Reactions to On the Origin of Species Reactions to On the Origin of Species The immediate reactions to "On the Origin of Species", the book in which Charles Darwin described evolution by natural selection, included international debate, though the heat of controversy was less than that over earlier works such as "Vestiges of Creation". Darwin monitored the debate closely, cheering on Thomas Henry Huxley's battles with Richard Owen to remove clerical domination of the scientific establishment. While Darwin's illness kept him away from the public debates, he read eagerly about them and mustered support through correspondence. Religious views were mixed, with the Church of England's scientific establishment
On the Origin of Species and claimed it included false metaphysics. Darwin made extensive revisions to the sixth edition of the "Origin" (this was the first edition in which he used the word "evolution" which had commonly been associated with embryological development, though all editions concluded with the word "evolved"), and added a new chapter VII, "Miscellaneous objections", to address Mivart's arguments. The sixth edition was published by Murray on 19 February 1872 as "The Origin of Species", with "On" dropped from the title. Darwin had told Murray of working men in Lancashire clubbing together to buy the 5th edition at fifteen shillings and wanted