Example research essay topic: Origin Of Species Natural Selection - 771 words

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Darwin's annotations led him to believe that species did adapt to their changing surroundings. Furthermore, he was led to protect as a logical, observable - and even religious - corollary of this termination, a theory advancing the probability of ordinary descent for all living creatures. Eventually, that inspirational pull did take effect and support for Darwin became stronger in the scientific community as papers were submitted that drew from and corroborated his ideas. By the late 1860 's, though not yet considered demonstrated truth, it was believed there was finally enough factual data accumulated the Darwinian theories could be considered valid working hypotheses. The major unsettled scientific question would be in regard to natural selection as the mechanism for change, which would become the issue among the general public as well. It took several years for the idea of natural selection to become accepted within the scientific community.

It gained popularity from 1864 to 1869, but waned again between 1870 - 1872. The irony is, if not for putting forth natural selection as the mechanism by which evolution occurs, it is very likely Darwin's evolutionary theory could ever have become established as it has. Perhaps the most appealing quality of Darwin's work was that it accounted for phenomenon in a purely naturalistic manner. It was the most scientific explanation yet, completely removing the supernatural explanation, and setting him apart from the theorists before him, such as Lamarck and still a good many scientists refused to accept it. Clearly, the original research question, "how were Darwin's theories of evolution and natural selection able to extend beyond the scientific community", was naive in assuming that just because Darwin was a scientist, and a well respected one, that the ideas he put forth would have been immediately embraced by his peers. Nevertheless it is an interesting lesson in change; that a man whose very name is synonymous with science now, did at one time bear the scrutiny of his colleagues who questioned the scientific credibility of the ideas he presented.

That said, the issue of popularity among the general public is still quite an intriguing question, for, even though there was some debate over his logic on the Origin of Species, is still more of a scientific work, so the phenomenon of its popularity remains a matter of interest. Authors of the highest reputation seem to be fully satisfied with the view that each species has been separately created. To my mind it accords better with what we know of the laws impressed on subject by the Creator, that the creation and extinction of the past and present inhabitants of the world should have been due to secondary causes, like those determining the birth and death of an person. When I view all beings not as particular creations, but as lineal descendants of some few beings which have lived long before the first bed of the Cambrian scheme was deposited, they seem to me to become ennobled.

The Origin of Species characterizes Darwin's many years of individual and intellectual struggle. It is candidly argued and presented in a flowing, orderly way, then left for each reader to weigh the proof. As a text on natural history, its ideas are refreshingly understandable and insightful. Darwin goal in this book is to prove that different varieties of species will come about because of direct or indirect action of the species with the surrounding environment and / or conditions and also from the use and disuse of certain inherited functions. Which than leads to the Struggle for Life and thus you have Natural Selection, which means that species that are not the best equipped to survive become extinct. Though there was hesitancy over natural selection, Victorian England had seen itself grow and evolve in leaps and bounds, and many did not miss the connection between the evolution of an organism and the changing face of British society as the Workshop of the World.

Whether for or against Darwinian doctrine, one could see that it certainly had a place in discussion of social reform, as England asked itself one of the most pressing questions of their time - do we act to provide social well being and opportunity for all, or do we give into nature and allow survival of the fittest to take its course? In this paper, I tried to touch on the ideas of Darwinism around the book Origin of Species, what I found in reading this book and writing about this book is how the evolutionary theory got started, how people perceived it and most of all how Darwin's theory has changed over time.

Research essay sample on Origin Of Species Natural Selection