The Metaphysical Club: A Story of Ideas in America Chapter Summary & Analysis - Part 2, Chapter 6 Brazil, Section 2 Summary

Part 2, Chapter 6 Brazil, Section 2 Summary

Charles Darwin's book, On the Origin of Species, was published in 1859. He had discovered the process of natural selection in 1838 and had theorized on the mutability of a species by 1844. However, not once throughout the whole book is the word "evolution" found. This is because the book was not about evolution, but it focused on taking supernatural intelligence out of the equation.

Many people believed that evolution was a tool used by God. These evolutionists followed either Jean Baptist Lamarck's theory of "progressive adaptation," or Herbert Spencer's theory of "mind and behavior."

Darwin's theory was based on the fact that all animals and people evolve to survive, and this change was natural, generated by chance and was blind to other influences around the animal. He had created a whole new way of thinking about the human race. His theory uses generalizations about each species to give the...
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