Darwin and Literature (Hardcover)

Although their vocabularies differ, biologists, biblical authors, and serious playwrights describe the paradox that Charles Darwin outlined in The Origin of Species (1859) when he observed the coexistence of a drive for permanence and a contrasting capacity to modify, deviate from, or transform established identities. The paradox generates evolutionary consequences reported by notable dramatic and biblical works. The Hebrew Torah, the Books of Ecclesiastes, Job, and Matthew, and plays by Shakespeare, O'Neill, and Beckett embody a convergence of constancy and change. Their principle literary mechanisms-their challenge-response narrative design, rhetorical repetitions, and metaphorical associations-translate a biological contradiction into a moral dilemma that leads to recurring Darwinian outcomes. An evolutionary process becomes the template for the progressions and problems of belief systems transmitted by masterpieces of Western literature. Surprisingly, most biblical writing celebrates an outcome entirely consonant with the narratives of evolution.This study does not focus either on popular superheroes whose perfected integrity never engages in moral revision, or on monstrous mutants who have dissolved integrity. It deals primarily with characters and their communities in biblical and tragic texts who toil mightily, usually with limited success, to integrate the certainty of inherited dogma with the originality of useful change. The supreme necessity to implement a balanced cultural adaptation will serve as our subject, and The Origin of Species, though it is silent on literary accounts of that endeavor, will serve as our guide. Darwin's insight can expand our understanding of literature, and literary analysis will support Darwin's insight.

General

Imprint:	Lexington Books
Country of origin:	United States
Release date:	June 2014
First published:	June 2014
Authors:	Leonard Moss
Dimensions:	240 x 162 x 18mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Hardcover
Pages:	188
ISBN-13:	978-0-7391-8532-2
Categories:	Books > Language & Literature > Literature: history & criticism > Literary studies > General Books > Science & Mathematics > Biology, life sciences > Life sciences: general issues > Evolution
LSN:	0-7391-8532-2
Barcode:	9780739185322

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