Historical Influences on Darwin
1. Alfred Russel Wallace was one of the many who influenced and contributed to Darwin's development of the theory on natural selection with his own theory of Evolution due to natural selection.
2. Wallace, apart from being the cofounder of natural selection, was also known as the "Father of Biogeography" because of his contributions to the development of evolutionary theory. He came up with the concept of warning coloration in animals, as well as the Wallace effect, an explanation on how natural selection contributes to speciation by encouraging the development of barriers against hybridization.
3. Although they both developed theories of evolution which dealt with change over time, Wallace and Darwin contrasted greatly. Wallace's theory limited the power of natural selection on biological change, while Darwin's theory explains that all biological change can be explained through "survival of the fittest".
4. I think that without Wallace's impact, Darwin still could have developed his own theory. However I don't think it would've have been as strong and thorough without some influence that would inspire him to dig deeper on the subject.
5. Darwins publication of Origin of the Species caused great controversy with the church. While many opposed it, some that it was work of God.
https://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Alfred_Russel_Wallace.html
http://www.alfredwallace.org/intelligent-evolution.php
posted by Unknown @ 9:51 PM
2 Comments
2 Comments:
Aryana,
I as well believe that Wallace and Darwin had different theories, and that Darwin would have gone through with publishing his theory. I do believe that Darwin received great criticism from the church because his theory did not go hand in hand with the belief of God.
Sourcing comment: The alfredwallace.org site should have raised huge warning flags as to it's validity, especially with that giant beetle on the front. It is listed under the "Bad Resources" page in Blackboard. Make sure you take an opportunity to check that page out.
"Although they both developed theories of evolution which dealt with change over time, Wallace and Darwin contrasted greatly."
No, actually, their theories were essentially identical. You may have came up with this idea from your questionable source. Darwin theory is also limited to biological change, so I'm not sure how this contrasted with Wallace's? They are the same.
Actually, by the time Wallace wrote to Darwin, Darwin already had developed his theory and had been working on it for about 20 years. Wallace confirmed it with his own and with additional evidence, but development wasn't the primary contribution of Wallace. His primary contribution was providing the impetus to get Darwin to finally publish or lose credit to Wallace.
The final question asks how the influence of the church affected Darwin and his decision to publish. Darwin delayed for more than 20 years before publishing. Why? What concerns caused him to wait? Were his concerns professional or also personal?
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