In The Origin of Species, Charles Darwin wove the eugenic philosophy of Plato into the theory of natural selection. As arguing that “extinction and natural selection go hand in hand,” perhaps unknowingly, Darwin legitimized the extinction by eugenics movements of the 20th century. Eugenics originated in ancient cultures. Rome, Athens, and Sparta practiced eugenics to improve the strength and survival of their societies.
While Darwin uses “extinction” 74 times in the sixth edition of The Origin of Species, “evolution” is not mentioned once. Encouraged by his brother, Erasmus, Darwin read An Essay on the Principle of Population by Thomas Robert Malthus, an English political economist in 1838.
“Natural selection.” Eldredge explains, “is a simple mechanism that causes populations of living things to change over time.” However, “simple,” according to Answers.com means 1) having or composed of only one thing, element, or part, and 2) not involved or complicated, easy, a simple task. Natural selection, though, is not a simple scientific theory.
Darwin, Then and Now chronicles who Darwin was, how he developed his theory, what he said, and what scientists have discovered since the publication of The Origin of Species in 1859.
The book traces the rise and fall of evolution as a scientifically valid theory. With over 1,000 references from Darwin and scientists, Darwin Then and Now retraces how this once popular theory is increasingly recognized as only a philosophy since the theory has yet to be scientifically validated.