Volume 1

The collected papers of Charles Darwin / edited by Paul H. Barrett ; with a foreword by Theodosius Dobzhansky.

  • Darwin, Charles, 1809-1882.
Date:
1977
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)

Credit: The collected papers of Charles Darwin / edited by Paul H. Barrett ; with a foreword by Theodosius Dobzhansky. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    and theoretical traits of science is amply demonstrated. On occasion he comments on the importance and the role of theory in leading to new lines of investigation. His excitement and obvious pleasure at making predictions, and of having his predictions at times confirmed, his habit of writing dozens of letters to friends, colleagues, and the public at large, show how and why his scientific methodology was so successful. His concern for accuracy, coupled with an open candidness, is shown by the number of times he corrects mistakes he has made. His sense of humor, his sense of righteousness, and his sense of humaneness emerge with a conviction not previously felt. For the benefit of the general reader, footnoted annotations of many of the technical terms used by Darwin have been provided by the editor, and are designated as such by a dagger. Darwin's own footnotes have been preserved in the form in which they originally appeared, although they have been renumbered to conform with a uniform style. Original spelling, grammar, and punctuation have been retained. Proper names often vary from modern usage. Headings and closures of letters to the editor are omitted. No posthumous papers are included in this collection. The arrangement of the papers is kept as chronological as possible. R. B. Freeman has earlier listed books published by Darwin in The Works of Charles Darwin: An Annotated Bibliographic Handlist (London: Dawsons, 1965). Freeman's Handlist does not cite Darwin's articles, except for the four Ray Society volumes on barnacles. The three long papers which have already been reprinted in book form are (1) On the Movements and Habits of Climbing Plants, Journal of the Linnean Society of London (Botany ) 9:(1867) 1-118 (read 2 February 1865), reprinted in On the Movements and Habits of Climbing Plants (London: Murray, 1875); (2) On the Character and Hybrid-like Nature of the Offspring from the Illegitimate Unions of Dimorphic and Trimorphic Plants, Journal of the Linnean Society of London (Botany ) 10(1869): 393-437 (read 20 February 1868); and (3) On the Specific Difference between Primula veris, Brit. FI. (var. officinalis, of Linn.), P. vulgaris, Brit. FI. (var. acaulis, Linn.), and P. elatior, Jacq.; and on the Hybrid Nature of the Common Oxlip: With Supplementary Remarks on Natu rally-Produced Hybrids in the Genus Verbascum, Journal of the Linnean Society of London (Botany ) 10(1869): 437-54 (read 19 March 1868), reprinted in The Different Forms of Flowers on Plants of the Same Species (London: Murray, 1877). Paul H. Barrett