Originating Species: Darwin on the Species Problem

Darwin’s revolutionary arguments for the transformation of species emerged against the backdrop of a century-long transnational debate over the nature of organic species. The aim of this chapter is to clarify this context and relate it to Darwin’s Origin . Following a brief summary of the “species problem” in the period before 1850, I analyze some key aspects of Darwin’s species concept in the so-called Big Species Book (1856-58) ( Species Book ) that directly underlies the published Origin . This will be followed by a discussion of Darwin’s public presentation in the Origin , followed by some brief remarks on the divergent interpretations by Darwin’s successors. THE SPECIES QUESTION BEFORE 1850 Available literature on the history of the species concept (Bachmann 1906; Uhlmann 1923; Stamos 2003 and references therein) only partially clarifies the nature of the debate over organic species in the period before the Origin . Anglophone discussions typically take as their reference framework British, or to a lesser degree French, natural history, assumed to be the main relevant background against which to assess Darwin’s own reflections.