Darwin & Marx - Down House - 25.05.15
On the 25th of May, 2015, a delegation from the
Buddhist-Marxism Alliance (UK) visited the former home of Charles Darwin (1809-1882)
and his family, which is situated near the village of Downe in Kent. It was here that Charles Darwin formulated
his famous and revolutionary theory of evolution through natural selection,
after first sailing around the world gathering evidence of living and extinct
life (on HMS Beagle 1831-1836), and then through hundreds of hours in his study
spent thinking and correlating his research into logical catgeories and
sub-categories of meaning..
It was in this study that Darwin finally finished his
masterpiece ‘On the Origins of Species by Means of Natural Selection – or the
Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life’ in 1859, a work of
genius that has fundamentally altered human thinking. This work did not come
out of nothing, but was the product of a gradual development of knowledge based
upon research. For example, in January
1837, Darwin read his paper entitled ‘Proofs of recent Elevation on the Coast
of Chile’ at the Geological Society, and in 1844, he wrote a letter to Rev. Leonard
Jenyns stating the following clarification:
'The general conclusion at which I have slowly been driven from a directly opposite conviction is that species are mutable & that allied species are co-descendents of common stocks. I know how much I open myself, to reproach, for such a conclusion but I have at least honestly & deliberately come to it.’
Earlier the same year, Darwin wrote a similar letter to Joseph Hooker, also stating that he thought species were not immutable – and adding that such a confession was like admitting the committing of a murder! Throughout the 1850’s, Darwin pursued his research through various avenues of endeavour which included his continued observation of pigeon breeding, the cultivation of plant seeds, and the breeding and observation of insects and worms, etc. The results of this combined study allowed Darwin to begin to write his complete theory in 1856 – a process that would be completed in 1859. In 1858, (when Darwin was around two-thirds of the way through his manuscript), he was astonished to have received a letter from Allred Russell Wallace which contained Wallace’s theory of evolution through natural selection. Completely independently, Wallace had arrived at identical scientific conclusions to those developed by Darwin. Darwin was advised to publish a joint paper with Wallace on July 1st, 1858 through the Linnean Society. This comprised of Darwin’s 1844 essay and Wallace’s recent letter. It was published in the Journal of the Linnean Society that year under the title ‘On the Tendency of Species to Form Varieties; and on the Perpetuation of Varieties and Species by Means of Selection’. Surprisingly, the public reading and the journal article attracted no attention. However, Darwin’s book ‘On the Origins of Species by Means of Natural Selection – or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life’ was first published on the 24th of November 1859 with 500 copies selling-out almost immediately. An extended print-run of another 1,250 copies also sold-out just as quickly. Overnight, Darwin became both famous (amongst forward thinking scientists and progressives), and infamous (amongst the religionists and conservative academics).
'The general conclusion at which I have slowly been driven from a directly opposite conviction is that species are mutable & that allied species are co-descendents of common stocks. I know how much I open myself, to reproach, for such a conclusion but I have at least honestly & deliberately come to it.’
Earlier the same year, Darwin wrote a similar letter to Joseph Hooker, also stating that he thought species were not immutable – and adding that such a confession was like admitting the committing of a murder! Throughout the 1850’s, Darwin pursued his research through various avenues of endeavour which included his continued observation of pigeon breeding, the cultivation of plant seeds, and the breeding and observation of insects and worms, etc. The results of this combined study allowed Darwin to begin to write his complete theory in 1856 – a process that would be completed in 1859. In 1858, (when Darwin was around two-thirds of the way through his manuscript), he was astonished to have received a letter from Allred Russell Wallace which contained Wallace’s theory of evolution through natural selection. Completely independently, Wallace had arrived at identical scientific conclusions to those developed by Darwin. Darwin was advised to publish a joint paper with Wallace on July 1st, 1858 through the Linnean Society. This comprised of Darwin’s 1844 essay and Wallace’s recent letter. It was published in the Journal of the Linnean Society that year under the title ‘On the Tendency of Species to Form Varieties; and on the Perpetuation of Varieties and Species by Means of Selection’. Surprisingly, the public reading and the journal article attracted no attention. However, Darwin’s book ‘On the Origins of Species by Means of Natural Selection – or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life’ was first published on the 24th of November 1859 with 500 copies selling-out almost immediately. An extended print-run of another 1,250 copies also sold-out just as quickly. Overnight, Darwin became both famous (amongst forward thinking scientists and progressives), and infamous (amongst the religionists and conservative academics).
Prior to Darwin’s scientific formulation in ‘On the Origin
of Species’, the Western world had been dominated by the absurdities found in
Judeo-Christian theology – despite the fact that the philosophy of ancient
Greece had developed what might be described as a ‘secular’ perspective. Since the spread of Christianity through the
Roman Empire, Western discourse (and thinking) had been dominated by the
theological view that a single god had created the world in six days. Darwin’s theory of evolution through natural
selection, provided a logical assessment of the development of the universe and
all life within it – without recourse to a divine act of will. Incidentally, thousands of years before Darwin,
the historical Buddha in ancient India delivered his Agganna Sutta (the 27th
Sutta of the Digha Nikaya Collection) which laid out his secular explanation of
the development of social castes, and the evolution of the planet earth. Although the Buddha’s argument is essentially
moral in nature, (where he implies that bad behaviour destroys the planet,
whilst good behaviour nourishes and develops it), nevertheless, the Agganna
Sutta marks a distinct departure within Indian thinking, upon the reliance of
religious imagination as a means to explain life and the universe.
After 1859, Darwin continued to research and gather evidence
for his theory and to write such books as the ‘Fertilisation of Orchids’
(1861), ‘The Variation of Animals and Plants under Domestication’ (1868), and ‘The
Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex’ (1871), amongst others. In the meantime, Karl Marx (1818-1883) had
been critiquing capitalist society since 1844 with the publication of his book
entitled ‘The Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts’ (also known as the ‘Paris Manuscripts’),
which was followed by the ground-breaking ‘The German Ideology’, written in
1846 (but not published until 1932), and ‘Grundrisse’ (i.e. ‘Groundwork’)
written in 1858 (but not published until 1958).
These theoretical developments (amongst others), eventually led to Marx’s
masterpiece critiquing the developmental history, nature, functionality, and
implications of political economy within a capitalist system – namely Das
Kapital (i.e. ‘The Capital’) – published in 1867. In 1873, Karl Marx sent a hardback copy of Volume
One of Das Kapital with the following inscription written on the inside cover:
‘His sincere admirer Karl Marx, 16th of June, 1873’
The copy of this book is on permanent display in the upstairs room of Down House that covers the development of Darwin’s evolutionary theory.
‘His sincere admirer Karl Marx, 16th of June, 1873’
The copy of this book is on permanent display in the upstairs room of Down House that covers the development of Darwin’s evolutionary theory.
In reply to Marx’s gift, Darwin wrote a letter thanking him
on the 1st of October, 1873, and concluded:
‘Though our studies have been so different I believe that we both earnestly desire the extension of knowledge, and that this in the long run is sure [to] add to the happiness of mankind.
I remain Yours faithfully – Charles Darwin’
It seems that Karl Marx did not read Darwin’s book (On the Origins of the Species) until sometime after its publication in 1859, and that when he did, its content prompted him to communicate with Darwin in 1873. This is an important communication, as in 1876, Friedrich Engels collaborated with Karl Marx on the further development of their idea of Scientific Socialism, with the writing of an essay entitled ‘The Part Played by Labour in the Transition from Ape to Man.’ This is obviously a homage to Charles Darwin and in fact Richard Milner, in his excellent 2009 book entitled Darwin’s Universe – Evolution from A to Z, has this to say about the compatibility of Darwin’s work and that of Marx and Engels: (Page 293):
‘This Marxian idea of an early feedback loop (or dialectic) between the evolution of the hands and labour doubtless seems bizarre to non-Marxians, unaccustomed to seeing the loaded word ‘labour’ used in discussions of human evolution. However, if one rereads Engel’s passages and substitutes the phrase “tool-use” for “labour” every time it occurs, the theory becomes identical to the anthropological orthodoxy of the past few decades.’
In 1959, the Darwin family received a commemorative medal from the Soviet Union marking the 100th anniversary of the publishing of Charles Darwin’s ‘On the Origins of Species’. The medal featured a picture of HMS Beagle.
Author’s Note: Photograph of Darwin’s copy of Das Kapital, courtesy of English Heritage – Down House. I am indebted to the English Heritage staff of Down House, who assisted me in my research.
ACW 26.05.15
©opyright: Adrian Chan-Wyles (ShiDaDao) 2015.
‘Though our studies have been so different I believe that we both earnestly desire the extension of knowledge, and that this in the long run is sure [to] add to the happiness of mankind.
I remain Yours faithfully – Charles Darwin’
It seems that Karl Marx did not read Darwin’s book (On the Origins of the Species) until sometime after its publication in 1859, and that when he did, its content prompted him to communicate with Darwin in 1873. This is an important communication, as in 1876, Friedrich Engels collaborated with Karl Marx on the further development of their idea of Scientific Socialism, with the writing of an essay entitled ‘The Part Played by Labour in the Transition from Ape to Man.’ This is obviously a homage to Charles Darwin and in fact Richard Milner, in his excellent 2009 book entitled Darwin’s Universe – Evolution from A to Z, has this to say about the compatibility of Darwin’s work and that of Marx and Engels: (Page 293):
‘This Marxian idea of an early feedback loop (or dialectic) between the evolution of the hands and labour doubtless seems bizarre to non-Marxians, unaccustomed to seeing the loaded word ‘labour’ used in discussions of human evolution. However, if one rereads Engel’s passages and substitutes the phrase “tool-use” for “labour” every time it occurs, the theory becomes identical to the anthropological orthodoxy of the past few decades.’
In 1959, the Darwin family received a commemorative medal from the Soviet Union marking the 100th anniversary of the publishing of Charles Darwin’s ‘On the Origins of Species’. The medal featured a picture of HMS Beagle.
Author’s Note: Photograph of Darwin’s copy of Das Kapital, courtesy of English Heritage – Down House. I am indebted to the English Heritage staff of Down House, who assisted me in my research.
ACW 26.05.15
©opyright: Adrian Chan-Wyles (ShiDaDao) 2015.