Evolutionary Modifications
Evolutionary Modifications
This chapter explores how, in the wake of Darwin’s Origin of Species and the fossil remains of so-called “missing links” like the Archaeopteryx that soon after came to light, Cuvierian correlation faced a profound crisis. Rather than simply being eclipsed by evolution, however, it was often modified and adapted to the new scientific priorities of the post-Origin era. Darwin himself appropriated key elements of Cuvier’s law in his own law of correlated variability, denuding the original of its erstwhile anti-evolutionary potential. Owen too publicly disputed Cuvier’s views on the fixity of species, explaining functional adaptations as the result of a preordained law of evolution. Owen nevertheless still endeavoured to impose the Cuvier’s paleontological methods on obdurate colonial naturalists in Australia.
Keywords: evolution, Charles Darwin, Origin of Species, missing link, archaeopteryx, correlated variability, Richard Owen, preordained evolution, Australia, colonial science
Chicago Scholarship Online requires a subscription or purchase to access the full text of books within the service. Public users can however freely search the site and view the abstracts and keywords for each book and chapter.
Please, subscribe or login to access full text content.
If you think you should have access to this title, please contact your librarian.
To troubleshoot, please check our FAQs, and if you can't find the answer there, please contact us.
