Johnson, Curtis N. (Author)
For evolutionary biologists, the concept of chance has always played a significant role in the formation of evolutionary theory. As far back as Greek antiquity, chance and "luck" were understood to be key factors in the evolution of the natural world. Emphasizing chance is an entire way of thinking about nature, and it is also one of the key ideas that separates Charles Darwin from other systematic biologists of his time. Studying the concept of chance in Darwin's writing reveals core ideas in his theory of evolution, as well as his reflections on design, purpose, and randomness in nature's progression over the course of history. In Darwin's Dice: The Idea of Chance in the Thought of Charles Darwin, Curtis Johnson does exactly that. He examines the work of Darwin in terms of his views on randomness and chance, and how the views changed as his work progressed. Randomness was a focal point for Darwin, and pursuing it as a theme helped significantly transform his research. Darwin's Dice shows us how Darwin defined "chance," and explores Darwin's influential architect metaphor in relation to the idea. Through the lens of randomness, Johnson reveals how Darwin's treatment of free will becomes more complex. This approach can shed light on many other quirks and points of interest in Darwin's work, including the curiously shifting presence of giraffes in subsequent drafts of On the Origin of Species. Johnson also reexamines Darwin's "Metaphysical Notebooks," and discusses the role Darwin felt that chance plays in morality and religion. Darwin's Dice presents a new way to look at Darwinist thought and the writings on Charles Darwin. Curtis Johnson reveals that chance and randomness play a large part in Darwinist thought, and that we can better understand Darwin's work by understanding that part"-- "Discusses the chance and randomness as motifs in the writing of Charles Darwin
...MoreReview Charles H. Pence (2015) Review of "Darwin's Dice: The Idea of Chance in the Thought of Charles Darwin". Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part C: Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences (pp. 107-110).
Review Michael A. Flannery (2017) Review of "Darwin's Dice: The Idea of Chance in the Thought of Charles Darwin". Metascience: An International Review Journal for the History, Philosophy and Social Studies of Science (pp. 145-148).
Essay Review Francesca Merlin (2016) The Multi-faceted Idea of Chance in Darwin’s Writings. Science and Education (pp. 1159-1164).
Review Maria Zarimis (2016) Review of "Darwin's Dice: The Idea of Chance in the Thought of Charles Darwin". Isis: International Review Devoted to the History of Science and Its Cultural Influences (pp. 658-659).
Article
Noguera-Solano, Ricardo;
(2013)
The Metaphor of the Architect in Darwin: Chance and Free Will
(/isis/citation/CBB001201404/)
Article
Duarte, Regina Horta;
(2009)
História e biologia: diálogos possíveis, distâncias necessárias
(/isis/citation/CBB000932981/)
Chapter
Sloan, Phillip R.;
(2001)
“The Sense of Sublimity”: Darwin on Nature and Divinity
(/isis/citation/CBB000101144/)
Book
Merlin, Francesca;
(2013)
Mutations et aléas: le hasard dans la théorie de l'évolution
(/isis/citation/CBB001510451/)
Thesis
Burkett, Andrew;
(2008)
The Ministry of Chance: British Romanticism, Darwinian Evolutionary Theory and the Aleatory
(/isis/citation/CBB001561190/)
Book
Engels, Eve-Marie;
(2009)
Charles Darwin und seine Wirkung
(/isis/citation/CBB001035152/)
Book
Charles H. Pence;
(2021)
The Rise of Chance in Evolutionary Theory: A Pompous Parade of Arithmetic
(/isis/citation/CBB843376661/)
Essay Review
Meer, Jitse M. van der;
(2000)
Progress in Nature and Culture
(/isis/citation/CBB000110316/)
Chapter
Ruse, Michael;
(2010)
Evolution and the Idea of Social Progress
(/isis/citation/CBB001020305/)
Chapter
Por, Francis Dov;
(2011)
Lamarck's “Pouvoir De La Nature” Demystified: A Thermodynamic Foundation to Lamarck's Concept of Progressive Evolution
(/isis/citation/CBB001500114/)
Book
Alexander, Denis R.;
Numbers, Ronald L.;
(2010)
Biology and Ideology from Descartes to Dawkins
(/isis/citation/CBB001020054/)
Chapter
Brooke, John Hedley;
(2005)
Darwin, Design, and the Unification of Nature
(/isis/citation/CBB000773844/)
Thesis
Roedell, Christopher Andrew;
(2005)
The Beasts that Perish: The Problem of Evil and the Contemplation of theAnimal Kingdom in English Thought, c. 1660--1839
(/isis/citation/CBB001561579/)
Article
Thorvaldsen, Steinar;
Øhrstrøm, Peter;
(2013)
Darwin's Perplexing Paradox: Intelligent Design in Nature
(/isis/citation/CBB001201341/)
Book
Phillip R. Sloan;
Gerald P. McKenny;
Kathleen Eggleson;
(2015)
Darwin in the Twenty-first Century: Nature, Humanity, and God
(/isis/citation/CBB673217105/)
Multimedia Object
Roman Paşca;
Godart, Gerard Rainier Clinton;
(2020)
G. Clinton Godart, “Darwin, Dharma, and the Divine: Evolutionary Theory and Religion in Modern Japan” (U Hawaii Press, 2017)
(/isis/citation/CBB377506912/)
Book
Meer, Jitse M. van der;
Mandelbrote, Scott;
(2008)
Nature and Scripture in the Abrahamic Religions: 1700--Present
(/isis/citation/CBB001031753/)
Article
Tarquin Holmes;
(2017)
The wild type as concept and in experimental practice: A history of its role in classical genetics and evolutionary theory
(/isis/citation/CBB016897194/)
Book
Huxley, Thomas Henry;
(2001)
Collected Essays of T. H. Huxley
(/isis/citation/CBB000102541/)
Essay Review
Ariel Jonathan Roffé;
(2018)
Contemporary Perspectives on the Meaning, Roles, and Implications of Chance in Evolution
(/isis/citation/CBB603381812/)
Be the first to comment!