Darwin

Charles Darwin (1809-1882), was a naturalist, geologist, and biologist who revolutionized science, philosophy, religion - and even politicis - by proposing the theory of evolution by natural selection.In his work, On the Origin of Species (1859), he imposed the idea of a continuity between man and animal, inscribing all species within the same period of contingent history, in no particular general order, and with no indication of evolutionary progress.His theory of natural selection, a general theory of biology, defined a new model for research programs, particularly those related to heredity. As a new explanatory scheme, it was applied in areas where " finalized " structures had to be accounted for (linguistics, economics, epistemology, etc.), and excluded the concept of intentionality. Having introduced a new perspective on the origin of man, it served as a justification for materialism, liberalism, or eugenics...Under what conditions, and through what intellectual process was this theory constituted ? To what extent was it new ? How did the theory manage to prevail ? This book attempts to answer these questions by clarifying the significance of " chance " at work in the principle of natural selection and its impact on the idea - with its vast theoretical and moral issues at stake - of evolutionary progress.Charles Lenay is a senior lecturer of History and Philosphy of Sciences at the Université de Technologie de Compiègne, France.