Public Outcry and Acceptance to Darwin's 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

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.

Wallace, King and Sanders wrote in Biosphere, The Realm of Life: "In 1859, Charles Darwin published a theory of evolution that implied that humans evolved from apes. . .The Darwinian revolution was the greatest paradigm shift in the history of biology, and it greatly changed the way that ordinary men and women viewed their own place in the world." (1)

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.

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

Darwin proposed this idea of Natural selection in 1859 with the publication of his book The Origin of Species . This theory caused great change in many aspects of the Western society, mainly in the way society viewed the creation of life. In the heavily religious society of the 1800s Darwin’s theory contradicted all previous beliefs held by the churches, thus posing a threat to the established social and political order . This contradiction was evident in the details of Darwin’s theories which helped support evolution, this was done by stating that nature selected the best adapted varieties to survive and reproduce . A theory which greatly differed from the previously instituted belief that God was the creator of all life, which was the reason sparking mass upheaval from the churches, as well as the people.

The theory of evolution sets forth an explanation of how all of the living species on Earth came to be. The theory as we know it today, written by Charles Darwin, states that all the living species of today – humans included – evolved over time; we can see evidence of their evolution in the fossils of now-extinct species. In his book Origin of Species, published in 1859, Charles Darwin wrote that species evolve over time through a mechanism known as “natural selection.” Basically, each species is born with a multitude of traits, some more favorable to survival than others. Because some traits encourage survival more so than others, the animals equipped with those traits tend to breed more than the animals that lack those traits. Over time, more and more offspring are born with these favorable traits and less are born without them; thus, the species evolves. In his 1871 book, The Descent of Man and Selection in Relation to Sex, Darwin surmised that where humans are concerned, natural selection helped humans evolve in addition to a concept known as “sex selection.” Similar to natural selection, sex selection is the process by

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.

“It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” Charles Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection remains one of the best known theories in science today. However, The Origin of Species had a significant impact on society when it was published in the late 19th century. The idea of evolution and natural selection uprooted many popular ideas at the time and led to the creation of new movements. Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection impacted 19th century society in a scientific perspective, a sociological perspective through the rise of social Darwinism, and a theological perspective in the debate between evolution and creationism.

Charles Darwin’s book sparked large debates across the world, large numbers of reviews, critiques and negative responses were published. When Darwin released the book “The origin of species” he was more worried about the effects it would have on his fellow scientists than the public. “Through all this, Darwin largely kept his nose out of things, safely hidden in the comfort of Down House, trying to tease out what reviewers thought of his science amidst all the politics and rhetoric.”(“Chalres Darwin & Evolution” (2009).). Darwin kept on with his work, publishing the evolution in plants, animals (including humans), adding to the large amount of evidence he had collected over the years. As the scientific world started to come to terms with evolutional theory, Darwin collected more and more evidence which started to go in his favour.

A very renowned theory in the scientific community is Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection whereby speciation takes place to allow for the broad diversity of organisms to live and thrive. Darwinism, often understood as evolution is seen as highly controversial by many. The reason for such controversy is due to the depth of implication to any theory of human nature. It changes the way we think about all living things and our place in nature itself. Darwin placed a heavy value on evidence and testing the validity of his claims whereby touting a theory of origins whereby a view of origins can be compared in degrees of credibility.

In the year 1859, Charles Darwin published his theory of evolution. This theory states that all forms of life adapts and changes to the environment around them. The evolutionary theory has been used for decades and has been proven to be correct and accurate theory. Or is it? Many scientists are trying to disprove his theory years later with their evidence behind genetic inheritance, not through adaptation as Darwin had believed. However, some may still believe Darwin’s theory is still relevant to our time and for the future as well.

Like any scientific revolution, Darwin also had his critics. Although he was expecting heavy criticism from biblical literalists, he faced harsh criticism for his methods used in developing the theory of natural selection. For example, most of his critics called him out for his deductive reasoning behind the theory. As stated by Sedgwick, “Darwin's theory is not inductive, —not based on a series of acknowledged facts pointing to a general conclusion, —not a proposition evolved out of the facts, logically, and of course including them”. He goes on to say that Darwin’s theory is full on conjecture because instead of forming a hypothesis first in order to build upon his knowledge, he started at the top of the pyramid and work his way down to develop

Darwinism is a theory of evolution developed by Charles Darwin also called Darwinian Theory. Darwin utilizes Thomas Malthus’ principle of exponential population growth to debate the possibility of infinite growth of population sizes which is tested by the limitations of geography and natural resources that makes it impossible for an infinite number of beings to survive. The limitation in resources results in species experience a “struggle for existence,” creating a survival competition. In this theory, Darwin stated that all species of organisms arise and develop through the natural selection of small, inherited variations that increase the individual 's ability to compete, survive, and reproduce. Charles Darwin published The Origin of Species in 1859 which argued that species evolved to get better all the time. Some people used his theory to argue that members of the elite or height of the social ladder were superior to the working class and impoverished due Darwin 's "survival of the fittest", which is considered Social Darwinism. In one of the earliest examples of science fiction, The Time Machine, H.G. Wells’ introduces Social Darwinism along with the theory of evolution.

Biological evolution is the name for the changes in gene frequency in a population of a species from generation to generation. Evolution offers explanation to why species genetically change over years and the diversity of life on Earth. Although it is generally accepted by the scientific community, Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution has been studied and debated for several decades. In 1859, Darwin published On The Origin of Species, which introduced the idea of evolutionary thought which he supported with evidence of one type of evolutionary mechanism, natural selection. Some of the main mechanisms of evolution are natural selection, mutation, and genetic drift. The idea that all life on Earth shares a common ancestor has been around for