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Edward Wilson’s essay,”Intelligent Evolution” is a introduction of a new book talking about Darwin. He illustrated Darwinism’s idea, evolution by natural selection, is the unique fact in biological system and still happening today. He raised many previous books written by Darwin to honor his amazing impact on the world of the science. He also talked about at that time, Darwin’s hard time to face his own faith on Biology and his belief, which no one else believed. He raised three different worldwide view on biology. One is religion thoughts, seeing humanity as a creature of God. Another one is political behaviorism. And both of them are radically opposed to the last one, scientific humanism.He firmly believes that Darwinism is the most significant
theory in Biology and inspires scientists to keep discovering our human beings. Analysis: This essay introduces Darwin’s influence on the Biology world and his achievements which are still affecting scientists. He uses huge part of this essay to give reader a clear picture of the background. He uses Darwin’s book written in different phases to illustrate the development of his idea on intelligent evolution. He also raises two other counter-thesis on evolution which are determined by God or evolve by historical contingency. His opinion on evolution is firm and consider it as a fact. He also uses this essay to emphasis Darwin’s accomplishment on Biology, like sunshine affecting the whole world.
Charles Darwin, the Father of Evolution, was a British scientist who laid the foundations of the theory of evolution, transforming the thinking of the entire world about the living things around us (Charles Darwin (1809 – 1882)). After working on his theory for nearly 20 years, he published On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection in 1859. As soon as the book was released, the controversy began with each sides gaining followers until the climax on July 10, 1925. The idea that animals could “evolve” and change into new species, including humans, was one that challenged not only how people thought about the natural world, but challenged the story of the creation from the Bible itself. Even though Darwin himself never said that humans “evolved” from apes, everyone took it as a logical extension of his new theory. It went against the idea of argument for design that had unified theology and science for decades (Moran 5). This new threat to Christianity and the social culture of the time was one that would transform state laws on their educational curriculum.
Charles Darwin contributed majorly to the evolutionary theory and was the first to consider the concept of natural selection. The evolutionary theory states that evolutionary change comes through the production of genetic variation in each generation and survival of individuals with different combinations of these characters. Individuals with characteristics which increase their probability of survival will have more opportunities to reproduce and their offspring will also benefit from the heritable, advantageous characteristic. So over time these variants will spread through the population. (S.Montgomery, 2009)
Evolution, also known as descent with modification, is a phrase Darwin used in proposing the evolution of Earth’s many species. Charles Darwin noticed that the descendants of ancestral species were different from the present day forms of species. Darwinism is a theory of biological evolution developed by Charles Darwin who was an English naturalist. He expounded the theory of evolution in his book of the Origin Species in 1859. He expresses that all types of organisms emerge and develop through natural selection, small, acquired traits that expands the individuals of capacity, survival, and reproduction. In this book, Darwin theorized that animals and plants evolve and develop with the aid of the creator through the process of natural selection.
Edward O. Wilson, in his essay Intelligent Evolution, diagnoses the gap between science and religion as “tectonic” (556), and predicts its continuous expansion. Obviously, the widest chasm appears in the field of biology: evolution versus creation. Evolutionary science sees life as a consequence of blind chances, while Abrahamic religion views life as a creation of God. After all, is it possible for evolution or creation to become the “correct” explanation, prevailing over the other? Wilson claims that evolution is the correct one, but I believe that there is no better or worse answer. Each authority is built on the different ground: either proof or faith. Hence, there is no common criteria to weigh them side by side and simply choose the answer.
Anyone with even a moderate background in science has heard of Charles Darwin and his theory of evolution. Since the publishing of his book On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection in 1859, Darwin’s ideas have been debated by everyone from scientists to theologians to ordinary lay-people. Today, though there is still severe opposition, evolution is regarded as fact by most of the scientific community and Darwin’s book remains one of the most influential ever written.
Keith Henson a writer in evolutionary psychology once said that “Evolution acts slowly. Our psychological characteristics today are those that promoted reproductive success in the ancestral environment.” Evolution was first introduced by a naturalist by the name of Charles Darwin. Darwin had written an autobiography, at the age of 50, On the Origin of Species (1859) explaining how species evolve through time by natural selection; this theory became known as Darwinism. “Verlyn Klinkenborg, who writes editorials and vignettes on science and nature for the “New York Times”” (Muller 706) questions Darwin’s theory in one of his essays he wrote called Darwin at 200: The Ongoing Force of His Unconventional Idea. Both articles talk about the theory of Darwinism, but the authors’ use different writing techniques and were written in different time periods. Darwin himself writes to inform us on what the theory is, where as Klinkenborg goes on to explain why Darwinism is just a theory. Today, evolution is still a very controversial topic among many. It comes up in several topics that are discussed everyday such as in politics, religion and education.
The historical analysis of Charles Darwin includes my rationale for choosing him as my topic, his background, the elements of his successes and failures of his influence, and his legacy. I have chosen Charles Darwin for the subject of my research paper because of his influence on science through his theory of evolution. He is a clear example of change in thought, as Gardner points out in our text (Gardner, 2006), but besides that, I have always had an interest in his work. I took a course on the English of Biology and read Origin of Species (Darwin, 1982) which continued to interest me in his work. Charles Darwin and his theories are often cited and used for various purposes, so I feel his influence...
According to Edward Wilson, the desire of mankind to explain their origins has led to three dominant worldviews that attempt to explain human existence and present condition. These three worldviews are God-centered religion, political behaviorism, and scientific humanism. However, these views fail to recognize another increasingly popular worldview known as Intelligent Design. Because the theory of Intelligent Design hinges on the premise that human existence is the direct consequence of a supernatural “intelligent designer” who designed the world and all of its complex organisms, that in turn are made up of complex parts designed purposefully by this “intelligent designer”, Wilson has lumped this theory in with the God-centered creation worldview (par. 12). However, proponents of Intelligent Design differ from traditional Creationists in the idea that they are attempting to put a scientific stamp on their theory. Proponents of this theory conduct scientific research to ferret out facts that scientifically support their theory. As Intelligent Design attempts to meld Creationism and Darwinism, it certainly should be addressed as an independent worldview from those examined by Wilson. As individual principals go, there are none so staunchly supported and stubbornly held to as those regarding the beginning of life. Because religion relies on the blind faith that mankind epitomizes God’s creative power and our present condition has likewise been guided by his hand, political behaviorism relies on the theory that humans are simply blank slates, free from the bindings of religious dogma and evolving genetic imprinting and are able to be molded and imprinted with the “best” political ideals, and scientific humanism relies on the ...
Charles Darwin has had the greatest influence on the world by proving the evolution of living things. Charles Darwin had first noticed the similarities of plants and animals when he took a five-year cruise on the H.M.S. Beagle, which was available to him through a friend from school. During the cruise Charles Darwin started becoming interested with the similarities between the plants and animals that were similar on different islands with similar climates, so he decided to study them more closely.
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 intellectuals. People applied Darwinism and its belief in survival of the fittest to all areas of life. They used it as a “natural law” which supported their actions and beliefs. Advocates manipulated the scientific doctrine to fulfill their personal needs and to justify religious beliefs, capitalism, and military conquests.
In 1859, Charles Darwin set out his exploration of the evolution by natural selection as an explanation for adaptation and speciation 1859. Darwin characterized natural selection as the rule by which each variety of a trait, if valuable, is safeguarded. Another researcher, Alfred Russell Wallace, came to a similar conclusion, but because Darwin was well-known and respected researcher even before he composed On the Origin of Species, Wallace was obscure and unknown, so individuals were more likely to listen to Darwin. Darwin's theory comprised of two key emphases which were varied gatherings of creatures advance from one or a couple of basic predecessors of adaptation. And the component by which this development happens is natural selection.
Evolution is a systematic mechanism through which the modern day has evolved from his ancestors. The Darwin’s Theory of Evolution is based on the premise that we all
The evolution theory, one of the most significant theories, laid groundwork for the study of modern biological science. This theory has lead scientists into unending debates due to lack of empirical supports. Until the mid-eighteenth century, when Charles Darwin came up with an explanation to evolution, scientists, then, began to endorse this hypothesis. In “Natural Selection,” Darwin explains the natural selection, a plausible mechanism that causes evolution, to gain approval of his cynical audience for his evolution theory. He supports his claim with numerous examples of animals and plants that have developed traits beneficial for survival. A century later, Stephen Jay Gould, influenced by Darwin’s work, supports the evolution theory with a different method. In “Evolution as Fact and Theory,” Gould, in contrast to Darwin, criticizes his detractors, the creationists who believe that every life form is the creation of a supernatural being, to reinforce the validity of the evolution theory. Gould undermines creationism by emphasizing its misused concepts of theory and popular philosophy, proving that it is not science. Besides denouncing creationism, Gould also provides theoretical examples as evidence to prove evolution is a theory. Despite their different approaches, both Darwin and Gould effectively prove the existence of evolution.
Science was just a hobby of his, as well as some of his family members (92). He did make huge contributions to science even though it was just a hobby of his. An example is, Darwin published On the Origin of Species in 1859 (ProQuest Staff). In this book, “Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution states that humans and apes evolved from a common ancestor” (ProQuest Staff). As resources lesson some organisms did not adapt fast enough to survive (Darwin 92). This was one of the earliest ideas of evolution. In 1860, Thomas Henry Huxley coined “Darwinism” as a term to refer to Darwin’s evolutionary theory (ProQuest Staff). Theologian Charles Hodge, however, says that Darwinism is atheism (ProQuest Staff). It is not though, science and religion are separate things making that statement irrelevant. In 1859, the scientific community accepts evolution due to some contributions from Darwin (ProQuest Staff). In 1871, Darwin publishes his second book The Descent of Man, which applies his original theories to human evolution (ProQuest Staff). Once again disproving religious beliefs that humans and apes are not
The theory takes into consideration the biological processes of natural selection, mutation, symbiosis, gene transfer and genetic drift. Science concept Charles Darwin Charles Darwin was a naturalist born on the 12th of February 1809 in England. Darwin grew up loving nature and went to Edinburgh University. On the trip around the world, Darwin collected natural samples including birds, plants and fossils. Darwin found a particular interest in the Pacific islands and South America.