Pros And Cons Of Darwinism

The act of creation has been hotly contested by many over the years. This denial of the biblical account of crea-tion has increased in intensity, especially since the nineteenth century, by such erring souls as Charles Darwin, who initiated the theory of evolution.

Although Darwin’s (1809-1882) work in evolutionary observation might appear radically different from those focused on other areas, the theories he developed from these observation lead to such groundbreaking publishing’s as The Origin of Species. These intern caused an upset within the then accepted norms of philosophy and religion, had a profound impact on the academia, and further

Darwin’s Theory of Natural Selection, a scientific theory that supported the belief of evolution, was manipulated and applied to different areas of life, and thus it became the shaping force in European thought in the last half of the nineteenth century. Darwin, through observation of organisms, determined that a system of natural selection controlled the evolution of species. He found that the organisms that were most fit and assimilated to the environment would survive. They would also reproduce so that over time they would eventually dominate in numbers over the organisms with weaker characteristics. This new theory was radical and interesting to the scientific world but its effects reach far beyond this small institution of

In his own time, Charles Darwin was a controversial figure, and although long ago, that same controversy sparks today in the twenty first century. There were many who loved and many who hated Darwin, which has allowed the controversy to expand in recent years to include questions about his role in the development of the evolution theory. The theory of evolution was not created by Charles Darwin; however, through his On the Origin of Species, he logically expressed the theory which ultimately shifted the burden of proof from those who denied it to the supporters of evolution all of which was corroborated by careful observation.

Over one hundred fifty years after Darwin’s theory has been published, the evolution theory is still highly controversial. The idea didn’t go well with the public, Darwin was so embarrassed by the ridicule he received that the swimming-bear passage was removed from later editions of the book (Than). Darwin’s views brought him into fierce conflicts with others who continue to maintain that the account of divine creation contacted within the Bible was correct. According to Than, Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection is one of

Darwin wanted to further his studies in plant and animal life, and he also became interested in the similarities of plant and animal species to those of the human species. He noticed that humans too also had to develop new characteristics that would help them adapt to their environments. This made him want to look further into where humans came from and also question the idea of creationism. He argued that men are animals because they have to adapt to their surroundings just as animals do. He suggested that the stronger animals have a better survival chance and they produce offspring that carry this trait. A whole new population of species can derive from these offspring and traits that have evolved from older generations and species. This became known as Darwin’s Theory of Evolution.

On The Origin of Species was as controversial in 1859 as Galileo Galilei’s heliocentric theory was in 1615, and for much the same reason: it threatened the authority of the church by challenging religious views that were set in stone. Darwin’s work was as accepted as it was detracted, though Darwin didn’t come under as much heat as the authors of other historically contentious works. It generated much discussion in the areas of science, religion, and philosophy; it forced Darwin to make enemies and friends; it is now seen as a seminal work in the field of evolutionary biology. On The Origin of Species is a piece of literature that inarguably shaped history.

Darwinism is a theory of evolution based upon inherited variations in organisms and natural selection of fitter variants to produce species adapted to their habitats, which can also be referred to as ‘descent with modification’. (Times Higher Education, 1995). Darwinism is the original concept suggested by Darwin to explain the mode of speciation, which is the evolutionary process by which biological populations evolve to become distinct species. All inheritable favourable variation is considered, but this theory does not fully explain the reason for variation. In Darwin's theory, the unit of evolution is individual and reproductive isolation as a major factor in new species formation is not considered. Natural selection is the survival of the fittest and removal of the unfit ones during the course of time. In the past 20 years the techniques of genetics and molecular biology have converged to provide both a remarkably detailed understanding of the genes that define the molecular composition of any organism and the ability to transfer genes from one species to another. (Deena T Kochunni, J, 2017). These new techniques have evolved the original theory of Darwinism and created Neo Darwinism, which incorporates recent discoveries of inheritance and genes, explains why variations occur, considers populations rather than individuals and follows the success of individual genes rather than organisms.

A heuristic is a mental process that is used to solve a specific problem. It is informal, intuitive and quick algorithm which brain uses to develop an estimate answer in response to a reasoning question. Mostly, heuristic is helpful because they permit to quickly make sense of a complex environment bur sometimes it is failing to correctly assess the world. When heuristics failed to develop a correct judgement, it sometimes results into cognitive bias. Bias is a tendency to draw an incorrect conclusion. The mismatch in our judgement and reality is the result of a bias. The heuristics are mainly used in the reasoning. The bias that heuristics can develop reflect the constraints of a reasoning system.

When Charles Darwin presented his theory of natural selection in On the Origin of Species he was aware that it would not easily be accepted. Darwin compares the struggle he anticipates to the challenges encountered in other scientific fields, writing, “The difficulty is the same as felt by so many geologists, when Lyell first insisted that long lines of island cliffs had been formed, and great valleys excavated, by the slow action of the coast-waves” (Darwin, 392). Darwin anticipates that his theory will be criticized in a similar manner to theories purposed by Lyell. Believing that these criticisms originate from the limitation of human understanding. Among these limitations is the opinion that natural selection has the same restraints as the selection practised by humans during domestication. Natural selection can improve all characteristics of an organism allowing it to adapt perfectly to its environment while human selection can only alter the visible appearance of animals for humanity’s benefit. An additional human limitation that must be overcome is the inability to understand the immense periods of time that Darwin associates with the variation between species. Darwin is critical of a human’s ability to comprehend such time frames, and as a result, worries they will dismiss his theory without understanding it. Darwin is aware that the reader must overcome the human limitations to understand the true capabilities of nature, and the vast quantities of time that are

What set Darwin apart from his predecessors, however, was his theory of natural selection. Natural selection is differential survival and reproduction. Those individuals that are best suited for their environment “will have the best chance of being preserved in the struggle for life” and will survive to “produce offspring similarly characterised.” Not only was his theory inspired by observations made while he was on the HMS Beagle, Darwin was heavily influenced by Thomas Malthus and his An Essay on the Principle of Population. Malthus states that “population, when unchecked, increased in a geometrical ratio, and subsistence for man in an arithmetical ratio.” Since resources are limited, a struggle for existence would inevitably ensue as individuals competed over available resources. There must be “a strong and constantly operating check on population from the difficulty of subsistence.” In a struggle for survival, those individuals most fit for their environment would outcompete those less fit. Malthus’ essay became essential for Darwin’s understanding of natural selection. Furthermore, variation in individuals, Darwin determined, was largely due to random chance. Darwin did not believe, like Lamarck, that evolutionary change had an end goal in mind. Evolution did not always select for the most complex organism. This idea threatened the Christian world. If variation was random and there was no force directing evolution towards a specific goal, there was no room for God. Natural selection was seen as a threat to religion. There was limited room for divine intervention in Darwin’s theory. Darwin himself, starting out as a firm believer in the supernatural, grew to be an atheist by his death. However, despite protests by theologians, there was a significant amount of empirical evidence backing up natural selection. For more than 10 years, Darwin

In our world today, there are many different philosophical perspectives regarding human nature that influence the way we think, act, and live. From religious traditions to theories that are widely acclaimed, they all offer people guidance so that they can live a happy life. One of the most famous theories that have been widely debated about is Darwinism which encompasses three theories on the evolution of species. Darwinism provides a perspective on humanity’s role in the universe, the core assumptions that form the perspective, the problem on why many people are unfulfilled, the solution to the unhappiness, and the significance of compassion through the theories of evolution.

Since Charles Darwin suggested the theory of evolution by natural selection in this best-known work, On the Origin of Species, controversy has followed. As a (computer) scientist, this student has no personal problem with the theory of evolution. However, since the debate of whether or not evolution actually exists is still alive and well today, a brief exploration of the arguments against is not only interesting, but also increasingly necessary. Why is there such disparity over this topic over one hundred and fifty years later? In order to understand the contrary side of this debate, the question must be asked: “why would evolution not be possible?”. This student will walk through possible reasons someone might not accept evolution as a scientific theory, as well as some of the more well-known arguments , and provide responses to those arguments from the side of evolutionary science .

In summary, Darwin’s theory of evolution states that all beings originate from the same ancestors, and that every being is related. These beings, as they reproduce and accumulate, enter a ‘descent with modification’ meaning that creatures become more evolved and complex over time, though they originate from plain or simple ancestors. They then proceed to have random genetic mutations, except for some that are kept as they aid being survival. This is called natural selection where nature decides to keep the genetic mutations that aid the being to live, to survive. As these qualities accumulate themselves, the beings do not evolve into a mutation of the original being, they evolve into different creatures altogether.

Through research it has been determined that evolution is a part of nature, and organisms become more complex over time. As organisms become more complex their characteristics begin to change, and aspects that are beneficial for their survival become prominent in their offspring. However, characteristics that are not beneficial to their survival begins to fade as organism evolve. From this arise Charles Darwin’s theory that evolution occurs because of natural selection, expressing that organisms with the best characters will have a higher survival rates and have the ability to pass these characteristics to their offsprings.