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The charge to choose the most influential book of the last millennium proved to be a daunting task. As a history major, I was immediately excited about the opportunity; however, I quickly discovered the challenge of narrowing all the influential books to only one. As I sat down to choose one book, the names of the influential authors and thinkers of the millennium began to flow: Shakespeare, Marx, Freud, Locke, Rousseau, etc. All were influential thinkers and writers, shaping the course of human events for better of worse. However, one book stands above all the others - Origin of Species (1859) by the English naturalist Charles Darwin.
In the book Darwin outlined his theory of evolution and its primary mechanism, natural selection. According to his theory, a struggle for existence arises as a result of various environmental factors. In this struggle those organisms better adapted to the environment survive and reproduce, while those organisms least fitted do not. Favorable variations among members of the same species are thus transmitted to the survivors' offspring and spread to the entire species over successive generations.
The effects of Darwin's book have been tremendous - the theory immediately caused a paradigm shift across science. Evolution is still the lens through which all scientists view their subject of study. The theory is also dominant in anthropology, economics, business - virtually every discipline has been influenced by Darwin's book. The implications of his theory, whether right or wrong, have also revolutionized the way humans view themselves and their own lives. Governments and their leaders have distorted the theory into Social Darwinism with devastating results. Nazi Germany, through the Holocaust and World War II, is just one example of the tremendous loss of life caused by its manipulation.
Books have truly shaped the course of human events over the Millennium, and Origin of Species is destined to continue until a more scientifically plausible theory develops. If history has taught us anything, we know one is coming.
Frank White
Student Body President
