The Essence of Darwinism and the Basis of Modern Orthodoxy 99
believe, sought to construct and defend a working method for the special subject
matter of evolutionary inquiry—that is, for the data of history.
Inferences about history, so crucial to any evolutionary work, had been
plagued by problems of confidence that seemed to bar any truly scientific inquiry
into the past. Darwin knew that evolution would not win respect until methods of
historical inference could be established and illustrated with all the confidence of
Galileo viewing the moons of Jupiter. He therefore set out to formulate rules for
inference in history. I view the Origin as one long illustration of these rules.
Historical inference sets the more general theme underlying both the establishment
of evolution as a fact, and the defense of natural selection as its mechanism. The
"one long argument" of the Origin presents a comprehensive strategy and
compendium of modes for historical inference (see fuller exposition of this view in
Gould, 1986). We must grasp Darwin's practical campaign on this battlefield in
order to understand his radical philosophy, and to identify the features of his theory
that count as essential to any definition of "Darwinism."
THE PROBLEM OF HISTORYReading Darwin has been a persisting and central joy in my intellectual life. Lyell
and Huxley may have been greater prose stylists, with more consistency in the ring
and power of their words. Yet I give the nod to Darwin, and not only for the
greater depth and power of his ideas. Darwin often wrote quite ordinary prose,
page after page. But then, frequently enough to rivet the attention of any careful
reader, his passion bursts through, and he makes a point with such insight and
force (almost always by metaphor) that understanding breaks like sunrise. Every
evolutionist can cite a list of favorite Darwinian passages, written on well-worn
index cards for lectures (or, now, eternally embedded in PowerPoint files), posted
on the office door or prominently displayed above the typewriter (now the
computer terminal), or simply (and lovingly) committed to memory.
Several of my favorite passages celebrate the broadened understanding of
nature that derives from recognizing organisms as products of history, rather than
objects created in their present state. Darwin writes (1859, pp. 485-486): *
*I base this chapter on an exploration of the logic of argument in the first edition of
the Origin of Species (1859). Provine (in lectures and personal communications) has
argued that Darwinian historiography should focus on the definitive 6th edition of 1872,
not only as Darwin's most considered and nuanced account, but primarily because this
last edition has enjoyed such overwhelmingly greater influence through endless
reprinting (continuing today) and translation into all major languages. The first edition
had a print run of 1500 copies and sold out on the first day. I doubt that this original
version ever reappeared in print before the facsimile edition edited by Mayr (1964), and
this initial version remains rare relative to the ubiquitous sixth of almost every modern
reprint. I agree with Provine's argument and, in fact, personally prefer the sixth edition
for its subtleties on issues of macroevolution and adaptation. But I choose the first edition
for this chapter as a necessary consequence of my idiosyncratic habits of
historiographical work. I appreciate, and shame-