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Work #1050 · Last

The Formation of Vegetable Mould through the Action of Worms

Charles Darwin
1881 (John Murray, London) — Darwin's last book, published months before his April 1882 death · English
Scientific monograph · Nineteenth-century natural history / soil biology

Earthworms as geological agents — Darwin's last book, the founding text of soil biology and ecological-functional ecology

Attribute Fingerprint

Rows where works disagree are highlighted in gold. The full ontology grid is shown.

Attribute The Formation of Vegetable Mould through the Action of Worms (Last)
Time · Extent Infinite
Time · Ontological Status Substantival
Time · Grain Continuous
Time · Freedom Non-Deterministic
Time · Traversability Linear
Time · Dimensionality One
Time · Direction Uni-directional
Space · Extent Infinite
Space · Ontological Status Substantival
Space · Curvature Flat
Space · Dimensionality Three
Space · Locality Local
Matter · Extent Infinite
Matter · Ontological Status Substantival
Matter · Conservation Conserved
Matter · Dimensionality Three
Matter · Locality Local
Observer · Time Instance Single
Observer · Space Instance Single
Observer · Knowledge Extent Partial
Observer · Knowledge Retainment Total
Observer · Physicality Embodied
Observer · Agency Active
Observer · Number Plural
Observer · Metaphysical Agency None
Observer · Moral Authority Reason
Observer · Theological Method
Energy · Extent Infinite
Energy · Ontological Status Substantival
Energy · Conservation Conserved
Energy · Dispersibility Irreversible
Information · Ontological Status Substantival
Information · Cosmic Conservation Conserved
Information · Personal Conservation Conserved
Information · Granularity Discrete

Dimension-by-Dimension Evidence

What each work's passages reveal about its stance on each of the six dimensions.

Time

The Formation of Vegetable Mould through the Action of Worms

The decades and centuries over which worm processing accumulates into soil effects.

Space

The Formation of Vegetable Mould through the Action of Worms

The agricultural fields and ancient ruins Darwin examined.

Matter

The Formation of Vegetable Mould through the Action of Worms

The earthworms and the soil they process.

Observer

The Formation of Vegetable Mould through the Action of Worms

Darwin in his garden observing worm behaviour.

Energy

The Formation of Vegetable Mould through the Action of Worms

The biological energy of worm digestion and burrowing; the geological energy of soil turnover.

Information

The Formation of Vegetable Mould through the Action of Worms

Observations on worm behaviour, soil-processing rates, geological effects.

Internal Tensions

Where each work's argument pulls against itself.

The Formation of Vegetable Mould through the Action of Worms

The book is sometimes treated as a charming late-Victorian eccentricity; its scientific seriousness and foundational role for soil biology has been recovered by ecological scholarship.