The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution
Encyclopedia
The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution is a 2009 book by British biologist
Richard Dawkins
, which was released on 3 September 2009 in the UK and on 22 September 2009 in the U.S. It sets out the evidence for biological evolution, and is Dawkins' 10th book, following his bestselling critique of religion The God Delusion
(2006) and The Ancestor's Tale
(2004), which traced human ancestry back to the dawn of life
.
The book is published in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth
nations by Transworld
, and in the United States by Free Press
. In its first week of release, it topped The Sunday Times
Bestseller list, with more than twice the sales of its nearest competitor. An audiobook version has also been released, read by Dawkins and his wife Lalla Ward
.
(1976) and The Extended Phenotype
(1982). These were followed by three books which attempted to clarify some common misunderstandings about evolution. His recent documentary series The Genius of Charles Darwin
looks at Darwin
's life and some of the evidence for evolution. Despite these works and others, he felt that there was a 'missing link' in that he had never comprehensively addressed the evidence of common descent. Dawkins believed that opposition to evolution at the time of writing the book was as strong as ever, despite overwhelming and still growing evidence for the theory
. He wrote the book in his final months as Charles Simonyi Professor for the Public Understanding of Science
(Marcus du Sautoy
now holds the position) and finished it in retirement
. He thought that 2009, the bicentennial of Darwin's birth and 150th anniversary of his book On the Origin of Species, was the perfect time for such a work. Other authors have written similar books recently, such as Jerry Coyne
's Why Evolution is True which Dawkins highly recommends.
.jpg)
Dawkins' literary agent John Brockman
promoted the book to publishers under the working title Only a Theory. However, American biologist Kenneth Miller
had already used that title for his own book Only A Theory: Evolution and the Battle for America's Soul
which Dawkins describes as a book-length response to Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District
. He kept Only a Theory? as the title for the first chapter, "with a precautionary question mark to guard against creationist quote-mining". Dawkins got the title from a T-shirt given to him by "an anonymous well-wisher" which bears the words "Evolution: The Greatest Show on Earth; the Only Game in Town". He had worn it occasionally when giving lectures, and realized it was ideal for a title. His editor wouldn't allow the full title due to its length, so it was shortened to The Greatest Show on Earth. On three occasions Dawkins wanted to include recent discoveries late in the publishing
process. Despite the disruption, this was accommodated and the recent findings are included in the book.
The book is dedicated
to web design
er Josh Timonen, who collaborated with a small group of others to set up RichardDawkins.net. Dawkins writes in the preface "Josh's creative talent runs deep, but the image of the iceberg captures neither the versatile breadth of his contributions to our joint endeavour, nor the warm good humour with which he makes them." Dawkins also thanks his wife Lalla's "unfailing encouragement, helpful stylistic criticisms and characteristically stylish suggestions", and his friend Charles Simonyi
as he signs off after fourteen years and seven books.
The book is divided into 13 chapters spanning over 400 pages, and includes an appendix called "The History-Deniers
" in the end material.
, Anjana Ahuja
described Dawkins' account of the evidence for evolution as "fine, lucid and convincing". Though she criticized him for aggrandising the role of Islam
in the spread of creationism
and suggested that his writing style is unlikely to persuade disbelievers, Ahuja described these as merely "quibbles" and recommended the book to all readers. The Economist
also featured a favourable review, praising Dawkins' writing style as "persuasive" and lauding its educational value. Mark Fisher in The List called Dawkins a "compelling communicator", adding that the book was "illuminating" and praising the use of humorous anecdotes throughout. The Sunday Telegraph awarded it "Book of the Week", with reviewer Simon Ings
describing Dawkins as a "master of scientific clarity and wit". Although Ings felt that anger had interfered with Dawkins' creativity to an extent, he also praised sections of the book as "magical" and "visceral", concluding that there was a "timeless merit" to the overall theme.
The New York Times
reviewer, Nicholas Wade
, while praising the work overall, criticised Dawkins' assertion that evolution can be treated as an undeniable fact and asserted that Dawkins' insistence that it is a fact makes him as dogmatic as his opponents. Moreover, characterising his opponents as "history-deniers," “worse than ignorant” and “deluded to the point of perversity” Wade asserts, "is not the language of science, or civility." Wade sees both Dawkins and his creationist opponents as wrong. Wade's review was subsequently criticized in multiple letters to the New York Times. In one, Daniel Dennett
asserted that creationism deserves as much respect as believing that the world is flat. The second letter, from Philip Kitcher, Professor of Philosophy at Columbia University
, asserted that evolution and other scientific findings "are so well supported that they count as facts".
Biologist
A biologist is a scientist devoted to and producing results in biology through the study of life. Typically biologists study organisms and their relationship to their environment. Biologists involved in basic research attempt to discover underlying mechanisms that govern how organisms work...
Richard Dawkins
Richard Dawkins
Clinton Richard Dawkins, FRS, FRSL , known as Richard Dawkins, is a British ethologist, evolutionary biologist and author...
, which was released on 3 September 2009 in the UK and on 22 September 2009 in the U.S. It sets out the evidence for biological evolution, and is Dawkins' 10th book, following his bestselling critique of religion The God Delusion
The God Delusion
The God Delusion is a 2006 bestselling non-fiction book by British biologist Richard Dawkins, professorial fellow of New College, Oxford, and inaugural holder of the Charles Simonyi Chair for the Public Understanding of Science at the University of Oxford.In The God Delusion, Dawkins contends that...
(2006) and The Ancestor's Tale
The Ancestor's Tale
The Ancestor's Tale is a 2004 popular science book by Richard Dawkins, with contributions from Dawkins' research assistant Yan Wong. It follows the path of humans backwards through evolutionary history, meeting humanity's cousins as they converge on common ancestors...
(2004), which traced human ancestry back to the dawn of life
Abiogenesis
Abiogenesis or biopoesis is the study of how biological life arises from inorganic matter through natural processes, and the method by which life on Earth arose...
.
The book is published in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
nations by Transworld
Transworld (company)
Transworld Publishers Inc. is a British publishing division of Random House and belongs to Bertelsmann, one of the world's largest media groups. It was established in 1950, and for many years it was the British division of Bantam Books. It publishes fiction and non fiction titles by various...
, and in the United States by Free Press
Free Press (publisher)
Free Press is a book publishing imprint of Simon and Schuster. It was founded by Jeremiah Kaplan and Charles Liebman in 1947 and was devoted to sociology and religion titles. It was headquartered in Glencoe, Illinois, where it was known as The Free Press of Glencoe...
. In its first week of release, it topped The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...
Bestseller list, with more than twice the sales of its nearest competitor. An audiobook version has also been released, read by Dawkins and his wife Lalla Ward
Lalla Ward
Sarah Ward known as Lalla Ward, is an English actor, author and illustrator. As an actor, she is known for playing the part of Romana in the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who. She is married to evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins.-Early career:Ward's stage name, "Lalla", comes...
.
Background
Richard Dawkins has written a number of books about evolution, beginning with his first two titles The Selfish GeneThe Selfish Gene
The Selfish Gene is a book on evolution by Richard Dawkins, published in 1976. It builds upon the principal theory of George C. Williams's first book Adaptation and Natural Selection. Dawkins coined the term "selfish gene" as a way of expressing the gene-centred view of evolution as opposed to the...
(1976) and The Extended Phenotype
The Extended Phenotype
The Extended Phenotype is a biological concept introduced by Richard Dawkins in a 1982 book with the same title. The main idea is that phenotype should not be limited to biological processes such as protein biosynthesis or tissue growth, but extended to include all effects that a gene has on its...
(1982). These were followed by three books which attempted to clarify some common misunderstandings about evolution. His recent documentary series The Genius of Charles Darwin
The Genius of Charles Darwin
The Genius of Charles Darwin is a three-part television documentary, written and presented by evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins.It was first shown in August 2008 on Channel 4...
looks at Darwin
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
's life and some of the evidence for evolution. Despite these works and others, he felt that there was a 'missing link' in that he had never comprehensively addressed the evidence of common descent. Dawkins believed that opposition to evolution at the time of writing the book was as strong as ever, despite overwhelming and still growing evidence for the theory
Evolution as theory and fact
"Evolution is both fact and theory" is a statement that appears in numerous publications on biological evolution. The statement is framed to clarify misconceptions about the philosophy of evolution primarily in response to creationist statements that "evolution is only a theory"...
. He wrote the book in his final months as Charles Simonyi Professor for the Public Understanding of Science
Simonyi Professorship for the Public Understanding of Science
The Simonyi Professorship for the Public Understanding of Science is a chair in the University of Oxford. The chair was established in 1995 for the ethologist Richard Dawkins by an endowment from Charles Simonyi....
(Marcus du Sautoy
Marcus du Sautoy
Marcus Peter Francis du Sautoy OBE is the Simonyi Professor for the Public Understanding of Science and a Professor of Mathematics at the University of Oxford. Formerly a Fellow of All Souls College, and Wadham College, he is now a Fellow of New College...
now holds the position) and finished it in retirement
Retirement
Retirement is the point where a person stops employment completely. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours.Many people choose to retire when they are eligible for private or public pension benefits, although some are forced to retire when physical conditions don't allow the person to...
. He thought that 2009, the bicentennial of Darwin's birth and 150th anniversary of his book On the Origin of Species, was the perfect time for such a work. Other authors have written similar books recently, such as Jerry Coyne
Jerry Coyne
-Online articles:* , The New Republic* , The New Republic* , The New Republic* ", The New Republic * -Online articles:* , The New Republic* , The New Republic* , The New Republic* ", The New Republic (Review of Michael Behe's The Edge of Evolution)* -Online articles:* , The New Republic* , The...
's Why Evolution is True which Dawkins highly recommends.
John Brockman (literary agent)
John Brockman is a literary agent and author specializing in scientific literature. He founded the Edge Foundation, an organization aimed to bring together people working at the edge of a broad range of scientific and technical fields. Referencing C.P...
promoted the book to publishers under the working title Only a Theory. However, American biologist Kenneth Miller
Kenneth R. Miller
Kenneth Raymond Miller is a biology professor at Brown University. Miller, who is Roman Catholic, is particularly known for his opposition to creationism, including the intelligent design movement...
had already used that title for his own book Only A Theory: Evolution and the Battle for America's Soul
Only a Theory
Only A Theory: Evolution and the Battle for America's Soul is a 2008 book by the American cell biologist and Roman Catholic Kenneth R. Miller. In the book, Miller examines the battle between evolution and intelligent design , and explores the implications of science in America...
which Dawkins describes as a book-length response to Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District
Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District
Tammy Kitzmiller, et al. v. Dover Area School District, et al. was the first direct challenge brought in the United States federal courts testing a public school district policy that required the teaching of intelligent design...
. He kept Only a Theory? as the title for the first chapter, "with a precautionary question mark to guard against creationist quote-mining". Dawkins got the title from a T-shirt given to him by "an anonymous well-wisher" which bears the words "Evolution: The Greatest Show on Earth; the Only Game in Town". He had worn it occasionally when giving lectures, and realized it was ideal for a title. His editor wouldn't allow the full title due to its length, so it was shortened to The Greatest Show on Earth. On three occasions Dawkins wanted to include recent discoveries late in the publishing
Publishing
Publishing is the process of production and dissemination of literature or information—the activity of making information available to the general public...
process. Despite the disruption, this was accommodated and the recent findings are included in the book.
The book is dedicated
Dedication (publishing)
A Dedication is the expression of friendly connection or thank by the author towards another person...
to web design
Web design
Web design is the process of planning and creating a website. Text, images, digital media and interactive elements are used by web designers to produce the page seen on the web browser...
er Josh Timonen, who collaborated with a small group of others to set up RichardDawkins.net. Dawkins writes in the preface "Josh's creative talent runs deep, but the image of the iceberg captures neither the versatile breadth of his contributions to our joint endeavour, nor the warm good humour with which he makes them." Dawkins also thanks his wife Lalla's "unfailing encouragement, helpful stylistic criticisms and characteristically stylish suggestions", and his friend Charles Simonyi
Charles Simonyi
Charles Simonyi is a Hungarian-American computer software executive who, as head of Microsoft's application software group, oversaw the creation of Microsoft's flagship Office suite of applications. He now heads his own company, Intentional Software, with the aim of developing and marketing his...
as he signs off after fourteen years and seven books.
Synopsis
Denialism
Denialism is choosing to deny reality as a way to avoid an uncomfortable truth: "[it] is the refusal to accept an empirically verifiable reality...
" in the end material.
- Only a TheoryTheoryThe English word theory was derived from a technical term in Ancient Greek philosophy. The word theoria, , meant "a looking at, viewing, beholding", and referring to contemplation or speculation, as opposed to action...
? (Nature of scientific theoryScientific theoryA scientific theory comprises a collection of concepts, including abstractions of observable phenomena expressed as quantifiable properties, together with rules that express relationships between observations of such concepts...
and fallibilityFallibilismFallibilism is the philosophical principle that human beings could be wrong about their beliefs, expectations, or their understanding of the world...
) - DogDogThe domestic dog is a domesticated form of the gray wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The dog may have been the first animal to be domesticated, and has been the most widely kept working, hunting, and companion animal in...
s, Cows and CabbageCabbageCabbage is a popular cultivar of the species Brassica oleracea Linne of the Family Brassicaceae and is a leafy green vegetable...
s (Artificial SelectionArtificial selectionArtificial selection describes intentional breeding for certain traits, or combination of traits. The term was utilized by Charles Darwin in contrast to natural selection, in which the differential reproduction of organisms with certain traits is attributed to improved survival or reproductive...
) - The Primrose PathPrimrose PathTo be "led down the primrose path" is an idiom suggesting that one is being deceived or led astray, often by a hypocrite. The primrose path also refers to someone living a life of luxury apparently linking primroses to libertine indulgence....
to Macro-EvolutionMacroevolutionMacroevolution is evolution on a scale of separated gene pools. Macroevolutionary studies focus on change that occurs at or above the level of species, in contrast with microevolution, which refers to smaller evolutionary changes within a species or population.The process of speciation may fall... - Silence and Slow Time (Discusses the Age of the EarthAge of the EarthThe age of the Earth is 4.54 billion years This age is based on evidence from radiometric age dating of meteorite material and is consistent with the ages of the oldest-known terrestrial and lunar samples...
and the Geological Time ScaleGeologic time scaleThe geologic time scale provides a system of chronologic measurement relating stratigraphy to time that is used by geologists, paleontologists and other earth scientists to describe the timing and relationships between events that have occurred during the history of the Earth...
) - Before Our Very Eyes (Examples of Evolution Observed)
- Missing linkMissing LinkMissing link is a nonscientific term for any transitional fossil, especially one connected with human evolution; see Transitional fossil - Missing links and List of transitonal fossils - Human evolution.Missing Link may refer to:...
? What do you mean, 'Missing'? (the fossilFossilFossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
record) - Missing persons? Missing no longer (Human EvolutionHuman evolutionHuman evolution refers to the evolutionary history of the genus Homo, including the emergence of Homo sapiens as a distinct species and as a unique category of hominids and mammals...
) - You did it yourself in nine months (a statement attributed to J. B. S. HaldaneJ. B. S. HaldaneJohn Burdon Sanderson Haldane FRS , known as Jack , was a British-born geneticist and evolutionary biologist. A staunch Marxist, he was critical of Britain's role in the Suez Crisis, and chose to leave Oxford and moved to India and became an Indian citizen...
; discusses developmental biologyDevelopmental biologyDevelopmental biology is the study of the process by which organisms grow and develop. Modern developmental biology studies the genetic control of cell growth, differentiation and "morphogenesis", which is the process that gives rise to tissues, organs and anatomy.- Related fields of study...
) - The ark of the continents (biogeographyBiogeographyBiogeography is the study of the distribution of species , organisms, and ecosystems in space and through geological time. Organisms and biological communities vary in a highly regular fashion along geographic gradients of latitude, elevation, isolation and habitat area...
and plate tectonicsPlate tectonicsPlate tectonics is a scientific theory that describes the large scale motions of Earth's lithosphere...
) - The tree of cousinship (the tree of lifeTree of life (science)Charles Darwin proposed that phylogeny, the evolutionary relatedness among species through time, was expressible as a metaphor he termed the Tree of Life...
, homologyHomology (biology)Homology forms the basis of organization for comparative biology. In 1843, Richard Owen defined homology as "the same organ in different animals under every variety of form and function". Organs as different as a bat's wing, a seal's flipper, a cat's paw and a human hand have a common underlying...
and analogyAnalogy (biology)An analogy is a trait or an organ that appears similar in two unrelated organisms. The cladistic term for the same phenomenon is homoplasy, from Greek for same form. Biological anologies are often the result of convergent evolution....
) - History written all over us (vestigiality and unintelligent design)
- Arms races and 'evolutionary theodicyTheodicyTheodicy is a theological and philosophical study which attempts to prove God's intrinsic or foundational nature of omnibenevolence , omniscience , and omnipotence . Theodicy is usually concerned with the God of the Abrahamic religions Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, due to the relevant...
' (coevolution and evolutionary arms raceEvolutionary arms raceIn evolutionary biology, an evolutionary arms race is an evolutionary struggle between competing sets of co-evolving genes that develop adaptations and counter-adaptations against each other, resembling an arms race, which are also examples of positive feedback...
s) - There is grandeur in this view of life (based on the final passage of On the Origin of Species)
Critical reception
The book received a positive critical reception on its release. Writing in The TimesThe Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, Anjana Ahuja
Anjana Ahuja
Anjana Ahuja is a British Indian science journalist and columnist for The Times. Ahuja read physics at Imperial College London, followed by a postgraduate course in space physics during which she worked on data about the Sun's magnetic field from the Ulysses probe.After receiving her PhD in 1994,...
described Dawkins' account of the evidence for evolution as "fine, lucid and convincing". Though she criticized him for aggrandising the role of Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
in the spread of creationism
Creationism
Creationism is the religious beliefthat humanity, life, the Earth, and the universe are the creation of a supernatural being, most often referring to the Abrahamic god. As science developed from the 18th century onwards, various views developed which aimed to reconcile science with the Genesis...
and suggested that his writing style is unlikely to persuade disbelievers, Ahuja described these as merely "quibbles" and recommended the book to all readers. The Economist
The Economist
The Economist is an English-language weekly news and international affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd. and edited in offices in the City of Westminster, London, England. Continuous publication began under founder James Wilson in September 1843...
also featured a favourable review, praising Dawkins' writing style as "persuasive" and lauding its educational value. Mark Fisher in The List called Dawkins a "compelling communicator", adding that the book was "illuminating" and praising the use of humorous anecdotes throughout. The Sunday Telegraph awarded it "Book of the Week", with reviewer Simon Ings
Simon Ings
Simon Ings is an English novelist and science writer living in London. He was born in July 1965 in Horndean and educated at Churcher's College, Petersfield and at King's College London and Birkbeck College, London....
describing Dawkins as a "master of scientific clarity and wit". Although Ings felt that anger had interfered with Dawkins' creativity to an extent, he also praised sections of the book as "magical" and "visceral", concluding that there was a "timeless merit" to the overall theme.
The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
reviewer, Nicholas Wade
Nicholas Wade
Nicholas Wade is a British-born scientific reporter, editor and author who currently writes for the Science Times section of The New York Times.-Biography:Wade was born in Aylesbury, England and educated at Eton College and King's College, Cambridge...
, while praising the work overall, criticised Dawkins' assertion that evolution can be treated as an undeniable fact and asserted that Dawkins' insistence that it is a fact makes him as dogmatic as his opponents. Moreover, characterising his opponents as "history-deniers," “worse than ignorant” and “deluded to the point of perversity” Wade asserts, "is not the language of science, or civility." Wade sees both Dawkins and his creationist opponents as wrong. Wade's review was subsequently criticized in multiple letters to the New York Times. In one, Daniel Dennett
Daniel Dennett
Daniel Clement Dennett is an American philosopher, writer and cognitive scientist whose research centers on the philosophy of mind, philosophy of science and philosophy of biology, particularly as those fields relate to evolutionary biology and cognitive science. He is currently the Co-director of...
asserted that creationism deserves as much respect as believing that the world is flat. The second letter, from Philip Kitcher, Professor of Philosophy at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, asserted that evolution and other scientific findings "are so well supported that they count as facts".
See also
- Creation-evolution controversyCreation-evolution controversyThe creation–evolution controversy is a recurring cultural, political, and theological dispute about the origins of the Earth, humanity, life, and the universe....
- E. coli long-term evolution experimentE. coli long-term evolution experimentThe E. coli long-term evolution experiment is an ongoing study in experimental evolution led by Richard Lenski that has been tracking genetic changes in 12 initially identical populations of asexual Escherichia coli bacteria since 24 February 1988...
– discussed in detail in chapter 5 - Great chain of beingGreat chain of beingThe great chain of being , is a Christian concept detailing a strict, religious hierarchical structure of all matter and life, believed to have been decreed by the Christian God.-Divisions:...
- GuppyGuppyThe guppy , also known as the millionfish, is one of the most popular freshwater aquarium fish species in the world. It is a small member of the Poeciliidae family [females long, males long] and like all other members of the family, is live-bearing....
(Poecilia reticulata) – example of evolution observed - Domesticated silver fox
- Wendy Wright (activist)Wendy Wright (activist)Wendy Wright is the current president and CEO of Concerned Women for America, a conservative Christian political action group active in the United States. She joined the organization in 1999 and served as its executive vice president before being named president on January 30, 2006...
External links
- The Greatest Show on Earth at RichardDawkins.net (includes a video and links to abstracts from the first two chapters as well as extensive links to book reviews and media coverage)