Elsdon-Baker Fern
Division of History and Philosophy of Science, Department of Philosophy, University of Leeds, Woodhouse Lane, Leeds, United Kingdom.
Endeavour. 2008 Jun;32(2):75-8. doi: 10.1016/j.endeavour.2008.04.008. Epub 2008 Jun 4.
Alfred Russel Wallace's role in prompting the original publication of "On the Origin of Species" is now generally acknowledged. Wallace is now widely recognised as 'Darwin's co-discoverer', but the role that he played in the development and promotion of Darwinism is more often overlooked. From the very beginning of their collaboration in 1858, there were important differences between the works of Wallace and Darwin. Within Darwin's lifetime, the two men also disagreed over several significant evolutionary debates, most notably the role that Natural Selection might play in evolution. Following Darwin's death in 1882, Wallace set about promoting his own version of 'Darwinism', but not without opposition. A rather ungentlemanly debate between Wallace and Darwin's chief disciple George John Romanes throws light on the contested nature of what it meant to be a Darwinian in the late nineteenth century.
阿尔弗雷德·拉塞尔·华莱士在促使《物种起源》首次出版方面所起的作用如今已得到普遍认可。华莱士现在被广泛视为“达尔文的共同发现者”，但他在达尔文主义的发展和推广中所扮演的角色却常常被忽视。从1858年他们合作之初起，华莱士和达尔文的著作就存在重要差异。在达尔文的有生之年，两人在几场重大的进化论辩论上也存在分歧，最显著的是自然选择在进化中可能扮演的角色。1882年达尔文去世后，华莱士开始推广他自己版本的“达尔文主义”，但并非没有遭到反对。华莱士与达尔文的主要弟子乔治·约翰·罗马尼斯之间一场颇为不绅士的辩论，揭示了19世纪后期成为一名达尔文主义者这一概念的争议性本质。
