THOMAS SEAN STEDILE MATHEWSON

The analogy that Darwin put forward in "The Origin of Species" is central to the establishment of the theory of natural selection. How the analogy works, however, has been the subject of intense debate ever since it was presented. Our research proposes a unique interpretation of Darwin's analogy, using the notion of "selection in general" to derive the other types of selection: natural, artificial, methodological, unconscious and sexual. This interpretation enables us to better understand Darwin's usage of metaphors to erect his theory as well as the place reserved for teleology in the biological sciences following the publication of "The Origin of Species".