Galton’s Legacy: The Battle of Nature versus Nurture Sir Francis Galton was, by in large part, a product of his environment. Through his family, Galton was well connected--he came from a wealthy, upper-class, lineage of academics. Having inherited a large sum of money, Galton was able to explore a variety of endeavours before making his mark on modern day psychology (Goodwin, 2012, p.151). Galton excelled in the fields of geography, exploration, meteorology, and science; it was not until Galton’s half-cousin Darwin wrote his 1859 book on evolution that inspired his interest in psychology (pp.151-152). Darwin was, unequivocally, Galton’s most notable relative and someone from whom he drew large inspiration. Darwin became influenced by economist Thomas Malthus, who recognized, “that life is a constant “struggle for existence” and only those best suited for survival will do so” (Goodwin, 2012, p. 135). Malthus’ aforementioned belief was one that Darwin observed during his expedition on the Beagle--Darwin’s ship. Darwin recognizes that the finches he had studied during his voyage to the Galapagos islands varied from each other depending on island location and available food sources; he also notes that these variations assist the finches in survival (i.e. different beak shape to forage a specific food, stronger beaks) (p. 136). The concept that grew from Darwin’s initial findings was the concept of natural selection. Natural selection is defined as the natural process in
The documentary, “Darwin’s Dangerous Idea” tells the story of Charles Darwin’s conception of his theory of natural selection, and how it explains the evolutionary process and species adaptation. The story begins with a brief overview of his 5-year stint on the HMS Beagle as the ship's naturalist, during her South American voyage. The film shows how Mr. Darwin collected fossils and many species of animals and birds from many different regions especially the Galapagos Islands. It portrays Mr. Darwin’s return to England and his struggle between the mainstream religious beliefs and his personal beliefs of how different species came to be. Additionally, the documentary covers his presentation of fossils and ideas to the scientific community,
The Grant’s are capable of studying Darwin’s theory of natural selection in action, after gathering data from their colleagues, Peter Boag and Laurene Ratcliffe, who would be their watch on Daphne Island. Peter and Laurene witnessed an important event in natural selection, during a life or death situation with the finches. Though the two scientists were anxious for rain, but they did not receive a single drop that season. Rain would mean reproduction and fertility for the finches; however, the birds were faced with e horrible drought. Food became scarce and the finch population declined. Easy seeds to obtain on the ground were nearly gone. The seeds with tougher defenses, such as the caltrop, were usually untouched, since they were hard to crack. The finches with inadequate beaks did not
“These birds look similar to each other in plumage and song, yet closer observation reveals that they all differ from one another in how their beaks look and work” (Abzhanov, A., 2010). Darwin believed that if given enough time, a species would adapt to its environment, “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change” (Darwin, C., 1859). Charles Darwin recognized that natural selection was the primary factor for evolution, not limited to only birds and plants, but to humans as well.
Although Charles Darwin is usually just looked at in the light of purely biology, his work that impacted other fields such as psychology or his work that lead to the rapid expansion of certain fields such as ethology, is often looked over. Darwin’s work impacted these fields both directly and indirectly at such a level of influence that some people believe that psychology should be looked at as pre- and post-Darwin. On the Origin of Species, while being primarily about biological phenomena and theories, was one of these works that impacted psychology indirectly. Other than giving a new perspective for psychologists to possess when contemplating different ideas, Darwin’s work on natural selection lead to the creation of evolutionary psychology.
Evolution is the process of biological change by which descendants come to differ from their ancestors. Natural Selection is when an individual with the best trait survive and breed in more population. Larger populations of organisms with the desired traits will then occur and organisms will evolve. The four principles of Natural Selection are variation, over production, adaptation, and descent with modification. Charles Darwin, an English naturalist and geologist saw two major trends within organisms which were variation and adaptation. Variations are differences in individuals’ physical traits compared to other individuals. In the Galapagos Islands Darwin noticed that finches had different beak sizes and shapes. Darwin then concluded that finches with thicker beaks lived in areas where nuts were the main food source and finches with smaller beaks tended to live in areas where insects were the main food source. Adaptation are features that allow an organism to better survive in their environment. There has been many adaptations in animals but one of the best has been living in groups because animals can then “help each other find food, defend against predators and care for their young” (animalpanet, n.d.). Overproduction is when organisms produce more offspring than the environment can support. Darwin stated that all animals over produce since offspring can reach reproduction age and have offspring of their own. For example, “even a slow breeder
He finally observed that overtime these birds developed different physical characteristics to help them be able to survive and adapt to their surroundings. Darwin developed the “Natural Selection” theory that stated that plants and animals adapt to their surroundings and environments in order to survive. He also stated that older generations of these species would eventually die out, because they do not have the newer characteristics that needed to be developed in order to live.
When Darwin traveled over to the Galapagos island he traveled on a ship called the HMS Beagle. Darwin traveled to the Galapagos island to get information about evolution with the animals there. When he was there he observed tortoises, when he observed these animals he got a understanding of evolution over time. He saw that the tortoises in the area with food low to the floor had a flatter shell and a short neck, but when he observed tortoises with food high up he saw that the tortoises had a long neck and raised shell. Over time the tortoises evolved she they can survive in their environments. When he was their he wrote a book called the Darwins book on the origin of species. The information that he wrote about was information about species that were not fixed but could change over time by natural causes.
Galton believed that a wide range of human characteristics were inherited, including mental, physical, and moral traits. This view was stimulated in part by Galton’s cousin, Charles Darwin, and his recent work in the field of evolution. Although Darwin didn’t play a direct role in eugenics, he had shown how man, despite his relative complexity as compared to plants and most animals, was still evolving. Because of this, Galton reasoned that humans could be controlled and manipulated so that the next generation would be of higher stock. He reasoned that man had been focusing too much on the evolution of lower level species for too long. So long in fact, “that human defectives [were] increasing at such an alarming rate that, unless some efficient methods [were] devised for keeping them in check, they [would] endanger the welfare of the entire race.” (Fasten, 283) In the mind of Galton it was essential to fix this problem. He concurred that “all creatures would agree that it was better to be healthy than sick, vigorous than weak, well-fitted than ill-fitted for their part in life; in short, that it was
Finches have become almost synonymous with the concept of natural selection, thanks to Charles Darwin. But, while he may have come up with the theory that the finches automatically choose the traits that will benefit their existence, he didn’t really provide any solid proof of this actually happening. Of course you can assume it does because of adaptation and evolution, but it would take more than a few weeks to really get concrete evidence of this happening. Fortunately, Rosemary and Peter Grant provide us with the evidence to support the theory of evolution and natural selection. They head back to the Galapagos Islands to pick up where Darwin left off and find out what really goes on in the process of the
In 1835 Charles Darwin, aboard the vessel HMS Beagle, first set foot on the Islands of the Galapagos Archipeligo setting off on what would become the inspiration for the most important innovation in biological sciences either before or since. That visit solidified for Darwin his notion of the evolution of life on Earth, and helped trigger his breakthrough regarding Natural Selection, ultimately culminating in his groundbreaking masterpiece On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection. And although Darwin would never return to these Islands in his lifetime, the Galapagos still hold today a vast importance-both symbolic and scientific-to evolutionary biologists everywhere, and have undergone intense scrutiny and
Charles Darwin broached the theory of natural selection in his book the Origin of Species, which has been considered the basis of evolutionary biology to this day. Natural selection is when populations of a species evolve over the course of many generations. Darwin believed that species were not created separately, but instead, species were derived from one another. In other words, the evolution of species creates many variations among creatures, and this is because all of those species came from a common ancestor, and characteristics changed to increase the species chance of survival.
Yes, his finches were considered to be a good example of natural selection. The size of the finch and the size of its beak are highly heritable from one generation to the next and with the population of these birds it was easier to examine natural selection happening through these birds.
Charles Darwin was a man who shaped the way in which we think about evolution in modern times. He brought forth and described the theory of natural selection and survival of the fittest. To fully understand modern evolutionary thoughts it is necessary for one to completely understand the early theories of Charles Darwin. In this paper I will provide the reader with a complete background on Charles Darwin, describe his voyage on the HMS Beagle, and discuss his theory of natural selection.
Picture England in the Victorian era, living as a wealthy member of the upper class of society. This is how and when Francis Galton lived when he formulated his theories and coined the term nature vs. nurture. The Victorian era was a time of peace and prosperity for England and one of the highest points of England’s power not only domestically but across the entire British Empire. This was a time of industrialization for the country and its widespread influence resulted in great economic growth. This was also one of the largest booms in the population with the country more than doubling its population in 70 years and growing the middle class within the social hierarchy (Hoppen, 1998). The overall mood of the era was one of straight-laced, proper behavior. Literature and the fine arts suffered but scientific research and industrial achievements were praised and encouraged (Hoppen, 1998). This context of the time period is important to consider while looking into Galton’s research. Although some of his theories and work may be inaccurate by what we know today, for his time, his efforts are groundbreaking.
Either way, Galton influenced researchers to consider taking a scientific focus on their theories of intelligence. One of the researchers Galton influenced was James McKeen Cattell who brought Galton’s ideas to the United States and proposed a series of 50 psychophysical tests (1890). As a matter of fact, Cattell’s psychophysical tests could later not be validated by his student, Clark Wissler (1901). Even theorists that have focused their theories of intelligence on Galton’s views have recognized that Galton had very simplistic views (e.g., Hunt, Frost, Lunneborg, 1973). All things considered, Galton’s controversial views of intelligence (which has since been carried down to present day) have had a profound impact on the area of intelligence.