Did Wallace follow Darwin on the matter of the posed gradualistic pace of operation of natural selection, and evolution in general?
Wallace has invariably been portrayed–accurately–as a uniformitarian, primarily because of the well-known influence the famous geologist Charles Lyell had on the development of his ideas. Lyell’s influence on Darwin was equally notable, and by extension it has usually been assumed that the latter’s gradualistic perspective on the operation of natural selection also describes Wallace’s position. This turns out to be a significant oversimplification. In several writings (e.g., S171, p. 104 of S322, p. 518 of S440, p. 125 of S724, and p. 198 of S499) some published before and some published after Darwin’s death, Wallace reveals his belief that selection regimes most likely produce structural results at a rate better described in terms of alternating stasis and rapid change. For example, on page 125 of Darwinism (S724) he states: “Mr. Darwin was rather inclined to exaggerate the necessary slowness of the action of natural selection . . . but . . . there seems no difficulty in an amount o
Related Questions
- Did Wallace follow Darwin on the matter of the posed gradualistic pace of operation of natural selection, and evolution in general?
- Just how similar were Wallaces and Darwins ideas on evolution, as distinct from natural selection?
- Why was Darwin and Wallaces theory of evolution by natural selection revolutionary?
