The Descent of Man and Selection in Relation to Sex, Vol. IDarwin, Charles
Science
The Descent of Man and Selection in Relation to Sex, Vol. I
Darwin, Charles
Evolution (Biology); Human beings -- Origin; Sex differences; Sexual dimorphism (Animals); Sexual selection in animals
The variability or diversity of the mental faculties in men of the same
race, not to mention the greater differences between the men of
distinct races, is so notorious that not a word need here be said. So it
is with the lower animals, as has been illustrated by a few examples in
the last chapter. All who have had charge of menageries admit this fact,
and we see it plainly in our dogs and other domestic animals. Brehm
especially insists that each individual monkey of those which he kept
under confinement in Africa had its own peculiar disposition and temper:
he mentions one baboon remarkable for its high intelligence; and the
keepers in the Zoological Gardens pointed out to me a monkey, belonging
to the New World division, equally remarkable for intelligence. Rengger,
also, insists on the diversity in the various mental characters of the
monkeys of the same species which he kept in Paraguay; and this
diversity, as he adds, is partly innate, and partly the result of the
manner in which they have been treated or educated.[147]
I have elsewhere[148] so fully discussed the subject of Inheritance that
I need here add hardly anything. A greater number of facts have been
collected with respect to the transmission of the most trifling, as well
as of the most important characters in man than in any of the lower
animals; though the facts are copious enough with respect to the latter.
So in regard to mental qualities, their transmission is manifest in our
dogs, horses, and other domestic animals. Besides special tastes and
habits, general intelligence, courage, bad and good temper, &c., are
certainly transmitted. With man we see similar facts in almost every
family; and we now know through the admirable labours of Mr. Galton[149]
that genius, which implies a wonderfully complex combination of high
faculties, tends to be inherited; and, on the other hand, it is too
certain that insanity and deteriorated mental powers likewise run in the
same families.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account