Historical Influences on Darwin
Charles Lyell, a friend and mentor of Charles Darwin, had the most influence on Darwin's work and his theory of Natural Selection. Lyell, outside of the friendship and mentorship of Darwin, argued: "that the geological processes we see today are the same as those that existed in the past." Lyell was a proponent of a theory called Uniformitarianism, where geological processes are the same over a long period of time. "Darwin, greatly influenced by Lyell, extended that principle to biology. Species, like geologic features, evolved gradually or died out gradually." The two points that were helped by Lyell's work are, "Individuals do not change, populations do" and, "in order for natural selection to occur, reproduction must occur."(PBS) The first point helps Darwin's theory by proposing that if change happens, it happens on a mass scale. The second point helps Darwin's theory by proposing that the species must continue to exist for change to happen. I think that Darwin was intelligent enough to have figured out Lyell's work on his own, though I do think that the work of Lyell helped Darwin develop his theory in a more timely manner.
Darwin's theory was not immediately published. Darwin was a member of the "established order", and as such, many of his friends and associates (including his wife), "were concerned with threats to the status quo," because, "evolutionary theory was viewed as a very serious threat indeed."
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/library/02/4/l_024_01.html
Darwin's theory was not immediately published. Darwin was a member of the "established order", and as such, many of his friends and associates (including his wife), "were concerned with threats to the status quo," because, "evolutionary theory was viewed as a very serious threat indeed."
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/library/02/4/l_024_01.html
I too chose Charles Lyell. I liked how you added the second point "in order for natural selection to occur, reproduction must occur" because I could not find enough evidence for a second point. I disagree with Darwin being able to figure out Lyell's work on his own but I do think it is a strong argument because Darwin was a very smart individual.
ReplyDeleteI do agree with you that Lyell had an influence on Darwin and was sort of an inspirational or motivational figure for him. However, I feel it was Malthus that had a greater influence on Darwin's natural selection theory because it was Malthus's essay that really gave Darwin's theory what it needed to become finalized and mainstream. In my opinion it was Malthus who gave Darwin's research the finishing touch it needed. If you are interested in reading my supporting evidence my blog is titled "Human Nature", I would love to hear your feedback.
ReplyDeleteHi there! After reading your blog post, I do agree with you that Lyell had a great influence on Darwin, especially due to the fact that they were friends. Although they were friends, it seemed as if his thoughts went against those of Darwin's. Darwin (obviously) supported the theory of evolution and natural selection, but Lyell's views were quite the opposite, as you stated his theory of Uniformitarianism where living things stay the same over time.
ReplyDeleteAn initial comment on formatting: This is a paper with several sub-sections that should be given their own paragraphs. With everything lumped together like this, it is difficult to figure out where you address each prompt. Present your work in its best light to make it easy for your readers to review (and grade).
ReplyDeleteAdditionally, I don't have a problem with using quotes in your writing, but they should be used to support your own writing, not to replace it. Most of your post should be in your own words.
Can you describe how uniformitarians works? Do you see any parallels between that mechanism and Darwin's mechanism of natural selection?
While I understand what you are trying to argue with your choice of bullet points, keep in mind that Lyell was a geologist, not a biologist. He wouldn't have directly influenced the biological concepts of Darwin's work. The two points you list can be better attributed to Lamarck. The closest point to Lyell's influence would be that of the influence of the environment. It was a bit trickier to make this choice for Lyell, given that he wasn't directly involved in evolutionary theory, but this one fits best. Perhaps more importantly was the contribution of the concept of "deep time". Before Lyell, it was generally accepted that the earth was only a few thousand years old. Lyell demonstrated that the earth was at least millions of years old (we now know it is billions of years old). So how does that impact Darwin? Well, natural selection is a slow process. It would not have been possible for natural selection to produce not only the extant organisms in a few thousand years but also all of the extinct organisms. With Lyell's concept of "deep time", suddenly Darwin had the geological time he for his theory to work. Lyell, quite literally, gave Darwin the gift of time. Without that, Darwin's theory would not have worked.
"I think that Darwin was intelligent enough to have figured out Lyell's work on his own"
I'm sure Darwin would be honored with your suggestion that he (a naturalist) would be able to figure out a ground-breaking concept in the field of geology, but I also suspect he would be the first to strongly disagree. I suggest you are underestimating the importance and complexity of Lyell's contribution. I usually don't like to grant any one scientist so much credit as to be indispensable to the work of another, but in the case of Lyell, I'm willing to do so, primarily because without Lyell, Darwin literally wouldn't have had enough time for his mechanism to work. Without Lyell, Darwin was stuck.
So you are arguing that Darwin delayed publishing a scientific work merely for the purpose of maintaining the status quo? Isn't it the role of science to do just the opposite? I suggest that we need to consider more personal reasons to help us understand why Darwin delayed publishing. What were Darwin's concerns? And was he only worried about himself or was he also worried about how his family might be impacted by publishing? Remember that his wife was very devout. How might she have been impacted if the church responded negatively to Darwin? Could her position in society and within the church have been threatened? Could his children have face repercussion due to loss of status? And could Darwin himself have faced social and professional negative repercussions? Remember that scientists don't work in a vacuum. They can be influenced not just by academics but also by social, cultural and personal issues.