Darwin's Explanation Of Evolution

Charles Darwin presented his theology of evolution which would change the way some people saw humanity. Darwin’s theory of evolution along with Social Darwinism and Eugenics made significant impact in our world. Darwinism classified people, initiated Social Darwinism and Eugenics, and made Fundamentalist Christians opposed such things. Darwinism suggested that every living thing developed through a natural process of evolution.

One way or another Darwin presented an idea that totally offended some prominent men of his time. It was an absolute dare for the origin of species of origin to be published at that time, not because it was the first book or first idea of such, but it was publication that shook the widely believed and accepted foundation of the creation of the world and the things in it.

Darwin began to form his ideas when he served as official naturalist on a world voyage on HMS Beagle from 1831 to 1836 and spent the rest of his life back in England developing them (Singh 2). When his famous book The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selections was published in 1859, he received a lot of violent reactions. In his book, Darwin challenged the Bible’s account of creation and explained that human beings are descended from an ape-like ancestor (Singh). However, Charles Darwin received backlash from many critics. After Darwin's book was published, he obtained many letters criticizing his idea of evolution due to people's religious beliefs. Darwin wasn't only criticized by the church, but also by scientists. He also received letters from scientists such as Adam Sedgwick and St. George Mivart, rejecting Darwin's natural selection hypothesis. Although he received a lot of backlash for his beliefs, he stayed true to his claims. Other world renowned naturalists such as Alfred Russell Wallace developed similar ideas as Darwin, expanding on evolution. To this day, evolution is still taught in many classes and is a theory that most scientists refer to.

Darwin’s ideas were seen in culture as so drastically different from all his predecessors. They were unheard of, and revolutionary. Because of their unorthodox quality, individuals and people groups did not know how to respond

The poll surveyed teachers of all ranges of high school biology, from introductory biology to Advanced Placement Biology. In his survey, he asked teachers twelve questions that dealt with evolution in the classroom, ranging in scope from student reception of the subject all the way to teacher opinion on teaching methods. After the interviews, he compiled the results and examined the similarities of the teachers’ responses. Immediately, he found that all of the teachers he surveyed expressed the idea that their students had a difficult time fully comprehending the subject. Many of the teachers attributed this to the fact that students have the most difficulty grappling the concept of how long evolutionary change takes. Also, he noticed that the teachers unanimously agreed that religious beliefs acted as the biggest barrier to the full understanding of evolutionary theory. (Hermann 2012) While Hermann did not find substantial variation in teachers’ responses to the poll questions, he did find extreme variance in their actual methods of relaying the information to the

A counter argument often provided by those who argue that the Enlightenment had greater impact on Darwin’s later works is its clear anti-Creationist stance, as a major principle of the Enlightenment period was to look at science for answers and not necessarily within religious text. During the Enlightenment period, there was a divide between the Church and much of the scientific community. Thus, since Darwin did not align with the views of the Church, some would consider him to be of the latter and therefore might classify Darwin as an Enlightenment thinker. However, it should be noted that although Darwin’s theory of evolution was deemed as an improper reading by the Church, many scientists of the time dismissed Darwin’s theory of evolution, ironically the same community in which Darwin attempts to establish himself in. The Victorian scientific community of the time rejected Darwin’s theory of evolution on the basis of it lacking experimentation and scientific measurements , all important aspects of the Enlightenment style of reasoning and thus suggests the scientific community’s preference for an Enlightenment style of reasoning.

In 1837, Charles Darwin was traveling aboard the H.M.S. Beagle in the Eastern Pacific when he stopped on the Galapagos Islands. There, Darwin found a wide array of animals including the Galápagos finches. The differences that he uncovered between these animals sparked Darwin’s interest; he had never before seen nor attempted to understand the similarities and differences inherent within these species. Examining each and uncovering the probable reasons for their distinctions, namely their differing needs for adaptation, Darwin constructed his theory of natural selection. From his observations on the Galapagos Islands, Darwin continued developing his research into eventually what became known as the Origin of Species, published in 1858. In this book, he asserted that these animals and differing species did not just appeared out of thin air, but rather had evolved from other species through the process of natural selection. Yet, his scientific findings were not accepted by the general public when first published, nor long after. Instead, they sparked a great uproar and criticism, since for most people accepted the theory of the Creation, the belief of divine creation, as the way people and species appeared on earth. His findings, so contrary to the then accepted norm of creation, were met with hostility and resentment by many who considered his work

His theory often leaves people guessing. People are so curious as to how and why we got on this earth and those who do not believe in Jesus Christ himself might go to certain extents to back up and try to really grasp and understand the knowledge and ways of Darwin’s theory. If it were so, and evolution by natural selection is as accurate as all of the evidence, examples, and siting say they were, then the history of the world, economy, and environment could be completely misinterpreted. Darwin and many other scientist and people believed or believed that the way of life and the way humans were put upon this earth was because of natural selection and other would say that Jesus Christ is the reason that we are all here

(What is Darwin’s Theory of Evolution, 2015) He thought that over time, species would change and adapt in accordance with their environment, allowing for better chances of survival and reproduction. Darwin also believed that all species shared a common ancestor. (History of Evolutionary Thought, 2017) These theories are still an ongoing debate in our world today and many people don’t believe in evolution. People like Charles Darwin have opened up a doorway for us to piece the earth’s mysterious history together in a way that allows us to get a glimpse of why evolution is true. Much more evidence has been gathered over time and still, some people refuse to accept the fact that evolution is real. They are attached to the simple concepts and statements they have heard over the years that make evolution sound ignorant. I will attempt to go through a plethora of evidence that shows that evolution is not ignorant, but an amazing understanding of how life on earth came to be.

Darwin did not come up with his theory out of nowhere. Like anyone else who has made discoveries, he was influenced by others. For quite a long time before Darwin, people didn't look beyond the Biblical creation story. Such things as fossils,

I distinctly remember sitting in my 9th grade Biology class as Mr. Shorba projected the classic picture of an ape progressively evolving into a human, and explained to the class Darwin’s theory of evolution. However, being raised in a conservative Christian home, I did not listen to one word of the evolution lecture, as I had already made up my mind as to what I believed in. Although I still believe in creationism, my take on learning about evolution has drastically shifted as I have realized the importance of understanding this popular theory. In Jonathan Well’s book, Icons of Evolution: Science or Myth, he dissects well-known evolutionists arguments with explanations as to how they are falsifiable.

The idea that humans shared a common ancestor with apes was a challenge to the foundations of western civilisation. (BBC) But, many of the reasons why we think Darwin is widely regarded as controversial are not really the reason why, they are each disguised as one main reason. The church is not mad that he suggested we evolved from apes, or that there’s no way the earth is only 6,000 years old. They are mad about natural selection. As mentioned earlier, Darwin argued that complex designs could arise without a mind to guide it. Thus, in short, it was natural selection that people found so controversial. From the day he came to the public eye with his theory, critics attacked the idea that our world was not special, and that it lacked a Plan or Meaning. (Wilkins) Everything was random, there was no God controlling the natural world. Natural selection and evolution were not the only things that shaped society. Social Darwinism also played a part in it. Social Darwinism derived from both of his theories, and it is the idea that some races are superior to others, and were born to rule the others. This offered a reason for people to justify slavery, and later was used to help justify the Holocaust as well. This was one of the downsides of Darwin’s theories, they spurred these thoughts in people. Though overall, the good of Darwin outshined the

Charles Darwin, an English naturalist, became a highly influential yet controversial figure in the late nineteenth century European society. Darwin introduced the idea of evolution through natural selection which demonstrated how species evolved into humans. Although Darwin’s theory was influential, it opposed many ideas of the European society at the time. Darwin’s ideologies challenged the beliefs of the European culture because it went against the religious teachings of the church that emphasized God as the creator of man and contradicted the European belief that the white race was superior. Darwin’s opposing views of evolution changed the definition of what it meant to be “civilized” in the European society.

The idea of evolution had undergone several changes in theories/concepts long before Charles Darwin provided his thoughts on the developments in natural selection. By spending several years researching and writing about his findings on the evolution. Darwin knew that his thoughts on evolution would create controversy among the Christian community to the point that he decided to push back the release date of his book and begin to concentrate more on writing about his travels around the world on the Beagle and analyzing how animals and plants are preserved. This process kept him busy for ten years, and another reason for delaying his book was the possibility of him getting arrested due to deception and heresy for publishing his unpopular theory

Darwin’s theory was a ground breaking achievement within the 19th century. It went against the publics opinion that religion was the basis of human development and evolution. Due to his research, discoveries, and the development of his theory, Darwin was able to mold the foundation for modern day evolution theory. Although his research was a remarkable feat, it came with a few drawbacks, such as Darwin’s own beliefs and concepts of gender and race, as well as the bias these concepts influenced in his theory.