Initiative in Evolution

Kidd, Walter, 1852-Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.7

Word count: 566K words
Chapters: 57

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Initiative in Evolution by Walter KiddAuthor: Kidd, Walter, 1852-,Language: English, Class: QH: Science: Natural history, Release Date: Oct 19, 2016

Editor's review

Initiative in Evolution is an evolutionary discussion written by Walter Kidd in the late nineteenth to early twentieth century, made available as a free electronic edition by Project Gutenberg. Its reading value lies in presenting early post-Darwinian thinking on the question of "initiative" in evolutionary mechanisms: whether organisms are merely passive adapters in the course of evolution or possess some intrinsic active factor. This literature is not a standard textbook of modern evolutionary biology but a specimen of the history of scientific thought, suited to observing how scholars of the time organized arguments and responded to the tension between teleology and natural selection. The prose carries a Victorian essayistic style, and the argumentative threads are somewhat scattered; readers are advised to read with the question "how does the author define initiative?" and to make critical notes against modern evolutionary theory. It is better suited to readers interested in the history of science and intellectual history than to those seeking contemporary evolutionary biology conclusions.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Enthusiasts of the history of science and intellectual history who are interested in texts from the early debates over evolution
Readers with a biology background who wish to understand how premodern evolutionary ideas were argued
Readers of English expository prose willing to follow longer lines of argument and take critical notes
University students in general education courses, as supplementary material for discussions of the history of evolutionary theory

Not a good fit for

Readers looking for modern evolutionary biology textbooks or up-to-date research reviews
Beginning readers who prefer popular science books with a clear structure and definite conclusions
People who lack patience for old-fashioned English expository prose and need to acquire knowledge quickly

Reading tips

Read the opening and the conclusion first, grasp the author's core definition of "initiative," and then go back through the argument
Take notes as you read on where the author's ideas converge with and diverge from those of Darwin, Lamarck, and others, building a comparative record
After each chapter, summarize the argument in your own words to test whether it holds up
Read alongside a modern introduction to evolutionary biology to distinguish historical views from contemporary consensus

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

What exactly does "initiative" mean in this book?

The book discusses whether organisms possess some kind of inner active factor in the course of evolution, touching on how organisms respond to their environment and on the relationship between variation and selection. The author tries to find room for explanation both within and beyond the framework of natural selection. The precise definition should be based on the argument in the original text; readers are advised to sort out the author's own definition as they read.

Can I understand this book without a biology background?

It is readable, but it requires patience. The argument is set against the late nineteenth-century discussion of evolution; the terminology is not especially difficult, but the expository prose is long. Readers are advised to first grasp the basic points of Darwinian natural selection, then read with questions in mind, focusing on the intellectual-historical context rather than biological details.

What is the relationship between this book and modern evolutionary biology?

It is an intellectual-history document from the early debates over evolution, not a textbook or review of modern evolutionary biology. It should be read as a historical specimen, observing how scholars of the time posed questions and organized arguments, and compared with modern consensus; its views should not be cited directly as contemporary scientific conclusions.

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About the author

Kidd, Walter, 1852- Author

Walter Kidd (Kidd, Walter, 1852– ) is an author whose background, including nationality and dates of birth and death, remains to be confirmed, and publicly available information is limited. The library currently holds only one work by this author, Initiative in Evolution. As the title suggests, the book discusses initiative and active agency in the process of evolution, placing it within writing on evolutionary theory. Because biographical material is scarce, it is difficult to describe his life, education, or academic standing in detail, nor is it possible to assess how the book was received in its time or what influence it later had. The available information shows only that Kidd enters the bibliographic record through this single work, which concerns the question of active factors in the evolution of life and may be of interest to readers concerned with the history of evolutionary thought. Further study of other sources would be needed to learn more about the author.