Did Darwin Write the Origin Backwards?

This is an incisive collection of essays exploring one of the most influential scientific theories of all time. Did Charles Darwin reject the idea that group selection causes characteristics to evolve that are good for the group but bad for the individual? How does Darwin's discussion of God square [...]
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This is an incisive collection of essays exploring one of the most influential scientific theories of all time. Did Charles Darwin reject the idea that group selection causes characteristics to evolve that are good for the group but bad for the individual? How does Darwin's discussion of God square with the common view of him as the champion of methodological naturalism? These are just some of the intriguing questions raised by distinguished philosopher Elliott Sober in this fine collection of philosophical essays on Darwin. Sober's approach is informed by modern issues in evolutionary biology, but is sensitive to the ways in which Darwin's outlook differed from that of biologists today. Many of the topics covered in this volume - including common ancestry, group selection, sex ratio and naturalism - have rarely been discussed in their connection with Darwin in such detail.