The Descent of Man
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Published in 1871, Charles Darwin’s The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex extends the theory of evolution to humanity itself, addressing directly what On the Origin of Species had largely left implicit. Drawing on evidence from anatomy, animal behaviour, emotional expression and sexual selection, Darwin argues that human beings share common ancestry with other animals, challenging the belief that humanity occupies a separate place in nature. He examines not only physical development but also the evolution of intelligence, moral sense and social instincts, asking how distinctly human qualities might have emerged through natural processes.
More expansive and controversial than its predecessor, the book provoked fierce debate over human origins, religion and the boundaries between humanity and the animal world. Darwin’s willingness to consider the continuity of mental and emotional life across species helped reshape biology and laid important foundations for later research into behaviour and evolution. Both a landmark of Victorian science and a bold reconsideration of humanity’s place in the natural order, The Descent of Man remains central to the history of evolutionary thought.
From the book
“Man still bears in his bodily frame the indelible stamp of his lowly origin.”
— Charles Darwin, The Descent of Man
On The Descent of Man
“Since the publication of the ‘Origin of Species’ in 1859, no book of science has excited a keener interest than Mr. Darwin’s new work on the ‘Descent of Man.’”
— The Saturday Review (1871)