Roy Davies' book The Darwin Conspiracy is discussed today in the Welsh paper the Western Mail (click HERE to see the article). I am quoted in this article, and just in case my position is unclear to some people, here are my opinions in less ambiguous detail:-
Whilst I believe that Wallace deserves 50% of the credit for the discovery of natural selection, Davies' 'evidence' that Darwin was a serial plagiarist is circumstantial and would not stand up in a court of law. Extraordinary claims demand extraordinary evidence! Some of Davies' other allegations, such as that Darwin received some of Wallace's letters earlier than he said he did, do appear to be backed up by seeming good evidence. However, before these claims can be accepted the facts need to be carefully evaluated by other scholars, just in case there is error or that the 'facts' are open to an alternative interpretation.
Add new comment