Gould I 189
Darwin took the view that the fossil finds were extremely incomplete.
The history of most fossil species includes two characteristics which are especially difficult to reconcile with the theory of gradual change.
I 190
1) Stasis: Most species show little change in one or another direction during their presence on Earth.
2) Sudden Appearance: In all spheres of life, species do not appear on the basis of incessant changes in their predecessors, but suddenly and "fully developed".
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Mayr I 160
How-Questions/Mayr: immediate function led to the discovery of most natural laws.
Why-Questions/Darwin/Mayr: historical, evolutionary, indirect. Why-questions were only scientifically legitimized by Darwin. He thus introduced the entire natural history into science.
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Dennett I 293
"Why"-Questions/Dennett: Need to be asked. Darwin showed us how to answer them.
Dennett I 421
Extrapolation/DennettVsGould: the extrapolationism is not represented as foolishly "pure" as Gould assumes. It was also represented by Darwin himself, but he was eager to distinguish himself from those kinds of catastrophic theories that were in the way of the theory of evolution e.g. flood.
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Gould II 122
Method/Darwin/Gould: How can we be scientific about the past? Darwin's book on worms makes that clear. >
Individual causation, >
Causal explanation.
Gould II 123
Darwin made above all two statements about the worms
(1):
1. The impact on the design of the soil is directional. They crush the soil, which can then be better distributed by erosion. Therefore, gently undulated areas tend to be signs of worm activity.
2. They form the humus, the uppermost layer of the soil and thus form a constancy in the midst of other permanent changes.
The humus layer does not become thicker and thicker because it is compressed by pressure downwards. This is about continuous change within apparent consistency: the humus always seems the same, but is constantly renewed. There's a cycle. Darwin: we don't notice how our own soil is pulled away from us under our feet.
Gould II 129
Gould: What if the evidence is limited to the static object itself? If we cannot observe the process of formation, can we still find several stages of the process?
Darwin's answer: we deduce the history of imperfections that capture the constraints of descent. If God had applied orchids to the purpose from the very beginning, which their complex organs now hold, he would certainly have made them much easier.
1. Charles Darwin: The formation of vegetable mould, through the action of worms, with observations on their habits. London: John Murray, 1881
