Article ID: CBB001221001

Darwin and His Pigeons. The Analogy Between Artificial and Natural Selection Revisited (2012)

unapi

The analogy between artificial selection of domestic varieties and natural selection in nature was a vital element of Darwin's argument in his Origin of Species. Ever since, the image of breeders creating new varieties by artificial selection has served as a convincing illustration of how the theory works. In this paper I argue that we need to reconsider our understanding of Darwin's analogy. Contrary to what is often assumed, nineteenth-century animal breeding practices constituted a highly controversial field that was fraught with difficulties. It was only with considerable effort that Darwin forged his analogy, and he only succeeded by downplaying the importance of two other breeding techniques -- crossing of varieties and inbreeding -- that many breeders deemed essential to obtain new varieties. Part of the explanation for Darwin's gloss on breeding practices, I shall argue, was that the methods of his main informants, the breeders of fancy pigeons, were not representative of what went on in the breeding world at large. Darwin seems to have been eager to take the pigeon fanciers at their word, however, as it was only their methods that provided him with the perfect analogy with natural selection. Thus while his studies of domestic varieties were important for the development of the concept of natural selection, the reverse was also true: Darwin's comprehension of breeding practices was moulded by his understanding of the working of natural selection in nature. Historical studies of domestic breeding practices in the eighteenth and nineteenth century confirm that, besides selection, the techniques of inbreeding and crossing were much more important than Darwin's interpretation allowed for. And they still are today. This calls for a reconsideration of the pedagogic use of Darwin's analogy too.

...More
Citation URI
https://data.isiscb.org/isis/citation/CBB001221001/

Similar Citations

Article de Andrade Martins, Roberto; (2012)
A origem dos pombos domésticos na estratégia argumentativa de Charles Darwin (/isis/citation/CBB001212027/)

Thesis Pajewski, Alessandro; (2012)
The Face of Nature: Hume and Darwin on Analogy and Emotion (/isis/citation/CBB001561023/)

Article Alter, Stephen G.; (2007)
Darwin's Artificial Selection Analogy and the Generic Character of “Phyletic” Evolution (/isis/citation/CBB000831352/)

Article Wilner, Eduardo; (2006)
Darwin's Artificial Selection as an Experiment (/isis/citation/CBB000770714/)

Book Roger M. White; M. J. S. Hodge; Gregory Radick; (2021)
Darwin's Argument by Analogy: From Artificial to Natural Selection (/isis/citation/CBB985418437/)

Article Gildenhuys, Peter; (2004)
Darwin, Herschel, and the Role of Analogy in Darwin's Origin (/isis/citation/CBB000501625/)

Article Burnett, D. Graham; (2009)
Savage Selection: Analogy and Elision in On the Origin of Species (/isis/citation/CBB000932659/)

Article Inkpen, S. Andrew; (2014)
“The art itself is nature”: Darwin, Domestic Varieties and the Scientific Revolution (/isis/citation/CBB001500031/)

Book Donohue, Kathleen; (2011)
Darwin's Finches: Readings in the Evolution of a Scientific Paradigm (/isis/citation/CBB001033158/)

Book Sober, Elliott; (2011)
Did Darwin Write the Origin Backwards? Philosophical Essays on Darwin's Theory (/isis/citation/CBB001230081/)

Article Travis, Anthony S.; (2010)
Raphael Meldola and the Nineteenth-Century Neo-Darwinians (/isis/citation/CBB001230067/)

Book Gardiner, Brian; Milner, Richard; Morris, Mary; (2008)
Survival of the Fittest: A Special Issue of the Linnean Celebrating the 150th Anniversary of the Darwin-Wallace Theory of Evolution (/isis/citation/CBB001035140/)

Article Smith, Charles H.; (2005)
Alfred Russel Wallace, Past and Future (/isis/citation/CBB001035141/)

Article Richards, Robert J.; (2012)
Darwin's Principles of Divergence and Natural Selection: Why Fodor Was Almost Right (/isis/citation/CBB001221609/)

Article Deichmann, Ute; (2010)
Gemmules and Elements: On Darwin's and Mendel's Concepts and Methods in Heredity (/isis/citation/CBB001230066/)

Book Costa, James T.; (2014)
Wallace, Darwin, and the Origin of Species (/isis/citation/CBB001422067/)

Article Holterhoff, Kate; (2014)
The History and Reception of Charles Darwin's Hypothesis of Pangenesis (/isis/citation/CBB001422092/)

Authors & Contributors
White, Roger M.
Inkpen, S. Andrew
Holterhoff, Kate
Wilner, Eduardo
Travis, Anthony S.
Sober, Elliott R.
Concepts
Natural selection
Evolution
Darwinism
Metaphors; analogies
Species concept (biology)
Natural history
Time Periods
19th century
18th century
Places
Great Britain
Southeast Asia
Comments

Be the first to comment!

{{ comment.created_by.username }} on {{ comment.created_on | date:'medium' }}

Log in or register to comment