Darwin’s theory was and still is very important; it has taken over many fields, not just biology. Before Darwin, Plato thought that every organism had an essence created by God. These essences cannot be changed Yet, Aristotle thought there was a hierarchy where humans were on top and simple cells were on the bottom. During the 18th century, Hutton gave us the rock cycle, explain erosion and deposition; he also said that the earth was old but his statement conflicted with the Bible, which angered people. During the 19th century, Cuvier and Brongniart were able to better understand the layers of the Earth. This helped explain where fossils came from and what life like was life before. John Ray published “Wisdom of God Manifested in the Works of Creation”, explaining how species were fixed and constant from creation. He argued that the organisms were created by God so they had to be perfect but they could never go extinct. Paley published ” Natural Theology”; his book was inspired by Ray’s book. Paley believed that God’s creatures were adapted perfectly. All these views had an impact on Darwin and his ideas.
Darwin was raised in a not so religious household; his father was a non-believer but a religious mother. Darwin was brought up from a wealthy family, he was able to complete his degree at Cambridge. He married his first cousin, Emma and had ten children with her. Out of the ten, seven survived. Darwin seemed to care for his family, his autobiography and letter to his family shows this to be true. Emma and Darwin both treated each other with utmost respect; they supported one another greatly. Even in the movie, Darwin was shown to care deeply for Annie and was heartbroken when she passed away. The movie also portrayed that Darwin finally took the time to write about his theory for Emma and his children.
Darwin was described to be observant and asked himself questions. When he was 21 years old, Darwin was able to travel and gain biological knowledge which lasted 5 years. He traveled to South America and Ocean Islands, most famously the Galapagos Island. Not long after his trip, Darwin formulated his theory but he waits twenty years to publish his new theory. Other than the “Origin of Species”, Darwin published over 25 books and papers.
in 1859, Darwin finally published “Origin of Species”. In this book, Darwin talked about Malthusian principles, natural selection, and modification. The book, of course, had some critic. People wondered where God was in his theory, they were confused about what natural selection was, and the blending of inheritance. Of course, these critics weren’t able to stop Darwin and how was able to change our thoughts on Evolution!
Myah, I was impressed by your summary. You include some aspects that were only touched on briefly in the movie and in Dr. Anelli’s talk, like Darwin’s influence by Thomas Malthus. You also recognize here that Darwin was heavily influenced by his family and to understand the person, we have to see him in the context of his time and relationships.