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Charles Darwin in his book, On the Origin of Species, presents us with a theory of natural selection. This theory is his attempt at an explanation on how the world and its' species came to be the way that we know them now. Darwin writes on how through a process of millions of years, through the effects of man and the effects of nature, species have had an ongoing trial and error experiment. It is through these trials that the natural world has developed beneficial anomalies that at times seem too great to be the work of chance. Darwin writes on how a species will adapt to its environment given enough time. When an animal gains a genetic edge over its competitors, be they of the same species or of another genus altogether, the animal has increased its chance of either procreation or adaptation. When this animal has this beneficial variance, the advantage becomes his and because of this, the trait is then passed on to the animals offspring. The theory of natural selection is not limited to inheritable and beneficial variations of a species. It also relies a great deal on the population growth and death of a species. For a species to continue to exist it must make sure of a few things. It must first produce more offspring that survive. If this is not done then the species is obviously going to die off. It is also important for the species to propagate at such a rate as to allow for variance, for it is variance that will ultimately allow the animal to exist comfortably in his surroundings. In his studies, Darwin was led to understand that “…the species of the larger genera in each country would oftener present varieties, than the species of the smaller genera;” (p. 55). Thus the larger species would adapt while the smaller one would not. And to quote Darwin again, “…if any one species does not become modified and improved in a corresponding degree with its competitors, it will soon be exterminated.” (p. 102) Extinction, although not as pleasant a concept as the idea of adapting to ones surroundings, plays just as large a role in natural selection as anything else. As one adaptation of a species proves beneficial, and as that variation begins to propagate, the original, less advantageous variant will die off. It is the unchanged species that are in immediate conflict with the species undergoing the natural adaptation that stand to suffer... ... middle of paper ... ...was one hundred percent. Sometimes his arguments fell a little flat and at other times he sounded a bit trite as if he were challenging others to come up with a better answer. And in some ways I hope he was. In the meantime, however, I think he could have done a better job. I am an evolutionist. I have always been an evolutionist. For years now I have known the premise of Darwin’s theory of natural selection. And for years now I have blindly believed it. Having read his book, I can still say that I believe in evolution, and I believe in Darwin’s work. But if there was ever a doubt in my mind it was only because Darwin put it there. It is because of this that I truly think Darwin was fair in the utmost sense of the word. Had he not been fair, which he could have been, he could have made a most convincing argument. But he stated every question in his theories and did his best to rebut. And I feel that in his rebuttal, he was convincing indeed. Work Cited Darwin, C. On the Origin of Species. Harvard University Press. Cambridge. 2003. Work Consulted Desmond, A. & Moore, J. Darwin: The Life of a Tormented Evolutionist. W.W. Norton & Company. New York. 1994
Many stories today have similar characteristics. While reading “the Lesson” and “Sonny’s Blues” it is clear that the stories are alike in several ways. I wondered how two separate stories written by two different authors could be so parallel, so I did some research on the authors. While researching I found out that the author of “The Lesson”, Toni Cade Bambara, was born in Harlem just like the main character, Sylvia, in her story. In an interview, Bambara talked about women in her neighborhood that influenced her literature. This is parallel to Miss Moore, a neighbor of Sylvia, who had a big impact on her. Like Bambara, James Baldwin, the author of “Sonny’s Blues”, was born in Harlem. While researching Baldwin, I found out he too grew up in poverty like, the characters in his short story “Sonny’s Blues”. Between the two stories there are many similarities
Darwin has two theories on the key principles of theory of evolution. One is the natural selection, a species that attains characteristics that are adapted to their environments (Darwin, Charles). The other one is survival of the fittest, which is when an individual best adapts to their environment survive to reproduce, and their genes are passed to later generat...
Charles Darwin founded the theory of evolution by natural selection, which according to this principle defines; biological characteristics enhance survival increase in frequency from generation to generation (Larsen et al. 22). These individuals are inclined to produce more sustainable offspring to pass their genes to, meaning that some individuals are more reproductively fruitful than others. Natural selection requires variation in a species, which can result by gene flow, mutation, or genetic drift & also involves environmental stresses such as climate change. These result as the evolutionary means of how certain traits can be selected. Eventually, traits that give individuals certain advantages, such as bipedalism in hominids, will be selected in great numbers & more individuals in a population will display these traits.
In “ how obesity became an epidemic disease” J. Eric Oliver discusses the negative impact the perception of obesity as a disease can have on the American people. Oliver begins by explaining the advent of the description of obesity as a disease and explains the fallacies in the argument that supports this description. The author argues that the data was misleadingly presented in a biased way to suggest that obesity is a spreading epidemic rather than a consequence from personal lifestyle choices. Oliver then delves into the ever-changing role of the CDC, explaining that many aspects of the human condition have slowly been medicalized and deemed diseases in need of a cure. According to the author, it appears that the inflation of the severity of obesity is often due to the commodification of the health care system promoted by the weight-loss industry and the need for passing the CDC budget through congress. The author argues that there is no clinical evidence linking some of the most abundant diseases in America to obesity.The author then makes the
The author uses graphs and different forms of interpretation to aid the reader into thinking in a critical and self-reflecting matter. The argument of it being environmental may be cause for concern, but it is not the primary source of the problem. The lack of self-control, self-worth, and education many Americans have concerning health and fitness is the main cause for the obesity epidemic in America today.
In conclusion, both articles explain what Darwinism means to them. It is the authors’ personal opinion, and it is up to the reader to decide on what they are going to believe. The politics, religious views, and education of a person may have an influence on what a person decides to believe. The topic of evolution and Darwinism has always been and will always be very controversial. In the end, though both Charles Darwin and Verlyn Klinkenborg have one thing in common, that is Darwinism is just a theory as of right now, and it may always be a theory.
According to Darwin and his theory on evolution, organisms are presented with nature’s challenge of environmental change. Those that possess the characteristics of adapting to such challenges are successful in leaving their genes behind and ensuring that their lineage will continue. It is natural selection, where nature can perform tiny to mass sporadic experiments on its organisms, and the results can be interesting from extinction to significant changes within a species.
Is obesity really a serious health concern or is the “epidemic” merely a result of highly fabricated, misleading ideas of politicians and the media? The article, Obesity: An Overblown Epidemic? By W. Wayt Gibbs featured in the May 23, 2005 edition of Scientific America, raises this question. Most health experts and average people believe that obesity is one of the most prevalent health concerns today, resulting in increased risk for other major health issues; such as; heart disease, type 2 diabetes and cancer, and the chance for early loss of life. However, other researchers are suggesting that the consequences of being overweight are being blown out of proportion. Naturally, they do acknowledge that obesity rates are increasing and being overweight can play a role in other health conditions.
Rome would come to be a powerful city, and as such, its leaders would gain an inherent nobility. This nobility was a prominent theme of the Roman origins myth, which dictated the first people of Rome were ancestors of the great Trojan hero Aneas (Livy, The Early History of Rome 1.1). This ancient heritage was of crucial importance to the Roman people as it brought a rich cultural heritage to a young nation. The right for Rome to rule was further ensured by the foundlings Romulus and Remus being the grandchildren of then king Numitor (Livy, The Early History of Rome 1.3), reinforcing the idea that Romans were of noble dissent, and hence, were meant to rule. The Roman people believed that they possessed an inherent nobility and right to rule, the Roman creation myth reflects this belief in the origins of the founders of the
For one thing, the authors of “The Necklace” and “The Lottery” uses similar technique of the literary elements as part of their short stories to connect the characters with their audience in stories. The author of the “The Necklace,” Guy de Maupassant uses tone to demonstrate the character’s mood and uses the setting to imply the cause that the character experiences. As well, the author of “The Lottery,” Shirley uses tone and setting to demonstrate the character’s state of mind and uses the setting to indicate the cause that the character experience. The tone and setting of the stories are the most significant
The first person who proposed natural selection in 1858 was the English scientist Charles Darwin. According to Darwin’s theory, mutated genetic traits, which allow an individual to survive environmental changes, prevail and are passed on to the offspring. The offspring, having inherited the mutated traits, reproduces again and expands the population with the new traits. This new offspring and population have passed through the process of Natural Selection and survived. In comparison, individuals without the mutated genes or with less desirable traits may have a harder time surviving natural obstacles. Without being able to survive, these individuals will not have a chance, or have very little chances, to produce offspring and pass on its unique strand of genes. Every living organism has to constantly fight to survive. “Darwin believed that nature selects which organisms survive,” (Bierer-Lien 404). An example of natural selection is Darwin’s observation of the finches on the Galapagos Islands. “Darwin discovered different species of finches on each of the islands, with each species having a bill that was adapted uniquely for eating on its island,” (Bierer-Lien 403). The adaption of the finches’ beaks on each individual islands helped them pass the test of Natural Selection,
Peer pressure should not be allowed because it may result in bad choices for the person experiencing it. Many kids entering high school, or middle school start experiencing all different kinds of peer pressuring. Whether it is encouraging you to join choir, track, or dance. But, sometimes your friends can be pressuring you to try very dangerous things. For example, drugs, drinking, and dares that lead to very hard consequences.
Kelsen’s theory or Pure Law generally dictates that the law is the law void of any morality. Which begs the question, is putting someone to death based on the displaying of a flag, moral? Although it is morally wrong to kill anyone, the law clearly states that anyone deemed a traitor would be put to death. Therefore, this law would be viable. Unless, there were some type of civil war to over throw the confederate government to change the norm of this law. Thereby making this law not
The social impact of the industrial revolution differentiated across the regions and classes. As factories emerged around towns, the population increased because of the migration from rural areas to the more convenient urban areas. New family and class structures became more evident to accommodate to the new wage economy and production was no longer in homes but in factories due to the need of large scale production. The cities transcended from 10% Europeans to an increase of 52% Englishmen, 25% Frenchmen and 36% Germans living in the cities. (Abdul Najeeb, (12th December
Peer Pressure “influences a person to change his/her attitudes, values, behaviours, and relationship in order to conform to the norms of the peer group”, (Cho, 2012. p.521).