Enough badinage. Let's get's down to business.
The first edition of
Origin had two epigraphs, one from Whewell and one from Bacon. Later editions inserted another, by Butler, in between. I think a good place to start is to give these epigraphs careful attention. What do they mean? What purpose do they serve? Etc.
The Butler epigraph has already been referred to in this string:
Quote:
Originally Posted by neilmarr
I believe that after the first edition, Darwin was pressured into adding some strangely out of place words at the start of the book: on the lines that evolution is "guided by the Creator".
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Is the Butler quote really "strangely out of place"? Is it really different in substance from the Whewell quote?
Whewell refers to "the establishment of general laws." Both in context, and by his choice of the word "establishment," he seems to be referring to God decreeing the laws of nature. I did some googling, which seems to confirm this impression. Whewell's name often appears with "D.D." after it, and the Bridgewater Treatises were, according to Wikipedia, intended "to explore the Power, Wisdom, and Goodness of God, as manifested in the Creation."