Darwin’s Impact
Philosophy
• Man is the consequence of a series of improbable events • Emancipation of science from philosophy – Changed our perceptions with an argument entirely outside the framework of classical philosophy.
On the Origin of Species
Religious Atmosphere
• Never once uses the word “evolution,” instead refers to his theory as “descent with modification.” • Proclaimed himself “the Devil’s Chaplain.” • Publishing the theory felt “like confessing a murder.”
Discoveries
• Galápagos: collected birds, noted that mockingbirds differed depending on which island they came from. – Transmutation: creatures new to islands become altered in some way to form new species.
HMS Beagle
• • Took five years, two-thirds of which Darwin spent on land. Collected an enormous number of specimens, many of them new to science.
HMS Beagle
Darwin’s Impact
Religion
• We may now dismiss this most powerful reason for believing in God. – Richard Dawkins: “I could not imagine being an atheist before 1859, when Darwin’s Origin of Species was published. . . Darwin made it possible to be an intellectually fulfilled atheist”
Evolutionary Theory
1. Evolution did occur.
2. Evolutionary change is gradual, requiring thousands to millions of years. 3. The primary mechanism for evolution is natural selection. – The survival or extinction of each organism is determined by that organism's ability to adapt to its environment. 4. Evolution by common descent is the dominant scientific explanation of diversification in nature.
On the Origin of Species
Public’s Reaction
• Darwin’s Origin of Species released November 22, 1859 – Appealed to public interest, but expert biologists continued to uphold the dogma of creation and the constancy of species
Charles Darwin
February 12, 1809 – April 19, 1882
by Katharine E. Hamilton
Education
Discovering His Passion
• Studied medicine at Edinburgh, theology at Cambridge • Interest in natural history • Taught by a freed black slave who told him exciting tales of the South American Rainforest
Darwin’s Impact
Society
• Revelations about Race • Eugenics • Social Darwinism
Other Contributions to Science
Study of Flowers
• Explored how the beauty of flowers serves to control insect pollination and ensures cross fertilization.
Other Contributions to Science
The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex
• Published in 1871. • Introduces concept of sexual selection to explain: – Evolution of human culture – Differences between human sexes – Differentiation of human races – Beautiful (and seemingly non-adaptive) plumage of birds