Charles Darwin

Essay by madstalockJunior High, 9th gradeB+, October 2014

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Explain why Darwin's theory was considered highly controversial and explain the impact it had

Through his theories, Charles Darwin has made himself a notable and renowned figure in the world of science. Because of his work and publishing's, he has been able to change the world's perspective on the creation of humans and how humanity became what it is now. In today's society, his theory of natural selection is widely accepted as a fact of life, but when Darwin's theory was first publicised, it was considered highly controversial. Religious groups argued and disregarded the theory as it questioned the Bible. His principles also made a tremendous impact on society. It changed the way individuals understand how life came to its current state, giving people an insight into the principle of evolution. This of course, it had its benefits of knowledge, however this new perspective lead to some problems, including those associated with Social Darwinism.

The theory of evolution before Charles Darwin was just beginning to develop; yet it had not been published in a way that gave a full understanding to the idea. Naturalists before Darwin, such as Jean-Baptise Lamarck, started to outline the blurred idea of evolution. In 1809, Lamarck had published "Philosophie Zoologique", which described a two-part mechanism by which change was gradually introduced into the species and passed down through generations, commonly known as Lamarckism. Yet Lamarckism was not one of the only early ideas on evolution, principles such as uniformitarianism was introduced by Charles Lyell, a geologist and a close friend of Darwin's. But still, both of these theories alone had not allowed the idea of evolution to become a notable and accepted practicality by the world of science, as well as religion. Charles Darwin revolutionised this idea by adopting these theories and including them within...