The succession of species, their "blooming" periods and extinctions, puzzled 19th Century naturalists. Then, Charles Darwin identified natural selection as the key mechanism of evolutionary change. In this image, Darwin's "fancy" eyes are the eyespots on moth wings that mimic the eyes of predators, an iconic example of change through natural selection. The bowler hat is a reference to the surrealist painter, René Magritte, for whom it was a symbol of the bourgeois. Indeed, in the typically narrow mindset of Darwin’s day, even hinting at procreation was not done. So it certainly marks his genius that he opened his eyes to the vistas offered by natural selection--despite his hat.
|
keywords (defined):
|
|
keywords (additional): |
history |
|---|
|
 |
|
| |
|
|
|
|
