The origins of Darwin's ideas - Many Minds
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- Title
- The origins of Darwin's ideas
- Description
- <p class="p1"><span class="s1">No discipline, no sphere of intellectual life, has been untouched by the work of Charles Darwin. He died in 1882 but his ideas are very much alive; they're now central to how we understand the natural world, the human mind, <em>non</em>-human minds, plants, biogeography, morality and emotion, culture, language, and more. But where did his ideas come from? How did they grow out of his travels, his social circle, his hobbies, his particular cast of mind?</span><span class= "s1"> </span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">My guest today is <a href= "https://histsci.fas.harvard.edu/people/janet-browne"><span class= "s2">Dr. Janet Browne</span></a>. Janet is Professor Emerita at Harvard University in the department of the History of Science. She is perhaps best known for her widely acclaimed <a href= "https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691026060/charles-darwin?srsltid=AfmBOooLyNutIxbK8MbdJZKle53vkStY9rbq4iVaMDGgbp3bkS3gff7q"> <span class="s2">two-volume biography</span></a> of Charles Darwin. And she has now published an updated and abridged <a href= "https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691232256/darwin?srsltid=AfmBOopkgNwfGZF_25KTy1QDYUarwCUpNmupFkNPG6uZH7UCqSNhbDwT"> <span class="s2">single-volume version</span></a>. </span><span class="s1"> </span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">Here, Janet and I talk about Darwin's life and ideas. We pick up the story during his travels on the Beagle, a five-year voyage that laid the foundation for the rest of his career. We talk about what he was reading, what he was seeing, and how these experiences helped form his most influential work, <em>On</em> <em>the Origin of Species</em>. We discuss Darwin's style as a thinker, as a naturalist, as a writer, and as an experimentalist. We touch on his relationships with contemporaries like Charles Lyell and Alfred Russel Wallace. And we consider his long—and often overlooked—engagements with pigeons, barnacles, plants, and worms. </span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">I greatly enjoyed Janet's two-volume biography of Darwin, and I enjoyed this new single-volume edition just as much. So if this episode sparks your interest, I heartily recommend that you check these books out.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">Alright friends, on to my conversation with Dr. Janet Browne. Enjoy</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s2"> </span></p> <p class="p1"><span style= "text-decoration: underline;"><span class="s2"><em>Notes</em></span></span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">3:30 – Darwin's autobiography is available <a href= "https://darwin-online.org.uk/content/frameset?itemID=F1497&viewtype=text&pageseq=1"> <span class="s2">here</span></a>. All of Darwin's letters are readable (and searchable) at the <a href= "https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/"><span class="s2">Darwin Correspondence Project</span></a>.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">11:00 – Darwin's account of his five-year stint on the HMS Beagle can be found in his <a href= "https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/326831/the-voyage-of-the-beagle-by-charles-darwin/"> <span class="s2"><em>Voyage of the Beagle</em></span></a>.</span><span class="s1"> </span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">17:00 – Charles Lyell's <a href="https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/P/bo3774432.html"> <span class="s2"><em>Principles of Geology (Vol. 1)</em></span></a>.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">27:00 – For a recently published history of Lamarck and his ideas, see <a href= "https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/763654/the-power-of-life-by-jessica-riskin/"> <span class="s2">here</span></a>. </span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">31:00 – For more on Darwin's interest in pigeons and pigeon breeding, see <a href= "https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/352717"><span class="s2"> here</span></a>. </span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">34:00 – For more on Darwin's barnacle studies, see <a href= "https://darwin-online.org.uk/EditorialIntroductions/Richmond_cirripedia.html"> <
- Publication Date
- 2026-07-03T19:37:00+00:00
- Status
- completed
- Website
- https://manyminds.libsyn.com/the-origins-of-darwins-ideas
- Length
- 79:23
- File
- /podcasts/Many Minds/1783107420-5339.mp3
- Size
- 109.02 MB
- Bitrate
- 187-CBR
- Channels
- 1
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