Book IV: General, Chapters 9 - 14 Summary and Analysis

Chapter 9: On Genius

The chapter begins with a look at some definitions on the idea of genuis. Osias L. Schwarz says, "The genius draws a maximum of conclusions from a minimum of observations." Nevertheless, the author questions if the genius must first succeed before this can hold true. He takes the idea of a potential genius, looks at some of his dimensions, his environment and his education, describing them all to create a smart, but slighty unprivileged man. Now referring to this person he has created, he argues that people who hold the aforementioned background attributes are only potential geniuses because they are not presented with any opportunity to succeed. He then describes some of Charles Darwin's unfortunate background, but also observes the opportunities the man was given to advance in his field...