Why Do Platypuses Fluoresce? Or Why Darwin Did Not Believe in “Evolution”

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Other| October 01 2021 Why Do Platypuses Fluoresce? Or Why Darwin Did Not Believe in “Evolution” Douglas Allchin Douglas Allchin Department Editor Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar The American Biology Teacher (2021) 83 (8): 553–557. https://doi.org/10.1525/abt.2021.83.8.553 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Cite Icon Cite Search Site Citation Douglas Allchin; Why Do Platypuses Fluoresce? Or Why Darwin Did Not Believe in “Evolution”. The American Biology Teacher 1 October 2021; 83 (8): 553–557. doi: https://doi.org/10.1525/abt.2021.83.8.553 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentThe American Biology Teacher Search Popular wisdom (seemingly well beyond question – hence this month’s Sacred Bovine), says that Charles Darwin established and championed the scientific principle of evolution. But Darwin did not believe in evolution. Search the Origin of Species for the term. It’s not there. Only a fleeting reference in the very final words. In closing, Darwin celebrates the grandeur that “endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved” (italics added). Why? What does this apparent omission mean? Resolving this historical puzzle provides important clues to the meaning of evolution – both as a term and as a concept – and to our inherent cognitive dispositions. And that, in turn, may help us interpret a wonderful new discovery about platypuses. Our journey will lead us through a few of Darwin’s books, other historically popular views of evolution, and some familiar misconceptions among biology students. Ironically, the... You do not currently have access to this content.