Charles Darwin and his theory of Natural Selection is still
something that we use in science today. As we have learned, Darwin used his
hypothesis to prove how evolution happens. Through his own observation and
thoughts as well as influence from several other men, including his
grandfather, Charles Darwin was able to provide sufficient evidence to prove
how evolution occurs. One of these men in particular played a significant role
in Darwin’s theory, as we know it today.
Thomas Malthus was an economist from England who wrote an
essay in 1798 titled, An Essay on the
Principle of Population. Now, Malthus as mentioned was not a scientist. His
essay was focused on humans and the growth of population. He argued that humans
have a tendency to increase in their population size while the amount of food,
space, and resources needed to sustain their population is limited. Because of
this limit on food and water, populations are restricted in size based on the
accessibility of these necessities. According to Malthus, he believed that
unless individuals tried to contain the number of offspring they produced, and
then the amount of food and water and other essential resources needed to
survive would not be available. This theory, even though it was brought to
Darwin’s attention through an economist, is what sparked Darwin to realize that
species to reproduce more than the environment can handle, therefore leading to
natural selection.
Evolution happens naturally, but through Darwin’s theory we
are able to see it through a few main points. These points help us to see the
process of evolution. There are several of these points that were made by Darwin
that would not have been without the influence of Malthus. The first one is
that all organisms have the potential of reproducing exponentially. Malthus
only focused on humans, but he described in his essay that humans have the
potential to produce as many offspring as possible; however, they will not all
survive due to lack of essential resources. Humans or any species, can reproduce
as many times as possible but only the offspring who can get enough water and
food and shelter to survive will. The second point that is supported by Malthus
is that resources are limited. Malthus pointed this out in his essay as well.
It is hard to say whether or not Darwin already knew this before reading
Malthus, but it is something that is supported in An Essay on the Principle of Population. As the population grows,
the amount of food and water needed to sustain that population must grow too. On
our planet, the amount of water and space we have is fixed; therefore, we are
limited in the amount of resources we can provide for the population. If we
continue to grow larger and larger as a population, eventually our resources
will run out and those who are in better situations will be the ones to
survive.
Malthus wrote his essay in the year 1798. This was eleven
years prior to Charles Darwin’s birth. While it is possible for Darwin to have
come up with these ideas on his own, it was not what occurred. He read the
works of Malthus and then realized that it applied to his own hypothesis of
evolution. Without these ideas of Malthus’s, Darwin’s theory of evolution would
not have been able to develop. The ideas of limited essential resources are
what create Darwin’s theory for competition to survive, or survival of the
fittest. Those with the better traits will survive; the ones with the less
desirable traits will not. These traits will ultimately die out.
The church was a large part of life during the days of
Darwin and had a huge amount of influence among society at the time. It was
believed by the general public that if ideas of evolution became more and more
accepted across the country, then the future of the church would be unknown.
Ultimately, it was thought that the church would fall about and society would
revert into savage-like times. Once he decided to publish is book, On the Origin of Species, Darwin
received a large amount of criticism from the general public but most of the
scholars of the day received his book very well, leading to its acceptance as a
scientific theory.
Sources:
"Charles Darwin." BBC News. BBC, n.d.
Web. 11 Feb. 2015.
"Darwin and Malthus." PBS. PBS, 2001.
Web. 12 Feb. 2015.
Jurmain, Robert, Lynn Kilgore, Wenda Trevathan, and
Russell L. Ciochon. "The Development
of Evolutionary Theory." Introduction to Physical Anthropology. Belmont:
Wadsworth, 2014. 25-47. Print.
Initial comment: Let's be careful of our terminology because words really matter in science. We can't "prove" anything unless we are doing math. Science "supports" or "falsfies" ("disproves" works equally well). So Darwin was able to provide empirical evidence that supported his theory of evolution by natural selection.
ReplyDeleteGreat opening description of Malthus' work.
Great choice of bullet points and good explanation as to how they apply to Malthus. You did a good job of drawing connections between Malthus' and Darwin's work.
I rarely like to give too much credit to any one scientist for his influence and importance over the success of another, but I am willing to make an exception in Malthus' case (Lyell is another I would consider an exception). Malthus seems to have provided the key Darwin needed to put together all the pieces of his research puzzle. Darwin even seems to suggest this in his notes:
"... it at once struck me that under these circumstances favourable variations would tend to be preserved, and unfavourable ones to be destroyed. The results of this would be the formation of a new species. Here, then I had at last got a theory by which to work".
Charles Darwin, from his autobiography. (1876) http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/history/malthus.html
"Ultimately, it was thought that the church would fall about and society would revert into savage-like times. "
While this was one line of thought during Darwin's time, do you think Darwin believed this? is this why he delayed for more than 20 years before publishing? Or might he have had other more personal concerns, both professionally and socially and for his family?
Other than this final point, good post.