“Philosophical essays are frequently enlightening but rarely entertaining. Elliott Sober’s Did Darwin Write the ‘Origin’ Backwards? succeeds at being philosophically sophisticated, historically informative, and thoroughly enjoyable. Even readers who think they know their Darwin will learn much from this book.”
RONALD L. NUMBERS • Hilldale Professor of the History of Science
and Medicine, University of Wisconsin–Madison
“Few philosophers of science command the respect that Elliott Sober enjoys for the rigor of his investigations into the logic of evolutionary biology. In his latest, enthralling book he argues that Darwin’s theory is best described not as evolution by natural selection but as common ancestry plus natural selection. . . . Accessible, lively, controversial, this is a book full of good things, including a fresh look at Darwin’s position on group selection.”
JOHN HEDLEY BROOKE • Andreas Idreos Professor of Science and Religion
and director of the Ian Ramsey Centre, University of Oxford
“In these essays, Elliott Sober offers provocative and richly rewarding analyses of the logical structure of evolutionary theory, natural selection, and the confrontation between naturalism and creationism. This is a truly thought-provoking work.”
DOUGLAS J. FUTUYMA • Distinguished Professor,
Department of Ecology and Evolution, Stony Brook University
“Elliott Sober’s new book offers a fascinating reassessment of a number of aspects of Darwin’s arguments in the Origin of Species. The book seamlessly integrates historical material with contemporary evolutionary ideas. Anyone who thought that there was nothing new left to say about the Origin should read this book.”
SAMIR OKASHA • Professor of philosophy of science, University of Bristol
“Elliott Sober has just raised the level of discussion on the argumentation structure of Darwin’s Origin of Species, Darwin and group selection, sex-ratio theory from the 1700s to today, and on Darwin and naturalism.”
JONATHAN HODGE • Visiting fellow,
Centre for History and Philosophy of Science, University of Leeds
Binding: Paperback
Pages: 230
ISBN: 978-1-61614-230-8
Shipping Weight: 1lbs
Author Bio:
Elliott Sober is Hans Reichenbach Professor and William F. Vilas Research Professor in the Philosophy Department at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and winner of the 2008 Prometheus Prize for his lifetime contribution to expanding the frontiers of research in philosophy and science. He is the author of nine other books, including Evidence and Evolution: The Logic behind the Science and Reconstructing the Past: Parsimony, Evolution, and Inference, which won the prestigious Lakatos Prize in the Philosophy of Science.
