Emergence of the idea of Evolution The Webster’s dictionary definition of evolution is stated as the historical development of a biological group. Due to advancements in scientific thinking and ideas from different ancient cultures such as the Arabs, Indians, and Chinese, notions of biological evolution were able to be cultivated long before prominent naturalist, Charles Darwin was even born. Precursors to the development of the theory of evolution were largely important for naturalists to understand the many forms of life on Earth.
In an epistemological standpoint, before early naturalists could begin to understand the forms of life they had to organize them by listing and describing them. There were numerous naturalists that discovered …show more content…
He read Thomas Malthus’s essay and from the reading figured out how species came about. He agreed with Malthus in that the population size of a species grows faster than the availability of resources. He also agreed that in animals that aren’t human, the population size of the species is determined by the amount of food available. Both facets lead to competition within the population and a “struggle for existence.” Darwin developing his theory of evolution is not something that he came about doing on his own. As previously stated, he was influenced by others to start developing the principles of evolution and natural selection. Significantly, it was not until Alfred Russel Wallace shared similar findings with Darwin that he decided to publish his research on his hypothesis of natural selection. In 1855, Wallace published an article that stated that current species may be descendants of other species and that their appearances and variations were caused by environmental factors. Lyell and some others wanted Darwin to publish his work following the article’s release but he did not. It was not until 1858 that upon receiving another paper from Wallace entitled, On the Tendency of Varieties to Depart Indefinitely from the Original Type, that Darwin decided to publish his work. He gave an explanation for the question of evolution. Species were now known to be able to change through time and evolve from other species from the process of natural
In an epistemological standpoint, before early naturalists could begin to understand the forms of life they had to organize them by listing and describing them. There were numerous naturalists that discovered …show more content…
He read Thomas Malthus’s essay and from the reading figured out how species came about. He agreed with Malthus in that the population size of a species grows faster than the availability of resources. He also agreed that in animals that aren’t human, the population size of the species is determined by the amount of food available. Both facets lead to competition within the population and a “struggle for existence.” Darwin developing his theory of evolution is not something that he came about doing on his own. As previously stated, he was influenced by others to start developing the principles of evolution and natural selection. Significantly, it was not until Alfred Russel Wallace shared similar findings with Darwin that he decided to publish his research on his hypothesis of natural selection. In 1855, Wallace published an article that stated that current species may be descendants of other species and that their appearances and variations were caused by environmental factors. Lyell and some others wanted Darwin to publish his work following the article’s release but he did not. It was not until 1858 that upon receiving another paper from Wallace entitled, On the Tendency of Varieties to Depart Indefinitely from the Original Type, that Darwin decided to publish his work. He gave an explanation for the question of evolution. Species were now known to be able to change through time and evolve from other species from the process of natural