CHARLES DARWIN, página 4 de 16

De los 17 libros publicados en vida por Charles Darwin, muy pocos han sido traducidos al español. Más de 100 años después de su aparición, el 60% aproximadamente de la obra de Darwin sigue inédita en nuestra lengua. Es muy llamativo que obras com La Fecundacion de las orquideas o Las formas de las flores no se hayan traducido hasta ahora. Esta Biblioteca Darwin, dirigida por Marti Dominguez, profesor de la Universidad de Valencia y director de la revista Metode, se propone paliar una desatencion escandalosa, fruto sin duda del tradicional recelo hispano por la ciencias, y publicar por primera vez en español la obra olvidada, pero no por ello menos importante, de uno de los mayores cientificos de todos los tiempos. "Pocos experimentos mios me resultaron tan satisfactorios como el de la explicaccion de las plantas heterostilas", escribe Charles Darwin en su Autobiografia. Y, sin embargo, quiza esta obra sobre las formas de las flores sea una de las mas desconocidas e ignoradas del cientifico ingles. Sorprende la ausencia de referencias a Darwin en los tratados de Botanica, por no hablar de su desaparicion casi sistematica en los cursos universitarios. De alguna manera, Darwin tambien es victima del estereotipo: en el imaginario colectivo es el gran creador de la seleccion natural, el impulsor del evolucionismo, y habitualmente se le relaciona con los filos zoologicos, desde los percebes hasta los pinzones de las Galapagos. No obstante, fue un paciente y exigente investigador de la fisiologia vegetal, y quiza uno de los cientificos que mas hicieron por incorporar los vegetales al estudio moderno biologico.

HarperCollins is proud to present its range of best loved essential classics How fleeting are the wishes and efforts of man how short his time and consequently how poor will his products be compared with those accumulated by nature during whole geological periods Still considered one of the most important and groundbreaking works of science ever written Darwin s eminently readable exploration of the evolutionary process challenged most of the strong beliefs of the Western world Forced to question the idea of the Creator mid nineteenth century readers were faced with Darwin s theories on the laws of natural selection and the randomness of evolution causing massive controversy at the time However Darwin s theories remain instrumental in providing the backbone to modern biology today

Darwin tenía veintidós años cuando se embarcó como naturalista en el "Beagle" para realizar un viaje de exploración alrededor del mundo que duró cinco años. Además de una aventura extraordinaria, el largo periplo fue para Darwin el campo de pruebas que le permitio elaborar una concepcion nueva sobre el origen y la evolucion de las distintas formas de vida de la Tierra.

Charles Darwin és, sens dubte, un dels científics més universals; tanmateix, poques persones coneixen aspectes fonamentals de la seva vida i la seva obra, com ara que l'home que va fer tremolar els fonaments de l'Església era, precisament, teòleg, o d'altres de més anecdòtics i curiosos. Aquest recull de textos del mateix Darwin posa fi a molts malentesos sobre la seva figura i en revela aspectes personals i opinions polítiques i religioses d'allò més sorprenents. Dos-cents anys després del seu naixement se'ns obre, així, una finestra excepcional al món victorià en què es gestà la seva teoria de l'evolució i a les polèmiques que va desencadenar. Aquesta edició dels textos autobiogràfics darwinians és la primera que es publica en català amb les màximes garanties de rigor, ja que recull tots els textos memorialístics del científic i, a més, inclou les revisions que va fer-hi. Clou el volum una selecció de cartes que ens mostren la veu natural de Darwin. Es tracta, en definitiva, d'un petit gran llibre que demostra la importància de Darwin com a autor literari i que vol conduir a una nova i més ajustada recepció de la seva obra a Catalunya.

The topic of evolutionary biology continues to be controversial as not everybody accepts the view that human beings evolved from lower biological forms over time. Even in his own time, Darwin was no stranger to controversy. When he published "On the Origin of Species" in 1859 it created waves in the scientific community, the religious community, and within society at large. This ground-breaking book was applauded by some and condemned by others. It was (and in some respects still is) controversial.Charles Darwin was a British naturalist (scientist) who published the book just over a year before the American Civil War broke out in the United States. The book set forth the foundations for modern evolutionary biology. Darwin asserted that plant and animal life evolved from previous forms through a process called natural selection.Darwin is known for having conducted his observation and research in the Galapagos Islands, off the coast of South America. These islands teemed with all kinds of exotic plant and animal life. In addition to the Galapagos Islands, Darwin traveled all over the world conducting observations aboard the HMS Beagle, during which time he formulated his evolutionary model.

"The Voyage of the Beagle" shows the English naturalist Charles Darwins brilliant mind already at work on the problems that led to his seminal theory of evolution. The works title is somewhat misleading, for the author actually has little to say about the voyage. The original full title"Journal of Researches into the Geology and Natural History of the Various Countries Visited by H.M.S. Beagle, Under the Command of Captain FitzRoy, R.N., from 1832 to 1836"is a better reflection of the scope of the work."The Voyage of the Beagle" is not only an important book in the history of modern thought but also a highly significant one in the life of Darwin. As a young man, Darwin had little sense of vocation or direction. When he was sixteen, he began a career of medicine at Edinburgh University. Discovering, however, that he was unfit for the profession, he entered Christ College, Cambridge, three years later in 1828 to prepare himself to be a clergyman. Failing to take honors or to distinguish himself in any way, he accepted the offer of Captain Fitz Roy of the Beagle to sign on as a naturalist on a voyage around the world that eventually took five years. During that time, Darwin not only discovered himself and his career but also began making those observations that he later developed into the theory of evolution expounded in" On the Origin of Species" (1859). This work, together with the works of Karl Marx and of Sigmund Freud, constituted a powerful influence on twentieth century scientific thought and values.

El origen de las especies (The origin of species, en inglés) o más exactamente El origen de las especies mediante la selección natural o la conservación de las razas favorecidas en la lucha por la vida es un libro escrito por Charles Darwin (1809 -1882), publicado el 24 de noviembre de 1859 (John Murrap, Londres); agoto los 1.250 ejemplares impresos en el primer dia. En el, expuso por primera vez sus ideas sobre la seleccion natural y la teoria de la evolucion.Esta obra es un trabajo fundamental dentro de la historia de la ciencia y la biologia. En el, Darwin argumenta largamente su teoria sobre como los organismos evolucionan gradualmente por medio de la seleccion natural, presentando evidencias de su teoria acumuladas en su viaje en el HMS Beagle en los años 1831-1836. Su teoria se oponia ampliamente a las teorias vigentes en su epoca, creacionismo y catastrofismo.El libro puede ser leido por no especialistas. Aunque las ideas presentadas constituyen la base de la biologia moderna continuan siendo controvertidas para ciertos grupos religiosos quienes se apoyan en una interpretacion literal de textos religiosos a favor de explicaciones creacionistas.

Desde su aparición en 1859, la influencia de El origen de las especies en el pensamiento científio ha sido cada vez más importante y podría decirse que, a partir sobre todo del siglo XX, fue ganando cada día un poco más de actualidad. Los grandes nombres de la creación científica posteriores a Darwin se confiesan deudores de ese texto inagotable. Muchos de los descubrimientos célebres de la biología moderna serían incomprensibles sin tener en cuenta uno de los aportes fundamentales de Darwin: el origen y la evolución de las especies a través de la selección natural.

De los 17 libros publicados en vida por Charles Darwin, pocos han sido traducidos al español. Más de 100 años después de su aparición, el 60% aproximadamente de la obra de Darwin sigue inédito en nuestra lengua. Es muy llamativo que obras como La fecundacion de las orquideas o Plantas trepadoras no se hayan traducido hasta ahora. Esta Biblioteca Darwin, dirigida por Marti Dominguez, profesor de la Universidad de Valencia y director de la revista Metode, se propone paliar una desatencion escandalosa, fruto sin duda del tradicional recelo hispano por las ciencias, y publicar por primera vez en español la obra olvidada, pero no por ello menos importante, de uno de los mayores cientificos de todos los tiempos.

This Essay first appeared in the ninth volume of the Journal of the Linnean Society, published in 1865. It is here reproduced in a corrected and, I hope, clearer form, with some additional facts. The illustrations were drawn by my son, George Darwin. Fritz Muller, after the publication of my paper, sent to the Linnean Society (Journal, vol. ix., p. 344) some interesting observations on the climbing plants of South Brazil, to which I shall frequently refer. Recently two important memoirs, chiefly on the difference in growth between the upper and lower sides of tendrils, and on the mechanism of the movements of twining-plants, by Dr. Hugo de Vries, have appeared in the Arbeiten des Botanischen Instituts in Wurzburg, Heft. iii., 1873. These memoirs ought to be carefully studied by every one interested in the subject, as I can here give only references to the more important points. This excellent observer, as well as Professor Sachs, [iv] attributes all the movements of tendrils to rapid growth along one side; but, from reasons assigned towards the close of my fourth chapter, I cannot persuade myself that this holds good with respect to those due to a touch. In order that the reader may know what points have interested me most, I may call his attention to certain tendril-bearing plants; for instance, Bignonia capreolata, Coba, Echinocystis, and Hanburya, which display as beautiful adaptations as can be found in any part of the kingdom of nature. It is, also, an interesting fact that intermediate states between organs fitted for widely different functions, may be observed on the same individual plant of Corydalis claviculata and the common vine; and these cases illustrate in a striking manner the principle of the gradual evolution of species.

Charles Robert Darwin was an English naturalist and geologist, best known for his contributions to the science of evolution. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestors, and in a joint publication with Alfred Russel Wallace introduced his scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection, in which the struggle for existence has a similar effect to the artificial selection involved in selective breeding.Darwin published his theory of evolution with compelling evidence in his 1859 book On the Origin of Species, overcoming scientific rejection of earlier concepts of transmutation of species. By the 1870s, the scientific community and much of the general public had accepted evolution as a fact. However, many favoured competing explanations and it was not until the emergence of the modern evolutionary synthesis from the 1930s to the 1950s that a broad consensus developed in which natural selection was the basic mechanism of evolution. In modified form, Darwins scientific discovery is the unifying theory of the life sciences, explaining the diversity of life.Darwins early interest in nature led him to neglect his medical education at the University of Edinburgh; instead, he helped to investigate marine invertebrates. Studies at the University of Cambridge (Christs College) encouraged his passion for natural science. His five-year voyage on HMS Beagle established him as an eminent geologist whose observations and theories supported Charles Lyells uniformitarian ideas, and publication of his journal of the voyage made him famous as a popular author.