Mark Ridley (zoologist) - Contributions

Contributions

How to Read Darwin (2006)

Evolution has always been a topic that is considered hard to understand. People have trouble examining and understanding it. It is a theory that takes some time for one to clearly grasp. However, over the years, Mark Ridley has used a question-and-answer approach to explain how Darwin carefully tackled problems by trying to show the reader how to understand specific arguments, “Mark Ridley uses a question-and-answer approach to explain how Darwin carefully tackled problems, and shows here how the reader can understand Darwin's arguments by first working out which question Darwin had implicitly set himself to answer” (Lehane, 2010). This is beneficial because his process helps the reader stimulate intellectual thought which helps facilitate the reading and obtain a better understanding. Critics report, “Mark Ridley’s thought process can be compared to the scientific method. He has a concise way to tackle a problem and delve into finding the solution” (Lehane, 2010). Therefore, one can assume that Ridley attempts at helping the evolutionary audience is simple and understandable. Ridley begins by explaining to his audience the question Darwin had once questioned himself. This is helpful because it gives the reader a clear outlook on the perspective of the reasoning of the person who did the original questioning. From there he portrays to the reader how to understand the question in order for it to be easier to interpret. William James coined the phrase “stream of consciousness” trying to explain internal monologue and the thinking process. Mark Ridley does just this in his book How to Read Darwin (2006). He tries to help the reader’s stream of conscious by giving them an easier approach on how to review Darwin’s theories. Mark Ridley takes it upon himself to be not only a student of Darwin but a teacher to all of Darwin’s supporters. This text is a detailed 119 pages of Ridley’s ideas on analyzing and discussing the different methods of understanding the various concepts of Darwin.

Evolution has always been a confusing topic; Ridley’s effort to help to want to help others is a contribution to evolution itself. Before one can clearly understand complexity it is essential to learn about the basics. This understanding is a big contribution on his part. Not only is he trying to further the theory of evolution but he is also trying to help others move at the same pace as himself and other evolutionists. He is essentially looking out for the good of all humans interested in evolution to help prevent confusion and to help further knowledge. Mark Ridley took a pause from his research and realized that this work is indeed hard to read and developed this text to aid people to help prevent the struggling that he went through when trying to analyze Charles Darwin’s literature.