"Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge: it is those who know little, not those who know much, who so positively assert that this or that problem will never be solved by science."
-Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin is thought to be the father of evolution. His most famous book is the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection published in 1859 and his most well-known theory is the idea of natural selection or survival of the fittest (Nale, 2010). Shrewsbury, UK is the birthplace of this naturalist. He was born into an educated family, with a father that was a doctor, and was one of three children. His older brother studied literature and the arts (Darwin, 2008). However, Charles did not always intend to become the scientist that we know him as. He was originally a student studying medicine, but he was not cut out to follow in his father’s footsteps. He then transferred to Cambridge to become a minister. While at Cambridge, his interest in zoology and geography lead him to relationships with professors in both the biology and geology department. After a trip to Wales with the geology professor, he went to survey South America on the Beagle (Landry, 2011). This is when Darwin started to become the scientist that we know him to be.
The idea of Natural Selection had been around from before Darwin was born, but it was Darwin’s use of real life observations and data that allowed this concept to become accepted (Landry, 2011). Darwin contributed to the scientific world with many of this other works, including The Descent of Man. Published in 1871, this novel compares lower and more basic species with the construction and behaviors of humans (Landry, 2011). Each chapter moves to a higher level of understanding, starting with similar body construction, and ending with sexual characteristics and behaviors (Darwin, 2008). One thing most people don’t know about is his contribution to the marine sciences. Darwin was first person to document the origin of corals. While sailing on the Beagle, he made many evolutionary discovers about organisms in general, but he also research small coral polyps with geologists aboard the ship (Rainbow, 2011). Darwin also showed a special interest in barnacle species. He studied their adaptive reproductive abilities and the differences between multiple barnacle species. These observations along with many others gave more evidence to his works, specifically The Origin of Species (Rainbow, 2011).
Some of Darwin’s other works include Coral Reefs, Effects of Cross and Self Fertilization on the Vegetable Kingdom, Geological Observations on South America, The Autobiography of Charles Darwin, The different Forms of Flowers on Plants of the Same Species, The Expression of the Emotion in Man and Animals, The Formation of Vegetable Mould Through the Action of Worms, The Voyage of the Beagle, and Volcanic Islands (Darwin, 2008). While alive, he received the Royal Medal, the Wallaston Medal, and the Copley Medal (Landry, 2011). Charles Darwin passed away April 19th 1882. Even though Darwin had died, he continued to receive many awards for his work and four of his seven children became respected scientists (Darwin, 2008).
"The fact of evolution is the backbone of biology, and biology is thus in the peculiar position of being a science founded on an improved theory, is it then a science or faith?"
- Charles Darwin
Works Cited
2008. Charles Darwin Biography. Received at http://www.darwin-literature.com/l_biography.html
2008. Charles Darwin: The Descent of Man Overview. Received at http://www.darwin-literature.com/The_Descent_Of_Man/1.html
Darwin, C. (2008). Charles Darwin Quotes. Received at http://www.darwin-literature.com/l_quotes.html
Landry, P. (2011). Charles Darwin. Received at http://www.blupete.com/Literature/Biographies/Science/Darwin.htm
Nale, J. (2010). Biotic Competition and Progress in the Works of Charles Darwin. Southern Journal Of Philosophy, 4836-42. doi:10.1111/j.2041-6962.2010.00019.x
Rainbow, P. S. (2011). Charles Darwin and marine biology. Marine Ecology, 32130-134. doi:10.1111/j.1439-0485.2010.00421.x
It’s always interesting to hear about the origins and life of Charles Darwin. More interesting is being reminded that the idea of natural selection existed before Darwin came into being. I recall learning that one of Darwin’s mentors, Charles Lyell, was responsible for giving him the concept of deep time. This combined with other aspects led to his conclusion and future writings based on his findings from observations he had made. The more that I learn about Darwin and his life, the more I believe he wasn’t special in his way of thinking, but rather the information and timing of that information that he was given led him to the logical conclusions that he had.
ReplyDeleteI often wonder if the conclusions and modern theories that we have today would have been natural revelations, or were they a result of great historical figures? In other words, is science made by people or are people used to make science?
Colton,
ReplyDeleteThe final paragraph of your comment was very profound, and after sitting at my dinner table for ten minutes, I'm still not sure what I think about it! Darwin was without a doubt a very instrumental figure in our current understanding of natural selection and evolution, but I am confident that his theories would have been revealed later had he chosen to pursue a different career path. Darwin's conclusions were very logical based on the data he collected, and even if Darwin wouldn't have been around to collect the data that he did, eventually someone else would have.
Most of the theories that we understand and live by today seem like common sense because of the vast amount of research that has been done in the various fields of biology. With the development of the internet, it is now possible for researchers to collaborate worldwide, and share their findings with others that may be able to approach a topic from a different point of view. Although Darwin's discoveries were groundbreaking and essential to our understanding of natural selection, this knowledge would have presented itself eventually because evidence of natural selection is contained within every living organism on Earth. Recent advances in our understanding of genetics and DNA sequencing technologies have given us the tools we need to understand more about evolution. With this information, it is easy to understand why and how evolution works, because we can explain it on a molecular level. It's impressive that Charles Darwin was able to describe these phenomena without the luxury of the technologies we have today.
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ReplyDeleteThe name Charles Darwin holds so much weight in today's world, even for those not involved in the sciences. It is indeed fascinating to study his life and studies. I find the key aspect of his work is the timing of it all. If I'm not mistaken, his father sent him to work on the HMS Beagle after Charles had not met expectations at his previous undertakings in academia. This opportunity was incredibly fortunate as he was able to spend years traveling the globe and taking samples from many varied environments. The time he spent on the Beagle and the types of data he was able to collect could not have been recreated if he had stayed in England. Alfred Wallace undertook a similar voyage (more focused on Southeast Asia) and collected similar data; the aspect of travel was clearly pivotal. So it's certainly possible that if Darwin had stayed in England and became a minister or geologist, someone else would have made the same discoveries (as shown by the work of Wallace). But it is clear that for that time period, the perfect combination of timing, the opportunity for global travel, past experience and knowledge of biology, and a naturally curious and keen mind was a rare commodity. In trying to downplay the importance of Darwin as a leader in evolutionary theory, we must be grateful for the circumstances that led to his discoveries.
ReplyDeleteAs a sidenote, if people are interested in the life of Darwin and what it meant for him to publish his life's work in the era he lived in, I highly recommend the film "Creation"
Alissa P
Charles Darwin has become a household name for all biology majors, but like many, I didn't realize his interest didn't alway lie in evolution. It vexes me that he transferred to Cambridge to become a minister which lead him to become fascinated in the different species adaptive behaviors, and ultimately made him one of the greatest evolutionary biologist of all time, if not the greatest. This in itself is a conundrum because evolution and religion have been butting heads over the issues of how things came to be and how they changed over time.
ReplyDeleteI always think it is quite funny how Darwin was on a journey to become anything but "the father of evolution."
ReplyDeleteAs young scientists, we can all learn a thing from Darwin (well, I suppose we learned more that "a thing" from him and Josef this term): no matter what your initial calling in science may be, never stop exploring.
I always wonder what the scientific world would be like if Darwin would have settled and became a physician. We must all realize that there is a potential to become the next "father (or mother) of _____."
Sam Sarsten
"The fact of evolution is the backbone of biology, and biology is thus in the peculiar position of being a science founded on an improved theory, is it then a science or faith?"- Charles Darwin. I like this quote very much. Thanks for sharing with us.
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