1.
Select one of the five individuals listed above
who you would argue had the most influence over Darwin’s development of his
theory of Natural selection. This could be a positive or a negative influence.
I strongly believe that Thomas Malthus had the strongest influence on Darwin’s hypothesis on evolution. Malthus wrote “An
Essay on the Principle of Population” which influenced Darwin with his
discovery of natural selection.
2.
Briefly (but completely) describe the
contribution this individual made to the scientific community. You must provide
one link to an online source of information besides your textbook.
Malthus’ essay was about the influences
that the environment, as well as how natural resources affects human population
growth. He stated that the amount of resources stay relatively the same, so the
population of humans normally adjust and compete for what is available to them. He also stated that if the human population was not regulated, resources would quickly run out and we would all perish from famine. Darwin took his ideas a step further by applying them to the rest of nature.
3.
From the bullet point list above (under “How
does evolution work?”), identify the point (or points) most directly affected
by this individual’s work and thoroughly explain how this point was influenced
by your selected individual. Again, this could be a positive effect, meaning
Darwin built upon the knowledge this information provided, or a negative
effect, meaning that Darwin demonstrated that this individual’s idea(s) were
incorrect and the mechanism of natural selection was an alternative
explanation.
The point that is most applicable with the
ideas of Malthus is: “Resources are
limited.” Malthus stated in his essay that without regulation of the size
of population, resources will become scarce and famine will consume and destroy
mankind. Darwin used this idea to explain is idea of natural selection. Since
resources are always limited, species must compete with each other to attain
those resources. The weak eventually die out, while the stronger reproduce.
4.
Could Darwin have developed his theory of
natural selection without the influence and ideas of this individual? Explain.
I think it is hard to determine whether or not Darwin could have been able to come to his conclusions on natural selection without the contributions of Malthus or any of the other scientists listed. However, I also strongly believe that Malthus' contribution is very significant and more influential on Darwin than anyone else.
5.
How did the attitude of the church affect Darwin
and his eventual publication of his book On the Origin of Species?
The church considered anything that seemed
against the teaching of God’s word was heresy. Of course the church would have
a huge issue with Darwin’s publication, but that didn’t stop him. Although he
received a lot of criticism from the church, he equally received praise from
the scientific community.
When writing for my blog I found that I believed that Wallace had made the biggest contribution to Darwin’s theory. After reading your post I do see the significance that Malthus had. Darwin took Malthu’s findings and had it not been for him his work could have taken much longer
ReplyDelete* to: Anne Tereska
Delete* from: Emma Guzman
In general, good outline of Malthus' ideas. The only correction is the idea that human populations normally adjust to resource availability. Malthus was suggesting that non-human populations tend to have this ability but that human populations didn't seem to do this, except through drastic disasters such as famine and disease. He was arguing that humans need to start controlling their reproduction (he was a proponent of birth control) to prevent these disasters.
ReplyDeleteGreat explanation as to how Malthus contributed to that bullet point and how it directly relates to Darwin's work. Well done.
Malthus is one of those few individuals that comes closest to be indispensable to Darwin and his work, but I agree that it is possible Darwin still would have come up with the ideas without Malthus.
With regard to the last point, actually, Darwin was stopped from publishing his work for more than 20 years, and much of that is attributed to his concerns about how it would be received by not only the scientific community but also the general public, the church included. What specific concerns caused him to delay? What impact might there have been on himself and his family?
Good start to the class.
I agree that the church was against Darwin's theory of evolution. The church strongly believed that God created everything which caused Darwin to delay his publication. I also believe that the help of other influences helped mold Darwin into being greater but he was also determined enough on his own to continue to research until he had facts behind his theory.
ReplyDelete