One of the world's most influential books translated into Estonian
143 years from its first publication, great thinkers of many disciplines consider Darwin’s The Descent of Man to be one of the world’s most influential books. This substantial piece of writing is now also available in the Estonian language. The book is presented on Friday, 24 April at 2 p.m. at the White Hall of the University of Tartu Museum.
“The Descent of Man is one of the core works of the history of world science, in which Darwin proves that man is not of divine descent but resembles many animals, first and foremost the primates, in its build and behaviour and is a result of similar evolutionary processes that shaped the rest of living nature,” said Mart Niklus, the translator of the book.
The influence of Darwin’s The Descent of Man as a piece changing the world perception of mankind is comparable only to the discoveries of Copernicus and Galilei showing that we are not the centre of the universe and the Sun does not circle the Earth.
According to one of the editors, Oive Tinn, Senior Research Fellow in Geology at the University of Tartu, it is possible to view this book from a biological, semiotic, cultural or literary perspective, value it as a piece of world literature or read it as a study material on behavioural biology – it is difficult to grasp all of the layers hiding inside, on top or around each other.
The book is published in the “Classics of Natural Sciences” series of the Estonian Naturalists´ Society. Earlier pieces in the series include C. Darwin’s Autobiography (2006) and On the Origin of Species (2012).
The book was translated by Mart Niklus and edited by Oive Tinn, Lauri Laanisto and Mart Viikmaa.
The book was published with the support of the crowdfunding platform Hooandja and the Cultural Endowment of Tartu.
Additional information: Mart Niklus, translator of the book The Descent of Man, tel: 7422590, e-mail: martniklus [ät] yahoo.com;
Oive Tinn, editor of the book, Senior Research Fellow in Geology at the University of Tartu, tel: 53331556, e-mail: oive.tinn [ät] ut.ee.