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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Wallace And Incipient Structures: A World Of "More Recondite" Influences, Charles H. Smith
Wallace And Incipient Structures: A World Of "More Recondite" Influences, Charles H. Smith
DLPS Faculty Publications
Alfred Russel Wallace is well-known for his co-discovery of the principle of natural selection. Natural selection is usually considered a process, but it is not clear that Wallace regarded it in exactly these terms. In fact he more likely thought of the relationships involved as representing what we would now term a “state space,” a negative feedback loop wherein populations are maintained at healthy levels through elimination of the unfit. Both before and after the advent of natural selection Wallace clung to the idea that “more recondite forces” were shaping the nature and direction of evolution; this is especially evident …
Early Humboldtian Influences On Alfred Russel Wallace's Scheme Of Nature [Presented At The Alfred Russel Wallace And His Legacy Royal Society Of London Meeting, 21 October 2013], Charles H. Smith
DLPS Faculty Publications
Alfred Russel Wallace’s 1858 Ternate paper on natural selection is a famous work in the history of science. Beyond his co-discovery of the principle, moreover, Wallace is known for a large number of early applications of the idea, both to biological and biogeographical subjects. Yet how much do we really know about Wallace’s own evolution of thought, and his actual intentions before his views were swallowed up by the inertia of Darwin’s revolution? A number of differences between Wallace’s and Darwin’s views are apparent and have been much treated over the years, but related discussions dwell more on effects than …
Wallace On Natural Selection: What Did He Really Have In Mind?, Charles H. Smith
Wallace On Natural Selection: What Did He Really Have In Mind?, Charles H. Smith
DLPS Faculty Publications
No abstract provided.
The Real Alfred Russel Wallace: Essays On An Outside-The-Box Thinker, Charles H. Smith
The Real Alfred Russel Wallace: Essays On An Outside-The-Box Thinker, Charles H. Smith
Faculty/Staff Personal Papers
Alfred Russel Wallace (8 January 1823 – 7 November 1913), English polymath and social critic, ranks high on the list of the most interesting characters in the history of science. Nevertheless, and despite a life filled with achievement, he has often been marginalized in the halls of learning. The truth is, Wallace was something of an “outside–the–box” thinker, and his many forays into the murkier areas of science and social science cost him a lot of potential supporters. Still others, while recognizing his intellectual talents in general, have looked at the full span of his work and interests as a …
A Further Look At The 1858 Wallace-Darwin Mail Delivery Question, Charles H. Smith
A Further Look At The 1858 Wallace-Darwin Mail Delivery Question, Charles H. Smith
DLPS Faculty Publications
Recent investigations have led to a conclusion that Alfred Russel Wallace probably mailed his ‘Ternate’ paper on natural selection to Darwin a month later than some have thought, thus freeing Darwin from possible accusations of plagiarism. Further examination of the question suggests this conclusion is premature, as the evidence in favor of the later mailing date appears to be shakier than first thought.
Wallace: The Review, And Wallace: The Preview, Charles H. Smith
Wallace: The Review, And Wallace: The Preview, Charles H. Smith
DLPS Faculty Publications
In this essay commemorating the one hundred year anniversary of his death, Alfred Russel Wallace (1823–1913) is remembered for his main contributions to biogeography, and pointed to as a possible source of inspiration for future work in that field. As one of the science’s “fathers,” Wallace established both methods for study and a long-lived geographical systemization of animal distribution patterns. His efforts, moreover, may yet have the potential to inspire further new studies in the subject.