The Descent of Man by Charles Darwin (PDF)

Description

This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

User’s Reviews

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐First, a note on length: it says 137 pages, but that’s because they start numbering partway through. This appears to be the whole book, minus the illustrations (of which there were dozens in the original). A more legitimate complain is that the citations are printed in-line, often mid-sentence, which breaks the already-difficult flow of nineteenth century prose.As to the book itself: Historical importance cannot be overstated, but it is extremely long, goes into great detail (e.g. sexual selection described for the entire animal kingdom, phylum by phylum and class by class), and often takes very long circumlocutions to describe what we now know to be hormone effects, recessive genes, and sex-linked genes. It is awe-inspiring that he could figure it out at all, writing pre-Mendel and with no data at all on the actual mechanism of mutation and inheritance, but I’d suggest this one only for hard-core biologists (in which case you probably want the 99-cent illustrated version if not a hard copy). For more casual students who like to read the original great works, I recommend sticking with Origin of the Species, which is much shorter and more selective in the number of cases he cites.Also, be warned: There are a handful of lines, sometimes on “civilized” and “savage” races, in one case (quoted from another author) on the Scottish and Irish, that are by modern standards staggeringly racist.

⭐The concept of natural selection has certainly ‘evolved’ since Darwin penned this work (pun intended!).While scientist have greatly expanded from the seed of origins that Darwin planted with this work, it was an interesting visit to return to this book. I found many of the social moreys a bit staid and perhaps slightly tainted with bigotry; like the abundant usage of ‘civilized and savage societies’.Also, one must remember that the simply idea of natural selection is no longer the preferred entirety of the modern evolution theories. So, much of the science of this work is very simplistic. For example, Charles Darwin could not have forseen all the complexity that is found in DNA and RNA.A reader must be prepared to accept the verbiage of 1800’s Victorian Era scientific jargon, with a bit of an overly simplistic view of evolution. However, if you want to read the book that started the Evolution Theory this is the place to start. It is the Origins of Evolutions (another pun, but I groan).

⭐This book came up in a discussion from a noted evolutionary scientist who claimed that Darwin believed that sympathy was the strongest human instinct. Not only was that a fascinating note, but it led to statement by Darwin that proves that he never intended to place evolution against the knowledge of the Creator God. Darwin states that his studies were observing the spiritual practices of native peoples. Here’s the quote, “The question is of course wholly distinct from that higher one; whether there is a Creator and Ruler of the universe and this has been answered in the affirmative by some of the highest intellects that have ever existed.”It is amazing that modern science has placed Darwin as having opposed the notion of a master creator of this universe that orchestrated all creation. In his own words this was never his thought. This alone was worth reading this book.

⭐I have wanted to read this for some time. It is a stunning intellectual achievement given that it is over 150 years old. It is, however, pretty dated. Darwin was a man of his time, and some of what he writes will strike the modern reader as being very politically incorrect. Still, it is worth reading for its historical value. And the flaws in it do not detract from its historical importance, or the power of his insight, which I think is one of the great ideas a human ever had. There is much in it to learn from.

⭐This work is a masterpiece and one of the most influential books in the history of humanity. It is very clearly written too but it’s not recommended for those who do not have a special interest in the matter of human evolution or sexual selection. The kindle edition leaves a bit to be desired. In particular, there is no table of contents or any way to navigate a long volume which is used mainly for reference. I was interested in re-reading the section on birds dimorphism and had to skip the pages one by one to the desired location.

⭐This is the logical conclusion to the “Origin of the Species”. There are several parts of this book that every apologist needs to have handy when discussing the social implications of Darwins Theory of Evolution. If you want to do a study of social evolution, this book is your starting point. This book will explain many of the horrors of the twentieth century.

⭐It is very interesting to read about a time when Darwin’s theories were not completely accepted, and his contemporaries not yet fully on board, and odd ideas about race and class dominated much of the accepted view of the human condition.

⭐I read this book as a follow up to Origin of Species. Which was published about a decade before. Anybody who would like to argue ( or listen to arguments ) about evolution should invest in both these books-after all the’re free! You may find that don’t really believe in Darwin’s theories, at least not all of them. For example, are you willing to accept as scientific fact that European men are more intelligent than women, Africans, or American aborigines?. Read part three of Decent.

⭐Of course, apart from a few fundamentalists & bigots, we all take the general tenets as unassailable truth. The text is highly repetitive, but perhaps he was aware that many of his readers would be highly skeptical & needed the points hammered home. Today, the book could be edited into a very short monograph; so many of the abundant example could go in a separate work.Darwin remains one of our greatest geniuses, and it was a pleasure to worke in the late 40s for his (great)^n grandson, just as clever & with a memory making the name I give my computer (Lame Brain) totally justified. Free in Kindle (hard to find, as freebies are) it was excellent value. I pay for a hard copy, were I younger. – TRM

⭐Interesting and very thorough exposition on sexual selection. Too many examples of the process in insects but the mammalian descriptions and the human sections are interesting and profound.

⭐Charles Darwins, The Decent of Man is a book i’ve always wanted since a bbc show a few yrs ago. i was so pleased you could get it on kindle. i love amazon, you can get such a variety of books that you don’t expect, untill you try. still reading this so i can only say that it is a good book. interesting, and worth trying especially if you are interested in mans past.

⭐One can hardly award fewer than maximum stars for this title, or rather to amazon for offering it on kindle for universal reading. Its importance for us all is immense and I have chosen it just to educate myself, though as a Christian I shan’t read it uncritically, and may find that I disagree with some of its conclusions.

⭐Hard going, but for those who have read Dawkins’ works on evolution; If On The Origin of Species was Darwin’s The Selfish Gene, then The Decent of Man is his Extended Phenotype. Much more of an academic book but crucial reading for understanding the work Darwin has done for science

Keywords

Free Download The Descent of Man in PDF format
The Descent of Man PDF Free Download
Download The Descent of Man 2011 PDF Free
The Descent of Man 2011 PDF Free Download
Download The Descent of Man PDF
Free Download Ebook The Descent of Man