Darwin’s Simplification
In his book, On the Origin of Species, he has written in such a way that any audience can quite simply understand and grasp his concept of evolution. Charles Darwin, a man of God and science, changed the way people see the world today. The sequence in which the chapters were published, even the language he uses can be seen as a way for others to clearly comprehend his theories. Even though Darwin did not simply disregard religion as a whole, his evolutionary theory offers and alternative to the theological creation ideas of the era.
In order to gently ease his religious and creationist audience at the time, into accepting his ideas, Darwin begins his book with describing the evolutions of animals and plants that are created and affected by man. This is, what he calls, the domestication of a species, the changes that we as humans choose to create. The domestication of specific species, of animals or plants, is to apply specific characteristics viewed as favorable to others, or necessary to thrive, together. People have cross bred certain plants that can produce particular vegetation with others plants that can withstand different climate conditions. Doing this creates a new plant, either to grow more vegetation, or to be given more of a chance of sprouting under diverse climates. This has also been done with animals. People have cross bred some wild animals with tame ones for their various reasons. Such as luxury or necessity, by wanting of the size of a certain variety, quality of fur, even their ability to be trained, animals have been bred to ensure these different attributes be combined together. This still goes on today. Some people are favorable to mixed breeds of dogs to obtain a specific color from o...
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..., he beings with a more known and sensible topic, describing the part man plays in evolution, to gradually keep his readers understanding his ideas. He uses terms and descriptions that can easily be followed. Since humans need to feel safe, closely relates to how unaccepting of change they are, this is why Darwin approaches his theory in the way he does, to not rattle the idea of safety, because humans want to hold on to the ancient ideas of life. In which, he can relate religion and science, also becoming such a radical influence to all.
Works Cited
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Cosans, Chris. "Was Darwin a Creationist?" Perspectives in Biology and Medicine 48.3 (2005): 362-371.
Darwin, Charles. The Origin Species. W. W. Norton & Company, 2002.
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.
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.
...tarted rationalizing their emotions, the clarity of evolution dawned upon their eyes, and of acceptance of new foreign ideas. Here was a thing that not only could explain the mysteries of life, but also serve as testimonial to the foolishness of pride. Evolution was a hallmark in the relations between science and religion, as the two sides realized neither was trying to undermine the other, and even in some cases joined in union to promote humanities advancement. The story of evolution is significant to history not only because of its scientific achievements, but also the gap it bridged between the scientific and religious community, and the lesson it taught that acceptance of new ideas does not have to mean the end of prior beliefs altogether. No other scientific revolution has generated as much human controversy and unity as Charles Darwin's theory of evolution.
Zhao, Buyun. "Charles Darwin & Evolution." Charles Darwin & Evolution. Christ's College, 2009. Web. 04 May 2014.
Darwin’s theories and beliefs of his time caused a huge uproar among masses of people who knew of them. Even his scientist colleagues did not like the way some of his theories contradict beliefs in the Bible. One of the major theories that started it all was that of Natural Selection.
Dennett, Daniel C. Darwin's Dangerous Idea: Evolution and the Meanings of Life. New York: Touchstone, 1996.
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.
Throughout history, many have inquired into Charles Darwin’s religious beliefs and have come up with a wide variety of answers. Why are his personal beliefs important when dealing with a matter of science that Darwin researched? Darwin excluded the question of a Creator from his works because it was irrelevant to his scientific research, and the debate regarding Darwin’s faith arises due to his conflicting accounts of his personal faith as well as the way his early childhood and teenage years shaped his religious views at different times and provided a foundation for his revolutionary research.
...n a subject which the public had relatively no knowledge of. He described the way in which an individual of a species reproduced and genetically passed on variations. The species that adapted through variation was the one who survived. This is where the phrase “survival of the fittest” came from. As pointed out, Charles Darwin was a man ahead of his time, and his work laid the structural basis for how we now look at evolution. On the last page of Origin of the Species, Darwin summarizes his findings, “as Natural Selection works solely by and for the good of each being, all corporeal and mental endowments will tend to progress towards perfection”.
Evolution is the reason for many different species and their existence. Evolution proves that there is much more to the world than the human can see. Charles Darwin had looked into the eye of the storm, and found something revolutionary. His research has changed and reshaped science in it’s own very existence; changing how scientists see their works. Charles created a new way of thinking, and proven that there is always an alternate reason why something is the way it is, and how it became that way, not to mention he constructed against religion that proves itself to be wrong. Everything has a reason, and evolution has made that reason clear to us, through Darwin’s works.”Charles Darwin is best known for his work as a naturalist, developing a theory of evolution to explain biological change.”
In 1859 Charles Darwin shocked the world as he wrote about Natural selection and his theory of evolution in his book Origin of Species. To convince people of his points, Darwin used the audience to his advantage. By writing in first person, Darwin included the reader in his work. This was accompanied by a logical analysis of the world around him and a tone of extreme confidence to solidify Darwin's work to be held in the reader's mind as fact. Darwin's rhetorical skills are what has made his theory so popular and one of the reasons his work is highly read today.
The information presented in evolution studies must be viewed with an open mind since there is no definite proof or law of evolution. The dilemma boils down to science vs. religion. God has been our creator since beginning of time, but the discoveries of recent science are sudde...
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.
At the age of seventeen, Kilpatrick went to Mercer University (his father’s Alma Mater) and was a top performer in ancient languages and mathematics. During his junior year, Kilpatrick came across a book titled The Origin of Species, which made a significant impact on his professional, as well as personal life. “The more I read it the more I believed it and in the end I accepted it fully. This meant a complete reorganization, a complete rejection of my previous religious training and philosophy” (Beyer, 1997, pg. 2). Kilpatrick strongly felt that his acceptance of Darwin’s theory on Origin of Species meant a rejection of his religion as a Christian and a strained relationship with his family. He noted that this turn of events, made him not believe in life after death and brought to an end the strong worship he had for God. Though, this discovery of “modern evolution” caused him to lose religious beliefs, Kilpatrick maintained his moral values (Beyer, 1997).
Desmond, A. & Moore, J. Darwin: The Life of a Tormented Evolutionist. W.W. Norton & Company. New York. 1994