I can remember an article from the late 80s in the independent by Lord Rees Mogg arguing that the Iskra Board split of 1903 lead directly to the Gulag. Chaos theory was very much in the vogue then, and leaching into the social sciences.
In a similar vein today’s anniversary (Darwin’s 200th “Birthday”) reminded me of one of those genuine historical contingencies. Contrary to popular belief Darwin was not the on-board ship’s naturalist of “The Beagle”. He was, rather, the paid guest of the ship’s captain. Capt Fitzroy, haunted by the suicide of his close cousin, precipitated by severe depression resulting from loneliness and the social isolation of rank, sought a gentleman companion to ward off a similar fate. He found Darwin. The rest is history! So a personal tragedy indirectly facilitates one of the greatest intellectual revolutions in history.
This year also marks the 150th anniversary of “The Origin Of Species” a book Stephen Jay Gould would read once a year. I chanced upon Gould about 20 years ago killing time while browsing in a bookshop. Had I not missed my tube our paths might never have crossed. So we have another “sliding doors moment” ., this one leading to the 32nd book choice – “The Origin Of Species”. Given the reception I’d guess there’s a few of our number that wish I’d not overslept!
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Even though I was guilty of not finishing tOoS, i thought it was a good choice for the group. I think one of its strengths is the way we flit from genre to genre, even though we occasionally settle on similar flowers for a period before flying off in search of pastures new. Or something.
ReplyDeleteI've always thought that the voyage of the Beagle was a nice hook to hang the story of the development of Darwin's theory on, but the underlying reality was much more complex (Darwin made a bit of a botched job of his research in the Galapagos Islands - he mis-labeled many of his samples, mis identified many species and generally did the classic Victorian gentleman of science thing). The really crucial stuff (like his research into barnacles) was carried out from his study back in England - he examined samples sent to him from around the world by missionaries, naval officers and various other sons of empire. All of which depended on the rapid development of global transport networks and a reliable international postal service (see Rebecca Stott's book on Darwin - I'm simply ripping her argument off here). But I suppose the image of Darwin in a wide brimmed straw hat on a sunny far away island painting watercolours of giant turtles is a pretty classic visual motif of the origins of the origin of species. Anyway - back to work
ReplyDeleteI agree for the most part. Janet Browne's "Voyaging" does suggest the the Beagle episode as being fairly pivotal though. Here I'm not claiming any original insight. I'm just ripping off Stephen Jay Gould!
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