Darwin, Then and Now: Species

Species

Darwin did not define the term “species” in the text or in the“GLOSSARY OF THE PRINCIPAL SCIENTIFIC TERMS” in The Origin of Species.

Darwin concluded that the term “species” was not definable:

It is all-important to remember that naturalists have no golden rule by which to distinguish species.

[There] is no possible test but individual opinion to determine which of them shall be considered as species.

Defining the term species is now known as “The Species Problem“.

According to Massimo Pigliucci, evolutionary scientist and organizer of the largest convening of leading evolutionary scientists, the Altenberg Summit:

First, the species problem is not primarily an empirical one, but it is rather fraught with philosophical questions that require – but cannot be settled by – empirical evidence.

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Darwin, Then and Now is a journey through the most amazing story in the history of science - the history of evolution; encapsulating who Darwin was, what he said, and what scientists have discovered since the publication of The Origin of Species in 1859.

With over 1,000 references, Darwin’s life, climaxing with the search for a natural law of evolution, is investigated in the context of the scientific evidence since discovered in the fossil record, embryology, molecular biology and genetics. Darwin The and Now is a historical chronicle of the rise and fall of Darwinism.