Simply Darwin

Simply Darwin, a book by Professor Michael Ruse in the new Simply Charly line, leaves a powerful impression. These Simply Charly books seek to provide the reader with a good sense of who these great thinkers were, what they had to say, and the history they made. These books provide biographical information as well as a summary of what their subjects tried to accomplish.

Charles Darwin (1809-1982) as argued here was not a rebel but rather a wealthy person who was part of his time and class in English society. His grandfather Erasmus was a writer, and Charles was a traveling naturalist before he succeeded in showing a biological and natural cause as an explanation for the natural wonders we observe in the world. His theory at the time was shocking to a religious sensibility, arguing that there was not a personal God and that our lives did not revolve around religious purpose and meaning. Ruse shows how others helped provide some of the explanation for his theory, but it was Darwin who famously got it into print and elaborated on the theory. Ruse explains the relevance of Darwin’s accomplishments but leaves the reader knowing that there is more for them to think about, some of it personal.