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Work of Charles Darwin and Alfred Wallace:
Charles Darwin set off on a 5-year voyage in 1831 in which his perspective of life was greatly changed. He noticed the similarities and differences between the plants and animals in each region that he explored. At the time of his journey, people believed that the Earth was only a few thousand years old and that the organisms that lived in in were always the way they were and the work of one Creator.
Darwin began to question this theory when he examined the features of the animals on the Galapagos Islands, near South America. He saw a variety of different species of finches that were similar colours and sizes, but had different beak shapes. He believed that these variations suited them to specific types of food.
Darwin was also influenced by the beliefs of Sir Charles Lyell and James Hutton that geological changes happen due to slow, continuous actions instead of sudden actions. He wrote an essay called On the Origin of Species that remained unpublished for over 10 years.
While Darwin was still finding evidence to prove his theory, a naturalist named Alfred Wallace had obtained the same idea. Wallace also travelled and made detailed observations of variation in the species he saw. Wallace remembered reading a book called Essay on the Principle of Population in February 1858, a book that had also influenced Charles Darwin. He connected the ideas presented in this book with his own observations which gave Wallace the idea of the ‘survival of the fittest’. Wallace had asked the question ‘why do some die and some live?’ in which he came up with the answer that ‘on the whole, the best fitted lived’.
He then constructed an essay on the theory of evolution which he sent to Darwin.
Darwin received the letter and saw his life’s work practically summarised in one essay. He was hesitant but decided to still publish his work (with Wallace’s essay in a joint paper) as advised by Sir Charles Lyell and Sir Joseph Hooker. Darwin published his book called On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection in 1859.
Darwin’s theory was different from others as it also included a process through which evolution could happen. This process is mostly known as survival of the fittest but is also called natural selection.
Natural selection is a process that describes how a species gives rise to a new species that possesses characteristics that make them better adapted to a specific environment that may increase their chance of survival.
In 1871, Darwin published another book called The Descent of Man where he explains the idea that humans and other species that live on Earth are related.
Charles Darwin set off on a 5-year voyage in 1831 in which his perspective of life was greatly changed. He noticed the similarities and differences between the plants and animals in each region that he explored. At the time of his journey, people believed that the Earth was only a few thousand years old and that the organisms that lived in in were always the way they were and the work of one Creator.
Darwin began to question this theory when he examined the features of the animals on the Galapagos Islands, near South America. He saw a variety of different species of finches that were similar colours and sizes, but had different beak shapes. He believed that these variations suited them to specific types of food.
Darwin was also influenced by the beliefs of Sir Charles Lyell and James Hutton that geological changes happen due to slow, continuous actions instead of sudden actions. He wrote an essay called On the Origin of Species that remained unpublished for over 10 years.
While Darwin was still finding evidence to prove his theory, a naturalist named Alfred Wallace had obtained the same idea. Wallace also travelled and made detailed observations of variation in the species he saw. Wallace remembered reading a book called Essay on the Principle of Population in February 1858, a book that had also influenced Charles Darwin. He connected the ideas presented in this book with his own observations which gave Wallace the idea of the ‘survival of the fittest’. Wallace had asked the question ‘why do some die and some live?’ in which he came up with the answer that ‘on the whole, the best fitted lived’.
He then constructed an essay on the theory of evolution which he sent to Darwin.
Darwin received the letter and saw his life’s work practically summarised in one essay. He was hesitant but decided to still publish his work (with Wallace’s essay in a joint paper) as advised by Sir Charles Lyell and Sir Joseph Hooker. Darwin published his book called On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection in 1859.
Darwin’s theory was different from others as it also included a process through which evolution could happen. This process is mostly known as survival of the fittest but is also called natural selection.
Natural selection is a process that describes how a species gives rise to a new species that possesses characteristics that make them better adapted to a specific environment that may increase their chance of survival.
In 1871, Darwin published another book called The Descent of Man where he explains the idea that humans and other species that live on Earth are related.