Darwin was a prominent English naturalist who achieved fame by convincing the world that the origin of species developed through natural and sexual selection over time. He originated the theory of evolution, together with Alfred Wallace. The philosophies in which evolution was explained are central to the modern understanding of the life sciences.
Charles Robert Darwin (1809–1882), born in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, was the grandson of Erasmus Darwin and of Josiah Wedgwood. He developed his interest in natural history while studying medicine, and then theology.
His voyage aboard the Beagle in 1831 provided Darwin with observational insights and materials to put forward his most influential theory of evolution.
Philosophies Prior Charles Darwin's Theory of Evolution
Before Darwin, wisdom came from Plato and partially modified by Aristotle, and this was that every natural kind, can be thought of as having essential qualities that make it what it is, and accidental qualities, that it may gain or loss – without suffering its identity. Darwin came a long way from the Greek ancient philosophers.
In 1859, as what is commonly known as the Darwin’s Theory of Evolution, in his book Origin of Species (1859), he theorized that human beings evolved from a lower order of animals, such as primates.
For many years, philosophers have wondered how to account for humans’ essential qualities. The obvious answer had been they were the work of God, the grand designer of all creations, and therefore, the designer of individuals’ production.
Darwin changed this “accepted” belief as he explained and showed that complex design could naturally arise without any need for a designer.
Rationale of Darwin’s Evolution and Natural Selection
The background to the theory of evolution lies in the work of Thomas Malthus on population explosion. Malthus noted that in order to avoid extinction a popular must continually expand. Necessarily, some will grow, survive and die.
Darwin’s theory begin by asking, who will survive and who will perish., or who will be winners and who will be losers. Darwin called this principle of preservation as “Natural Selection.”
Natural selection has two components:
- the minor differences that exist between individuals
- the principle of inheritance that passes these differences down through the ages.
Aboard the Beagle, Darwin noted how geographical features or climatic event might have some minor feature the difference between life and death in that region. Accordingly, any individuals without that feature would become extinct. His ideas on the evolution theory has been shared with Alfred Wallace who performed his own studies and research unknown of each other's work.
Darwin asserted that descendants are modified by time and environment to the point where what looks like “design” is merely the survival of qualities that are inheritable, and qualities that survive depends on the circumstance and not ordained by a divine creator.
In his second important work, The Descent of Man (1871), Charles Darwin applied his natural selection theory to human evolution, including his theory of sexual selection.
Beyond Darwin’s Theory: Evolution or Creation
Critics have complained that Darwin’s theory of evolution is scientifically inane since it is not capable of refutation. So far, contrary to the evolution theory, French philosopher Henri Bergson argued in terms of the latter’s elan vital, the creative impulse shaping all life, where the heart of evolution is, and not by Darwin's natural selection.
Sources:
Farndon, John etal. The Great Scientists. Capella / Arcturus, 2005.
McGovern, Una, Ed. Chambers Biographical Dictionary. Edinburgh: Chambers, 2002.
Stokes, Philip. Philosophy - The Great Thinkers. London: Capella, 2007.
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