Darwinism

Essay by RyankirklandUniversity, Bachelor'sA+, April 2004

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Darwinism

Darwinism was the brainchild of a young medical student-turned clergyman named Charles Darwin, who was born in England in 1809. In the early 1800's his ideas about evolution, natural selection, how organisms adapt and variations in nature were seen as revolutionary, crazy theories. Creationism, the belief that man was created by God, and did not evolve from other creatures, was Darwinism's greatest rival. Funk and Wagnall's Standard College Dictionary as defines Darwinism: "The biological doctrine of the origin of species through descent by natural selection with variation, advocated by Charles Darwin." The ideas of Darwinism were based on science and research, and are still accepted today in the world. Darwinism, the theory of evolution by natural selection, is the superior theory of how species are created. This theory that change evolves over time completely upset patterns of thinking upon which previous beliefs were based.

Darwin's earliest work started December 27, 1831 on the naval survey ship, the HMS Beagle. The Beagle's 5 year voyage had one primary mission, which was to chart the costal waters of the southern part of South America. Darwin was an unpaid member of the crew, because he basically was a passenger. While the Beagle carried out its primary goal, Darwin was free to explore the lands, collecting and making observations about geology, plants, and animals. In September of 1835, the Beagle began a month long expedition of charting the Galapagos Islands. During this month on the islands, Darwin made some of his most important discoveries. While the Beagle went from one island to another, Darwin discovered and interesting facts about the islands' wildlife. He discovered that each island had its own type of the same bird. For example, he found over a dozen different kinds of finches, whose beaks differed from...