A América e o homem darwiniano: por que o "Origin of species" passou a largo?

Abstract

Students have been compared to small scientists when science is taught at school. Despite the differences that can be easily figured out, there are interesting parallels that can be traced between them, regarding the ways ideas can be modified in the mind of the thinker. Charles Darwin´s case is remarkable on this regard. When his notebooks were brought to light, they revealed a young scientist concerned with evolution of all shorts of species, including the humans. His "M" notebook for instance, brings specific annotations about Man, that should be used later on. His impressions about the South American Indians, the gauchos of the Argentinian pampas etc, amalgamated a complex figure of the human being, her/his possibilities and limits. However, the issue of Man dos not appear explicitly in the "Origin of Species". The search for the reasons that could have prevented Charles Darwin of writing about man in the "Origin of Species" led us to his manuscripts, kept at the University of Cambridge Library and to the British Library in London. Results show that Man would take part specifically of chapter VI (Natural Selection), but some unexpected happenings led him to a different way. Alfred R. Wallace´s letter, The way the manuscript was being written in full, insertions and deletions in the text, Darwin´s ill-health and a fatidic happening in this family should account for the fact that Man is not part of "Origin of Species".