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Charles Darwin
Author of The Origin of Species and creator of the theory of evolution and the concept of natural selection
3,722 Questions
Theory of Evolution by Inheritance of Acquired Characteristics?
This is the theory of Lamarck and it is long refuted.
4 points to Darwins theory of evolution?
I presume the questioner requires 4 points of information about evolution.
Four brief points are;
1. Evolution is driven by natural selection
2. The base unit of variation is the gene
3. Charles Darwin was the original propounder of evolution
4. Comparative anatomy and the fossil record can give clues to the evolutionary of today's extant organisms
Four points is scarcely enough, so below is a little more background.
Charles Darwin formulated the theory of evolution, suggesting natural selection as its driver. He delineated his ideas in On the Origin of Species in 1859.
These days the theory of evolution gleans insight into the evolution of species by examining fossils, dating fossils, comparing anatomies and comparing nucleic acid sequences.
The Theory of Evolution has managed to get this far in tracing the history of life.
Life started in the ocean in the form of the simplest single cells. A likely theory is life started around hydrothermal vents. But whatever the abiogenetic origin of life, as soon as it could be defined as 'life' it began to evolve by nucleic acid mistakes in replication and mutations as such.
Eukaryotic life branched from the main clade of life billions of years after the first life.
The earliest animals were jellyfish and worms and sponges. Note that the sponge species today are not the same as those of the Precambrian Era. That is not how evolution works. The following illustrates, as a diversion, common misconceptions about evolution;
Humans evolved FROM chimpanzees
This is an incorrect statement. Chimpanzees are extant. Humans are extant. It was a human-chimpanzee common ancestor a couple of million years ago that humans and chimpanzees evolved FROM. It is due to the recentness in time from the divergence from the common ancestor of human and chimpanzee that the two are so anatomically and genetically similar.
Thus, in the case of sponges - those sponges extant today are not the original sponges of the world. Sponges today evolved from the same common ancestor as humans, but this common ancestor was billions of years ago. This great time span has given time for animals to diversify and become more complex, explaining the complexity and vast phenotypic differences between sponges and humans. Sponges exist today as the spongeform (which was/is so simple that it could develop first of all among the animals) has been conserved throughout time (since their common ancestor), while the other offbranches - those that may have lead to echinoderms or annelids or sea squirts- changed within their own clades and since they were more complex than sponges, develped later.
All life has a common ancestry. There was once a bacteria-archaebacteria-eukarya common ancestor. That was the first cell or couple of cells of all life. Evolution works by common ancestry. (We can trace this by modern phylogeny and taxonomy, grouping everything into their own groups called monophylies).
Finally, a point on complexity. Obviously things have to start out simple and end up complex, or to put it better, to gain greater complexity as time goes on. But evolution's 'goal' is not to gain complexity. Evolution works by natural selection. Selction selects those characterists of organisms that CAN SURVIVE. Simple sponges can survive just as well as complex mammals or insects. So selection allows them to continue to exist.
Evolution does not seek intelligence either. Intelligent organisms can simply survive a little better than a lot of other things. Intelligence is simply an attribute that allows organisms that acquire it to survive being weeded out by selection.
In short evolution has no goal at all, which is why 'goal' is in inverted commas above.
Still, admiring all species that survive today, that selection allows to survive because they CAN SURVIVE, one can still identify all species' beauty; Darwin's 'forms most beautiful'.
What scientific principle did Jacques Charles discover?
Charles' Law describes how gases expand when they are heated. Jacques Charles conducted experiments by filling balloons with various types of gases, then heating them and observing how they expanded.
Why do some religious thinkers disagree with Darwin's theory?
According to my belief in the Bible, God created all of creation in 6 days. Darwin's theory contradicts this theory in that creation evolved in a series of millions or possibly billions of years. As a creationist, I believe that the world has only lived for only some thousand or tens of thousands of years, but not millions or billions of years. Also, evolution's belief of rock layers defining periods of time is being proved wrong as examples of small floods show that many layers of rocks and sediment can be created through a period of a couple of hours. Believing that the atmosphere contained most of the water in the time before the great flood, the release of that flood would have created devastating results and for canyons, mountains, valleys, and innumerable layers of rock and sediment in a matter of a day. This world is too complex to be created by chance and mutation. This world was created by my all-powerful and loving God.
What theory is Charles Darwin Known for?
Charles Darwin was best known for his theory of evolution. He wrote the book The Origin of Species. He is known for his journey on the Beagle, and for developing the theory of adaptation and natural selection. Animal species evolved into their current state--humans probably developed from primates to neanderthals to Homo sapiens.
How does the punctuated equilibrium model of evolution states that evolution occurs rapidly?
Gradualism is the theory that evolution occurs slowly and consistently along periods of time.
On the other hand, punctuated equilibrium is the theory that evolution does not occurs for long periods of time and then suddenly evolves rapidly in a small short period of time.
When did Charles Darwin leave for his voyage?
He left in 1831/
He traveled on the HMS Beagle.This voyage was extensive, stopping at many exotic places and a trip which took nearly five years; they did not to return to England until October 2, 1836. During that time, they visited Tenerife, the Cape Verde Islands, the Brazilian coast, Argentina, Uruguay, Tierra del Fuego, Chile, the Galapagos Archipelago, Tahiti, New Zealand, Tasmania and the Keeling Islands
Where did Darwin study animals?
Darwin first went to the University of Edinburgh to study medicine but he didn't like the sight of blood. He then moved to Christ's College, Cambridge to study to become a priest. He didn't finish the course.
What evidence gathered by Charles Darwin led to his theory?
After collecting specimens from many areas of the world, Darwin noted the similarities in them. He discovered that new kinds of species could gradually grow into new ones over years.
Did Charles Darwin get a college degree?
The desire to discover more about his world than he knew already.
The drive to ask questions of what he saw and what he was told.
The strength to challenge the existing dogma.
The courage to publicize his results even knowing it would distress the current status quo.
Oh, and his beard :)
What animal live on the islands that Charles Darwin made famous?
Charles Darwin became famous for his theory on evolution. He got his idea from some birds that he saw on the island which were similar to the ones he had back home in England, but they were different. All the birds on the island were the same and so he came up with the idea of 'Survival of the Fittest'. So the main animals that lived on the island were birds.
Who independently developed the same theory as Darwin?
At the exact some time as Darwin. In 1858 the two theories were read out to the Linnaen society. This man was Alfred Russel Wallace.
Natural Selection is a process which individuals are better adapted to their enviorment are more likely to survive and reproduce. Say there are turtles barely hatching and there are hungry seagul waiting to be fed, the fastest ones will make it to the water safely while the slow ones are being eaten. so eventually all the turtles in the sea will become faster to get away from predators. hopefully that answered your question.
How does artificial selection support Darwin's hypothesis?
please some one answer this question because i need t for freaking science class.. thank you.. i need it pronto.. :D
No he wasn't. race didn't even phase him as he was more interested in our genetic commonalities than in our differences. This article is pretty accurate as far as I can tell: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Darwin#Publication_of_the_theory_of_natural_selection
In Charles Darwin's own words:"At some future period, not very distant as measured by centuries, the civilized races of man will almost certainly exterminate, and replace, the savage races throughout the world."-Charles Darwin, The Descent of Man. In addition, Charles Darwin subtitled his magnus opus The Preservation of Favored Races in the Struggle for Life. Thomas Huxley, who was the man most responsible for advancing Darwinian doctrine, went so far as to say "No rational man cognizant of the facts, believes that the average Negro is the equal, still less the superior, of the white man."darwin raggilin caspein ahap pesidion necadimus watterson the third
Why was Charles Darwin's explanation good?
There is scientific evidence creatures do adapt to the environment, like man, or evolve but it is debatable if that preclude Creation theory- a deity could easily create something that adapts (IMO)
Where did Charles Darwin get most of his evidence of evolution?
Observation of finches on the Galapagos Islands.
Which early psychologist was most influenced by Charles Darwin?
William James as an American philosopher and psychologists that was influenced by Charles Darwin. In the United States, he was the first educator to offer a class in psychology.
How does the fossil record evidence support the modern theory of evolution?
Answer 1
For Example, You find a fossil of a creature from a certain timeline, then you find the same creature with some changes in a timeline later than the previous and if you have enough fossils you can see how the organism appears at its earliest place in the fossil record( some organisms only appear in the fossil record once they have evolved in a way that makes fossilization possible eg shell, jellyfish are very rare in fossils because they are mostly water) and see the organism change over time into a completely different animal through a series of consecutive glimpses of the creature.
Answer 2
The absence of transitional forms (fossil record) is an insurmountable hurdle for all evolutionists.
Answer 3
The fossil record, with its many diverging progressions of traits and morphological intermediates, illustrates the changing of life forms as they diverge from their common ancestors towards more modern forms, matching seamlessly the nested hierarchies of modern morphology. Even without the fossil record, we would have had a pretty good picture of our evolutionary past - with it, we can give shape to the forms that came before us.
What did Darwin do after the voyage?
After the voyage on the Beagle, Darwin edited and contributed to Zoology of the Voyage of H.M.S. Beagle. As part of this work he met and corrosponded with most of the leading natural scientists of his time. His reputation grew largely out of this work.
