Abstract

This chapter explores Darwin’s inclusion of the “Historical Sketch” in the third edition of On the Origin of Species, addressing criticisms from his contemporaneous readers regarding his book’s absence of historical context. The Sketch, however, poses challenges for today’s readers due to its lengthy list of mostly unfamiliar authors. Additionally, the chronological presentation fails to effectively highlight the similarities and differences between these authors’ ideas and Darwin’s own. A research-based teaching exercise is included in this chapter, with insights from Sketch and excerpts from his Notebooks, to clarify Darwin’s line guide and motivate the reading. The activity revealed his perception that, while some naturalists believed in species modification, none simultaneously proposed the two fundamental principles of his (and Wallace’s) theory: common descent and natural selection. Additionally, it rectified historical errors and reassessed the crucial difference Darwin considered when comparing his to Lamarck’s theories, that is, the commitment with necessary progression and the lack of a unified origin for all living beings in the French naturalist theory. Viewing Sketch as a meta-scientific discourse encourages readers to explore the Nature of Science aspects in Darwin’s work.