Origin of the species - A discussion of Charles Darwin's Theory of Evolution and how it has overcome the trials and tribulations of time.

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ORIGIN OF THE SPECIES

A discussion of Charles Darwin's Theory of Evolution and how it has overcome the trials and tribulations of time

Evolution; it's a common term in today's world. There are no discrepancies as to whether or not man was created or has evolved. It is known, and it is the fundamental basis of mankind's history that man has evolved just as every other living thing on this earth. However, the idea of evolution has not always held its ranks as being one of the "greatest" theories of all time. In fact, at the time of its release in 1859, Charles Darwin's theory of evolution had gained a negative reception from the people of the era. The religious populations of the world were outraged, scientists were displeased with this farfetched grasp of science, and a cult following of Darwinists was created. Not to mention the fact that the general population was in outraged at the thought of a monkey as an ancestor of the greatest and most notorious creation of god; the ever powerful man.

In order to fully understand why his theory caused such uproar, we must first examine the content of Darwin's original theory. In the introduction of Origin of the Species, Darwin states that:

"As many more individuals of each species are born that can possibly survive, and as, consequently, there is a frequently recurring struggle for existence, it follows that any being, if it vary however slightly in any manner profitable to itself, under the compiles and sometimes varying conditions of life, will have a better chance of surviving, and thus be naturally selected. From the strong principle of inheritance, any selected variety will tend to propagate its new and modified form."

Darwin believed that members of a species have the ability to adapt to changes in their environment. Those species that do adapt will have a tendency to outlive those members of the same species who have not developed these adaptations. This is the primary idea behind natural selection also known as the "survival of the fittest."

Darwin's theory as published in Origin, was not as complete and detailed as Darwin himself would have liked. Due to his failing health and pressure from peers to publish, Darwin's first edition of Origin was what he called an "abstract". In the introduction of the book he warns readers:

"I cannot here give references and authorities for my several statements; I must trust to the reader reposing some confidence in my accuracy. No doubt errors have crept in... I can here give only the general conclusions at which I have arrived..."

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The original publication of the book was quite a disappointment to Darwin because he had gone such painstaking lengths to ensure that all details of his theory were backed by solid proofs. Darwin knew that in order for people to accept his theory it had to be flawless. Also in order to avoid additional criticism, Darwin avoided any mention of his theories of human evolution in origin, since he had not yet filled all the gaps in his thesis. These ideas were later published in The Decent of Man, in 1871, in which Darwin formally linked mankind to apes through ...

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