Have you read/understand THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES?

Question

Darwin had it right...what so many others suspected...artificial selection has been practiced for centuries...isn't natural selection just as obvious...organisms are NOT free to reproduce with whomever, they are limited by their abilities to acquire limited resources...since there is a natural variation (just look around at humans), some individuals will be better able to survive, those better able to survive would be more likely to reproduce, those who reproduce are likely to pass on their "fit" traits to their offspring...not complicated...

of course, gravity is a "just a theory" but I know of no one who doubts its existence...fairy tales and myths require no evidence, not subject to peer review, nor require reproducible results...mmm....funny, science does require it.....maybe they key difference, ya think?

Answer 1

That would be:
"On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life"
you mean??

All i say to the question is yes, seen it, read it, hope i understood it. Glad you did too by the sounds of your question.

In response to Nunoyvgvna Awi:
First, do you have an exact reference for that 'fable' quote? Christians seem to like to be able to quote scripture, so why shouldnt evolutionary biologists?
The important point i want to make though, is that we could go further and try to understand the context and background on a quote to give us a more complete perspective.
for example, Darwin was writing in a time when to even suggest the bible was not gospel truth ( that it is *ahem*.. wrong) was enough to brand him a heretic and be hated. My, how times have changed! (ps = irony)

Darwin does however write for certain:
"For I am well aware that scarcely a single point is discussed in this volume on which facts cannot be adduced, often apparently leading to conclusions directly opposite to those at which I have arrived. A fair result can be obtained only by fully stating and balancing the facts and arguments on both sides of each question" - Charles Darwin, 1859, Introduction to Origin of Species, p. 2. Also quoted in 'John Lofton's Journal', The Washington Times, 8 February 1984.

Here, my interpretation is that Darwin 'directly' says that he wanted to present to the reader of 'origins' the POTENTIAL perspective of evolution 'being just a fable'. Isnt that attitude in line with a valid and well thought out presentation of the topic from his views of different perspectives? That allows him to favor one perspective and then refute the argument that 'evolution is just a fable'.

I would say Darwin (and many others) valiantly presented the evidence and model of evolution, and definately prefered the perspective that evolution is... *ahem* more than just a theory...

oh, i forgot the last line of my quotation above.."; and this is here impossible." Ie it is impossible in 'origins' to present all sides of the argument. I think he did a great job in favoring evolution, despite any quotes where he does infact allow the reader to prefer and alternative perspective that is not his own, like being a 'fable'

Three cheers for Darwin, and a happy birthday to him (a couple of weeks overdue, February 12). What a fabulous fable he wrote.....and one so well fitting with all the evidence and results of scientific studies conducted ever since.... how bizarre.

Answer 2

Darwin didn't get everything right, but you're correct that he got the broad picture right: evolution does occur by natural selection. Modern evolutionary biology is not strict Darwinism, since it incorporates a hereditary mechanism that Darwin didn't anticipate: Mendel's contributions, the genes.

However, having read portions of the Origin of Species, I admit that it is remarkable how much Darwin got right, so far ahead of his time; he even made predictions that were not confirmed for many decades afterwards, such as predicting that the Earth needed to be hundreds of millions or billions of years old in order for evolution to have had enough time to take place (when at the time even most scientists didn't think it could be order than a few hundred thousand years).

Scientists were initially very skeptical about Darwin's theory, and it had to compete with opposing theories such as Lamarckism. However, over time, as the body of biological evidence grew and became more detailed, his theory was confirmed by the facts, albeit in modified form: Neo-Darwinism, a combination of Darwinian natural selection with Mendelian inheritance.

Answer 3

i imagine it truly is because if there is something that proves area of their holy e book incorrect (alongside with the concept of evolution dismantling Genesis), then they understand that perhaps each little thing else contained in the Bible may be wondered. Then they imagine this one way or the different invalidates their faith. i imagine the genuine question is why someone could base their faith on something so actual refuted. And for rationalization, no longer all religions have holy texts. In some religions, there are various diverse aspects (alongside with in Hinduism) or it may no longer actually have any texts in any respect (one party being Druidism - it became a thoroughly oral custom).

Answer 4

Oh yes, most definately. Fascinating book, though it might be over some peoples heads.

Answer 5

Yes. In grade six. Why? Is it not required reading in the US?

~Morg~

Answer 6

Yes I've read and understood. Is it all about this question?

Answer 7

Funny how you don't include that in that very book, Darwin himself states, and I quote...." evolution is nothing more than a fable, for it is impossible to exist ".

Funny how EVERYONE leaves out that line yet take the rest of the book as creditable.

Answer 8

yes it makes sense ... so do many other myths and fairy tales but it doesnt mean they are facts ..

Answer 9

and quite elegant, too!