue color and has a white rump. The tail has a dark bar with the bases of the outer feathers externally edged with white. The wings have two black bars. Some semi-domestic breeds and some apparently truly wild breeds have these marks.

#15

The seven or eight species of pigeons that have been domesticated are quite unknown in a wild state. They have all descended from the Columba livia with its geographical sub-species.

#16

The rock-pigeon, or C. livia, has been found capable of domestication in Europe and in India. It has been domesticated for thousands of years in several quarters of the world. The