Darwin’s Theory of Evolution, Essay Example

Although there have been various theories of evolution throughout time, the most revolutionary theory for its era was developed by Charles Darwin, and described in his book On The Origin of Species.  This major work became the accepted science to explain evolution during its time and afterwards, although then as now, there continues to be controversy about this theory, since it contradicts the original ideas about Creationism and most recently, the notion of “intelligent design.” This paper shall discuss various aspects of Darwin’s theory of evolution, and its importance to our understanding of the development of all living things.

The concept of natural selection, or as some refer to it, “survival of the fittest,” has been the key element of Darwin’s theory that distinguished it from those that preceded it.  It is one of the basic elements of modern biology.  The idea of natural selection evolved in part because at that time, there was no legitimate explanation of heredity.  How did one explain the changes that occurred within various species over time?  Among the individuals of any group of organisms, there are many differences that do not have any relevance to the issue of survival, such as hair color.  However, some of the variations among people may increase the likelihood of survival of any particular person.  For example, a person with a history of heart disease is less likely to survive to old age than an individual with no such history.  Natural selection is a process by which certain characteristics of individuals increase their chances of reproduction and survival; if those characteristics are inherited from generation to generation, there will be a greater number of the healthier people over time that will survive and continue to reproduce.

As a result, if the reproductive advantage occurs over many generations, then those people will become a larger percentage of the population due to their exponential growth.  Darwin concluded that this produces in the environment the selection of people who survive, and over time, this causes gradual changes in the species.  The strongest prevail and survive, and the weakest die off.  Natural selection, as explained by Darwin, continues to be the main explanation for adaptive evolution.

Darwin’s theory of evolution involved several provable facts as well as certain inferences that contributed to the questioning of his theoretical basis.  Included among the factual aspects were: the knowledge that every species is fertile enough that if all offspring survive to reproduce, the population of that species would increase.  Despite subtle changes over time, the population would stay approximately the same in number.  However, because certain resources such as food and water occur in limited supply, and remain stable over time, while the population continues to explode, a struggle for survival develops.

According to natural selection theory, individuals are different from each other significantly, and many of these differences are passed down from generation to generation.  Finally, people who are less equipped to manage the environmental factors that affect their survival are less likely to reproduce or survive; those people who are more compatible with their environment are more likely to reproduce and to pass on these strong, adaptive traits to future offspring.

When it was introduced, Darwin’s theory was met with mixed reviews at best.  Primarily, the theory of evolution challenged the notion of Creationism, thereby creating a huge controversy and vehement condemnation of his “blasphemous” explanation of the universe.  As one writer put it, “Darwin’s theory is the culmination of a process which destroyed forever for us the oldest classification system in our history, the way in which our culture since the ancient Greeks has understood the world.”(Johnston, 1998.)  The previous ideas that came from ancient Greece combined Christianity with Plato’s theories regarding the goodness of God.  According to Plato, God’s perfection meant that all of his creations were perfect.  Therefore, any changes in beings which were seen as coming from the theory of evolution were considered to be a violation of the perfection of the highest power.  According to these theories, all possible forms of life were created in a hierarchy, which ranked the lowest, most primitive forms of life such as plants and animals, to the highest forms, human beings.  Even the range of human beings ranked from lowest to highest in status, from slaves to kings and queens and popes, and beyond that, to the angels, ultimately reaching God himself. (Johnston, 1998.)

Such vehement reactions against Darwinism and natural selection contrast with the theory’s acceptance by biologists, who considered it to be the basis for all aspects of the study of their discipline.  Natural selection helps to provide a basis for the classification of all living things, and an explanation of the variations and similarities that exist between such beings.  Replacing the divine elements of Creationist theories with Darwin’s theory of natural selection, while being extremely unsettling for people who were looking to God for explanations of how the universe began, allowed biologists and other scientific disciplines to move forward with pursuits that were demonstrably and scientifically sound.  Darwin did not publish his book casually; as a religious man himself, he worked on the book for a full decade before he had it published.  The suggestion of the theory of evolution is that God is not needed to create living organisms.  Darwin’s work freed up other scientists and philosophers to examine the creation of people, plants, and animals so that today, it is possible to find scientific advances that can save lives, prevent illnesses, and allow people to have more knowledge and freedom to decide personal issues such as reproductive freedoms.

References

Browne, Janet. Charles Darwin. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1996.

Da Silva, W.. “Darwin at 200: the importance of dangerous ideas.” Cosmos.  December 2008: n. pag. Web. 20 Jun 2010. http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/features/print/2538/the-importance-dangerous-ideas

Johnston, Ian. “Some Non-Scientific observations on the importance of Darwin.” Malaspina-University. Nanaimo,BC: Malaspina-University College, 1998.  Web. 20 June 2010. http://records.viu.ca/~johnstoi/introser/darwin.htm