was the beginning and the end, the alpha and the omega, of evolutionary biology, and that the subject hasn’t changed much in the 150 years since the publication of The Origin.” Judson went on to suggest that constantly using terms such as Darwinism and Darwinian is rather like calling all of modern aeronautical engineering “Wrightism” after the Wright brothers, or referring to all fixed-wing aircraft as “Wrightian” planes. Similar sentiments were expressed by another well-known biologist, Carl Safina, in a New York Times article (Feb. 10, 2009), entitled “Darwinism must die so that evolution may live.”
Our intent in the Sackler Colloquium and in this book has not been to idolize Charles Darwin, but rather to celebrate the field of evolutionary biology that he played such an important role in developing nearly 2 centuries ago. We submit that if Darwin were alive today, he would be satisfied with his own pioneering efforts, but also completely astonished at the breadth, depth, and vibrancy of the modern field.
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Part IV: THE DARWINIAN LEGACY, 150 YEARS LATER ."
In the Light of Evolution: Volume III: Two Centuries of Darwin . Washington, DC: The National Academies Press,
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