Charles Darwin's Theory of Evolution

Before the theory of evolution was a widespread theory in the world of science, Greek and Roman philosophers had their own theories about how life came to its present state and where it was going from there. One theory at the time was that all organisms are reflections of a “perfect” form and were coming closer to it all the time, although this was the less accepted theory even though it was closer to the truth proven hundreds of years after, while another was that all things were simply places on Earth in their present form, common to modern day Creationism. Even after this, Darwin was not the first to try explain evolution, he just provided convincing proof and published his ideas. The publishing of Darwin’s Theory of Evolution was one of the most important biological advancements of all time, additionally; it led to answers about the earth’s history, and gives insight into mankind’s own ancient, unwritten past.

Charles Darwin was a naturalist from the first years of his life; consequently, he was always spending his time collecting plant samples and going on nature walks (Sparknotes). At his birthplace in Shrewsbury, England, he lived with his accomplished father and in the shadow of his grandfather, Erasmus Darwin, who had his own ideas about evolution (Browne 40). He was born in the height of fathers career, thus his family was wealthy. Darwin had little to no interest in schooling, but he was still had the intelligence to be invited on the HMS Beagle (Sparknotes). The HMS Beagle was a British ship on a scientific expedition around the globe to study the flora and fauna native to whatever are that they visited (Browne 40). The Beagle departed from Devonport, England in December of 1831 and began sailing down the weste...

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...ral History).

When these theories were first published, they were met with stiff opposition by the common people. Evolution conflicted with the people’s religious beliefs and Darwin’s ideas were rejected by all except other scientists (Browne 40). The Bible states that the earth is only a few thousand years, but for evolution to be possible, the earth would have to be several millions of years old if not more. The Bible also suggests that all species were put on the earth at the same time and in the same form that they are in today, including humans, rather that the common ancestry and speciation that evolution supports(Silverstein 10). But whether they choose Creationism or Darwinism, it is difficult for one to deny the facts and proofs that are put forth by the theory of evolution, and every day another step is made towards finding the true origin of species.