Owenian pieces in the darwinian puzzle Piezas owenianas en el rompecabezas darwiniano

BLANCO, DANIEL; GINNOBILI, SANTIAGO

ASCLEPIO

CSIC Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas

Año: 2020 vol. 72 p. 1 - 16

0210-4466

In this paper we discuss the extent of influence that Richard Owen?s thinking had on Charles Darwin?s thinking. In addition, we will try to show the heterogeneousness of this influence, which goes from specific theories to rhetorical turns. This influence is in many cases underestimated, giving the impression that the Darwinian novelty consisted solely in looking with un-prejudiced eyes at what others had not seen. This vision is unfair to Owen, and to the conceptual effort carried out by Darwin with the pieces offered by his predecessors. Finally, this is an interesting case to understand the kind of novelty brought by scientific revolutions and the sophisticated way in which such novelty is based on the work of previous approaches.