Perspective

The Origin of Species is written from the perspective of a scholar who realizes that he is writing to a largely skeptical and even openly critical audience. As he indicates in the introduction and conclusion, the majority of biologists in his time does not accept his theory and are perhaps even ideologically opposed to considering it. As a result, Darwin approaches the subject very carefully and tries not to alienate his audience by appearing too forceful or sure of himself. Nevertheless, Darwin is obviously certain that his theory is true, and even states this, once again, in the introduction and conclusion.

Darwin is a trained biologist (or "naturalist", according to the usage of his time) and very obviously deeply enmeshed within his field, as his frequent references to the works of others indicate. His own status in the field is indicated by the fact that he has evidently...