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Theory of evolution - Charles Darwin’s ideas of natural selection
Essay on darwin's theory of natural selection
Theory of evolution - Charles Darwin’s ideas of natural selection
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Tautology – “Survival of the fittest” is sometimes claimed to be tautology. The reasoning is that if one takes the term “fit” to mean “endowed with phenotypic characteristics which improve chances survival and reproduction”, then “survival of the fittest” can simply be rewritten as “survival of those who are better equipped for surviving”. Furthermore, the expression does become a tautology if one uses the most widely accepted definition of “fitness” in modern biology, namely reproductive success itself. This reasoning is sometimes used to claim that Darwin’s entire theory of evolution by natural selection is fundamentally tautological, and therefore devoid of any explanatory power.
However, the expression “survival of the fittest” gives a
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Sheerer points out, as example that population genetics accurately demonstrate when natural will and will not effect change on a population. Sheerer hypothesizes that if hominid fossils were found in the same geological strata as trilobites, it would be evidence against natural …show more content…
The stronger wins and the weaker must submit and serve the will of the conqueror, or killed. Buck understands this very quickly, after he is beaten by the man in the red sweater, and he adapts to it. Adaptation is the key. He also adapts to the “law of fang,” which applies to the dog world. He first sees this at work his friend Curly naively tries to make friendly advances to the other dogs. She is torn to pieces within minutes. Buck realizes, “So that was the way. No fair play. Once down, that was the end of you”. He resolves never to go down. This sets the pattern for the reminder of the novel. Buck proves himself to be the strongest, the most resourceful, and the most courageous. Since he is the fittest he is the one who survives in the “ruthless struggle for existence” (chapter
The idea of survival of the fittest goes back to Darwin in his evolutionary theory, and Europeans used the same analogy to describe them and other nations. In document 6, William Schallmayer says that “competition makes some nations and races powerful and brings other, backward nations and races into decline”. In this statement,
In Alaska, Buck is sold to become a sled dog. Intelligent and hard working, he quickly learns to adapt to his new life. He becomes a good sled dog, working as part of the team; he also learns how to protect himself from the miserable cold, burrowing under the snow, and how to find food, stealing if necessary. He also learns he must always be alert, for there are dangers everywhere. Additionally, Buck learns the law of the whip, for if he does not obey the driver or do his fair share of pulling, he will be popped.
In life, things will happen, and I can promise you that. Good or bad? There’s no telling, but in either one, you must always persevere. In The Call of the Wild, Buck must keep going and never lose hope. If he does, there is a slim window for survival. When you get badly hurt sometimes you just want to break down and cry, but in my dad’s position that wasn’t an option. While Buck is a dog and my dad is a human, they both can relate. Perseverance is a hard trait to have but in life threatening situations, it can go two ways. We can be broken, but nothing is immendable. We can always be fixed no matter what happens. Buck and my dad can prove that.
When Buck overtakes the position of lead dog he looks to the team and their bad habits sets them straight to make a more efficient and cohesive working team. Many of the dogs on
In the novel, The Call Of The Wild, by Jack London, Buck is a domesticated dog adapting and trying to survive in the wild. The topic in this novel is perseverance since the author constantly provides many hints throughout the novel that proves that the topic in this novel is perseverance. It can be seen when Buck perseveres in trying to adapt to his situation and understanding his surroundings. Also when he preservers through all the pain and suffering that is constantly leaking around him and Buck is sometimes rewarded for persevering through the hardships that follow day by day. Thus the theme in the book is in order to be rewarded, one must persevere. This message is found throughout the book since the protagonist, Buck is always facing
Secondly, Buck must adapt to being a servant instead of a king, as he once referred to himself as, And lastly he must adapt to the sleeping conditions there, because he is use to the perfect climate at judge miller's place. As an example he must adapt to running in the cold so his pads won't crack. This is because his paw pads aren't as resistant as the husky because they were born for life on the ice and snow. Secondly, Buck must become use to the fact that he is no longer the king but has instead become a slave to man. An example of bucks new position is the fact that instead of being able to roam completely freely and have everything he needs he usually doesn't have much food and his feet usually hurt. Since there are not many animals in the
They suggest adaptationists “atomize” organism's traits to natural selection and can be viewed as a separate adaptation to act as a non-mutually exclusive function (Gould and Lewontin, p. 585). Gould and Lewontin say instead, that natural selection works on organisms as a whole and not trait-by-trait. In other words, natural selection does not look at individual traits; rather it actually focuses only on the total organism, which Gould and Lewontin were correct about. Additionally, all that natural selection focuses on is an organism’s fitness. Fitness is also relative to other individuals of the population; therefore, there is no direct number for ‘good’ fitness. Natural selection indirectly affects other trait because the genes are correlated. Lastly, the authors provide a great authoritative voice by stating “In natural history, all possible things happen sometimes; you general not support your favored phenomenon by declaring rivals impossible in theory” (Gould and Lewontin, p. 585). This shows a talking with attitude instead of a talking at attitude in this
However the fossil record is one of the strongest lines of evidence for evolution. It provides Paleogeologist a unique view into the history of life by showing the features of life in the past. Paleogeologist usually discovered fossils near the earth’s surface, “if a preserved fossil escapes destruction by geological forces, it may become exposed by erosion” (text book 103). Forbes Quarry Neanderthal may be brought to the earth surface by the forces that uplift segments of th...
In fact, Buck and the protagonist are not even part of the same species. Buck is a large canine, a mix between a St. Bernard and a Scottish shepherd.This is further evident when The Call of The Wild states, ”His father, Elmo, a huge St. Bernard, had been the Judge’s inseparable companion,...for his mother, Shep, had been a Scotch shepherd.” The protagonist is a fellow human, but a man that has gone terribly mad. The two are also different in their execution of solving their conflicts. Buck fights them off like the wild dog-beast he is, never showing mercy, for there is none in his world. The protagonist is very meticulous in his actions, taking an entire week to carefully plan the murder. To make a point, while the physical differences are the most obvious of them, the physical differences are the most
“It is not the strongest of the species survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change.” – Charles Darwin
...lection acts may occur randomly, but natural selection itself is not random at all. As the survival and reproductive success of an individual is directly related to the ways its inherited traits function in the context of its local environment. The third one is that as explained by the theory of evolution, individuals with characteristics which increase their probability of survival will have more opportunities to reproduce and their offspring will also benefit from these heritable advantageous characteristics. The last one is the evidence from the biological science and the natural world, which include the Galapagos finches, the peppered moths, and the pesticide-resistant insects. All these reasons definitely prove the misconception that natural selection is a random process wrong, and provide strong evidences that natural process is clearly not a random process.
To kill or be killed, was the mentality amongst the dogs on the team and the wild dogs, including the time Buck and Spitz got into a fight for being the lead dog. London describes, "The dominant primordial beast was strong in Buck, and under the fierce condition of trail life it grew and grew. Yet it was a secret growth. His newborn cunning gave him poise and control, and in the bitter hatred between him and Spitz he betrayed no impatience, shunned all offensive acts" (London 32). Buck seemed to have a rare survival instinct that had come alive inside of him like a primordial beast, which resulted in Spitz's death. In conclusion, Buck endured many
Buck is from a household where nothing is hard for him to do, and he always has plenty to eat. Out in the wild, overtime Buck learns how to survive like a wild dog. For example, he learns how to make a bed by digging a hole in the snow that way his body heat is in the hole, while the cold air is blowing around above. Another example would be that he learns how to be sneaky like one of his other dog friends, and is able to take his masters food without them looking.
feelings in the man and the dog, of a constant battle with this world of
Natural selection is not a fully random process that functions by ‘chance.’ As natural selection