On the Origin of Species is book by Charles Darwin, first publised in 1859, which presented an account of, and evidence supporting, Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection.
The full title of the book was 'On the Origin of Species by means of natural selection, or the preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life'. On the Origin of Species is one of the most infleuntial books ever written, and the core elements of Darwin's thinking revolutionised biological science and provide the central integrating theme in biology today.
Darwin made a good deal of the analogy of the familiar artificial selection used in farming and horticulture with a natural process (he called natural selection) whereby the characteristics of species could change slowly over time, Darwin's theoty suggested that what are currently very distinct species shared descent form a common ancestor. A key consequence of Dawin's theory is that species are not absolute natural kinds with impermeable boundaries between them.
Darwin only made an oblique reference to humans in The Origin of Species (he did not exclude humanity from the theory, but just avoided discussing that specific case), but later wrote 'The Descent of Man' on this topic.
[Please be aware that a word may have different nuances, or even a different meaning, according to context.]« Back to Index
