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Charles Darwin wrote The Origin of the Species, which laid out his theory of evolution. His ideas revolutionized science, but also created a controversy that still continues to this day. Unlike some figures who took a stand in history, he was uncomfortable with the controversy he created. Charles Darwin published the Origin finding it compatible with his faith, but many Christians didnt think that was the case. The Origin of the Species sparked a debate between science and religion that has lasted for 150 years. Darwin did not become a naturalist early.
His father wanted him to become a doctor, or a clergyman. However, Darwin was drawn to nature. Charles Robert Darwin was born on February 12, 1809. At the age of nine, a year after his mothers death, Charles was sent to join his brother at the Shrewsbury School, a nearby boarding school with a good reputation.
Shrewsbury had a very strict headmaster and large dormitory rooms that housed a large number of boys. Charles hated it there and spent as much time away from the school as possible. He and his brother Erasmus constructed a chemistry lab in their garden shed where they spent much of their time. Charles also spent time hunting, fishing, and collecting beetles. When Charles was sixteen, his father sent him to Edinburgh to study as a doctor, in accordance with family tradition.
However, after two years there, it was obvious that he was not suited to a doctors life. Charles found the surgery performed on children without the use of anesthesia too sickening to watch and he left at the age of 18. His father, disappointed that his son would not follow in his footsteps, acquired a position for Charles at Christs College, Cambridge, to study for the clergy. Charles Darwin was bored there, and attended lectures on subjects such as zoology, geology and botany. He passed his final exam with good grades, but thought of himself as a naturalist instead of a clergyman. On August 24, 1831, thanks to John Stevens Henslow, the professor at Cambridge whose lectures he had attended, Darwin was offered a place on the H.
M. S. Beagle as a naturalist. The Beagle sailed from Devonport on December 27, 1831. It stopped in Brazil, where Darwin found himself in awe of the plant and animal diversity. When they arrived in the Galapagos Islands, Darwin was put ashore to study and observe the oddities found there.
One of the subjects of his observation was a group of finches, which are now known as Darwin's Finches. Darwin noted that the finches on the mainland had different attributes than those on the islands, though he determined they were of the same species. Furthermore, of the 13 main islands of the Galapagos, each islands population of finches seemed to differ from another islands population in small ways. Darwin was puzzled by this, for he had not seen such variety in species before. He also noticed differences in the species of the Galapagos Tortoise.
The journey continued without Darwin finding an explanation for the differences he observed, and the H. M. S. Beagle returned to England on October 2, 1836. In 1837, Darwin published The Journal of Researches Aboard the H. M.
S. Beagle. This was an instant hit among the scientific world. In 1838, Darwin read an essay titled, An Essay on the Principle of Population written by Thomas Malthus.
Malthus said that the human population increased faster than the amount of food available. Therefore, he said, some of the population must be eliminated by famine, war, or other causes. Darwin immediately transferred this idea to the world of animals. He thought that the individuals that were better suited to their environment were more likely to survive, while weaker individuals would die.
Darwin married his cousin, Emma Wedgwood, in 1839, and together they had ten children, three of whom died before reaching the age of eleven. In 1844, Darwin started work on his theory of evolution, compiling research and evidence. Charles Lyell, a prominent geologist of his time and a man whose writings had a strong influence on Darwin, became good friends with him and urged him to publish before anyone else did. Darwin, however, was not to be hurried in his work. He understood that his theory would create a great deal of controversy and he wanted to make sure he had as much evidence as possible to back it up.
He was still working on his theory in 1858, when he received a letter from a naturalist named Alfred R. Wallace, who had come to the same conclusions as Darwin. Darwin was astounded, but offered to do a joint publication outlining the evolution theory. They presented their theory to the Linnaean Society in July, 1858.
It drew little to no reaction. Despite such little interest, Darwin published his work a year later for fear that another scientist would publish a theory first. When The Origin of the Species was published in 1859, all the copies sold out on the first day. The world was stunned. Some Christians were appalled by Darwin's theory because they believed God had created all creatures, but most scientists believed Darwin's theory was correct.
There was a great amount of opposition to the Origin, and it didnt appear Darwin was up to it. He was a shy man and he hid away in his house and let his friends stand up for his theory. In 1871, Darwin published a book titled The Descent of Man, which stated that man had evolved from a subhuman form, such as apes. This was a topic he had not addressed in The Origin of the Species, and many more people were skeptical. In 1882, at the age of 73, Charles Darwin died. By the time of his death, most scientists accepted his theory of evolution.
He was buried at Westminster Abbey, just a few feet away from the great scientist Isaac Newton. Darwin begins The Origin of the Species by discussing the causes of variability of a species under domestication. He writes that if a breed, such as greyhounds, produce just a couple of fast dogs, then breeders are most likely to breed those two dogs for their speed, increasing chances that the pups will be fast, and therefore modifying the breed, often unknowingly Then Darwin points out the difficulties in distinguishing differences in variations and species. He goes on to write about individual differences, and doubtful species. The chapter titled Struggle for Existence is one of the more controversial in Darwin's book. It talks about the geometrical ratio of increase among animals, and how more animals are born than can possibly survive.
This means that all animals must compete with each other for survival. It goes on to explain the effect of climate in the struggle for existence, and how a slightly different climate can tip the struggle in a different direction. Next is the struggle between individuals of the same species or genus, and its intensity. This chapter sets the stage for natural selection. In the chapter Natural Selection or Survival of the Fittest, Darwin proposes his theory of evolution.
First, he talks about natural selections power compared to mans. He says that while man might make changes to please himself, he is not able to see what might be best for the animal world. Natural selection always acts for the benefit of the animal it affects, and therefore animals that are affected by natural selection have an advantage over their unmodified brethren. In The Struggle for Existence, any advantage can determine whether an animal lives or dies. However, most of natural selection is chance, for many modified creatures may never be able to mate or if they do, pass on their features to their young. However, if a helpful trait is passed on for successive generations, then it can cause the extinction of the original, and less advanced, model.
In the chapter on Laws of Variation, Darwin discusses the effects of changed conditions. Using the climate as an example, Darwin writes that if the weather in the Himalayas suddenly became colder, a yak with a thicker coat would be more likely to survive than a yak with a thinner coat Difficulties of the Theory and Object...
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Research essay sample on The Controversy Continues Charles Darwin
