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Full-Text Articles in Biodiversity
Alfred Russel Wallace Notes 28. Wallace's 'Change Of Mind', Revisited, Charles H. Smith
Alfred Russel Wallace Notes 28. Wallace's 'Change Of Mind', Revisited, Charles H. Smith
Faculty/Staff Personal Papers
Alfred Russel Wallace (1823−1913) is best known for his work on the theory of evolution by natural selection, and studies on biogeography. This fame has not, however, prevented appraisals of his work that sometimes depart from rational interpretations of his actual words. In this study, the frequently-offered notion that his adoption of spiritualism in late 1866 caused him to reverse himself on the universality of natural selection is taken to task, with arguments linked to his own words on the subject.
Alfred Russel Wallace Notes 16: The Flexible Wallace, Charles H. Smith
Alfred Russel Wallace Notes 16: The Flexible Wallace, Charles H. Smith
Faculty/Staff Personal Papers
Alfred Russel Wallace (1823−1913), though a naturalist of considerable renown, has sometimes been accused of inflexibility and inconsistency in his thinking. Many of his critics, however, ignore his basic approach to knowledge accumulation, which was explicitly incremental, based on a perceived need for constant reconsideration. Here, I: (1) identify five groups of Wallace critics who seem to be operating with prior agendas, and (2) provide lists of subjects on which he either changed his mind, or remained constant, according to individual situation.
Alfred Russel Wallace Notes 17: More On The South Asian Connection, Charles H. Smith
Alfred Russel Wallace Notes 17: More On The South Asian Connection, Charles H. Smith
Faculty/Staff Personal Papers
During his school years the arts and cultural historian and metaphysician Ananda Coomaraswamy (1877-1947) was clearly influenced by Alfred Russel Wallace, and is known later to have corresponded with, and supplied information to, him. Up to now the connections involved had been obscure, but a new investigation suggests that Wallace had previously interacted with Ananda’s mother and/or father.
Alfred Russel Wallace Notes 8: Wallace's Earliest Exposures To The Writings Of Alexander Von Humboldt, Charles H. Smith
Alfred Russel Wallace Notes 8: Wallace's Earliest Exposures To The Writings Of Alexander Von Humboldt, Charles H. Smith
Faculty/Staff Personal Papers
For many years it has been known that the German geographer and naturalist Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859) exercised a considerable influence on Alfred Russel Wallace’s (1823-1913) decision to become a travelling naturalist. Almost no attention, however, has been given to the real possibility that von Humboldt exerted an even greater influence on Wallace’s general worldview. In this note, Wallace’s probable earliest contacts with von Humboldt’s writings are described.
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 …
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.
Biodiversity: The World Of Life, Charles H. Smith
Biodiversity: The World Of Life, Charles H. Smith
DLPS Faculty Publications
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