The Gentleman and the Rogue: The Collaboration Between Charles Darwin and Carl Vogt |
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Authors: | Martin Amrein Kärin Nickelsen |
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Institution: | (1) Department of the History and Philosophy of Science, University of Bern, Sidlerstrasse 5, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland |
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Abstract: | This paper investigates the relationship between the eminent 19th-century naturalists Charles Darwin and Carl Vogt. On two
separate occasions, Vogt asked Darwin for permission to translate some of the latter’s books into German, and in both cases
Darwin refused. It has generally been assumed that Darwin turned down Vogt as a translator because of the latter’s reputation
as a radical libertine who was extremely outspoken in his defence of scientific materialism and atheism. However, this explanation
does not fit the facts, since, on closer investigation, Darwin not only gave serious consideration to engaging Vogt as the
German translator of two of his books, albeit ultimately rejecting him, but he also collaborated with Vogt on the French editions
of his works. In this paper we argue that this was not because Darwin was unaware of Vogt’s personality and blunt writing
style; rather, Darwin seems to have decided that the benefits he would gain from their association would clearly outweigh
the risk of offending some of his readers: in working with Vogt, who was not only a knowledgeable scientist but also an avowed
adherent of Darwinism, Darwin could be assured of the scientific quality of the translation and of an edition that would not
distort his central concepts – both of which were by no means matters of course in 19th-century translations of scientific
works. |
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Keywords: | Carl Vogt Charles Darwin Darwinism Descent of Man scientific translation scientific materialism Variation of Animals and Plants under Domestication |
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