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Head: DARWIN AND THE THEORY OF EVOLUTION

Darwin and the Theory of Evolution
Ryan Lucchesi
Azusa Pacific University

DARWIN AND THE THEORY OF EVOLUTION

Abstract
Questioning the origin of life is a common inquiry that is asked among the population. The 29th
century saw the investigation of one individual, Charles Darwin, who came into studying this
topic and spread it to the world. Searching for a field of interest, Darwin went from studying the
field of medicine, training to join the clergy, to embarking on a passage inspired by John
Henslow to study natural history. The ultimate result was the conception of Darwins On the
Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection to reveal his concept to the world.

DARWIN AND THE THEORY OF EVOLUTION

The origins of life and existence are the basis of many individuals wanting to know
where humanity came from. The views on the origins of life stem from a double-sided coin,
those of Christian faith believe in creationism where God created the world out of darkness and
formed life from His hand. The other side of the view supports Charles Darwin and his Theory of
Evolution, also known as Darwinism. Darwins theory revolves around natural selection and the
evolution of a species to better adapt to its environment for survival.

Darwin was born in 1809 an ordinary individual; he did not display any unique talents or

interests in science at an early age. Darwin disliked school and preferred to spend his time with
nature observing birds and insects. At the age of 16, Darwin was sent to medical school in
Scotland but he disliked medicine as much as anything else and continued to pursue his passion
of natural history. In another attempt to find an interest, Darwin was encouraged by his father
to join the clergy. Darwin enrolled at Cambridge, England, in 1827 but this venture proved to be
another lost effort as far as academics were concerned but a friendship with John Henslow was
born. Henslow was a professor of botany and encouraged Darwin in his studies of natural
history, the gateway for Darwin to pursue his studies (Darwins Theory, n.d.).

Darwins studies were based on the premise that life is related and descending from a

common predecessor. Darwins theory promotes the development of life with modification
from the descendants. Simplistic creatures evolve over a period of time changing and modifying
to alter physical capabilities for animals. As these changes are made, they are modified to
promote survival which retains the genes that are currently beneficial and adds to them. As

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time passes in evolution, all of the positive genes are preserved and the result is a completely
different species with new methods of survival (Darwins Theory of Evolution, 2002).

Darwin developed and revealed his theory in 1859 through his book On the Origin of

Species by Means of Natural Selection. Darwin demonstrated the scientific background on

evolution by the name of Natural Selection. Natural Selection was chosen because of his
observation of different species. Each species had smaller groups of animals with slight
variations struggling for different resources such as food, water, and shelter. As species succeed
in this struggle, they pass on their genetic code to their offspring which then continue the
evolution process to pass on further successful genes to their offspring. The result is a thriving
species while the competitors that could not handle the survival process die off (Darwins
Theory, 2015).

Darwins Theory of Evolution is a complex idea. The large amount of complex systems

on the cellular level is a challenge to fully keep track of, especially in the time that Darwin
originally compiled his theory. Modern science has further shown that our bodies are made up
of complexity on a whole new level where body parts such as the heart, eyes, and ears were
not recognized as complex in Darwins day (Darwins Theory of Evolution, 2002). Because of the
greater discovery of our system and how our bodies work, the term Darwinism is used loosely
to describe any form of shifting and altering living organism. Historians often use the term to
describe Darwins specific theory as opposed to other theories of evolution from other
individuals of the 19th century such as Ernst Haeckel or Francis Galton (Darwinism, n.d.)

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References
Darwinism. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved June 16, 2015, from

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darwinism

Darwin's Theory. (n.d.). Retrieved June 16, 2015, from

http://bioweb.cs.earlham.edu/9-12/evolution/HTML/theory.html
Darwins Theory of Evolution. (2002). Retrieved June 16, 2015, from

http://www.darwins-theory-of-evolution.com/

Darwin's theory - Charles Darwin - The Open University. (2015). Retrieved June 16, 2015, from

https://www.open.ac.uk/darwin/darwin-theory.php