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Since the beginning of man’s existence, man has often wondered about the origin of life and life in general. Over the years, the world’s best biologists and naturalists have attempted to answer this riddle (one of the most difficult riddles known to man), but to no avail (at least scientifically). Every time that one of these scientists encountered a question which they could not answer, they simply relied on the faithful explanation of “God’s will.” And to argue the slightest bit with this familiar explanation would result in eternal damnation. However, in the middle of the 19th century, one scientist dared to counter this divine explanation with concrete, scientific evidence. This man was Charles Darwin. Charles Darwin, a British scientist, used hard evidence to propose that all life on Earth has come into existence through the process of Natural Selection and published this explanation in One the Origin of Species, which has proven to be one of the most influential books in the history of mankind.
Before anyone can begin to understand and appreciate the ingenious theory of Natural Selection, one must delve into the life of Charles Darwin and thus discover the man behind the theory. First of all, one must remember that Darwin is considered to be one of the greatest scientific observers of all time. He not only examined every specimen in extraordinary detail, but also made evolutionary connections between characteristics of different species. An example of this is the examination of the finches found during Darwin’s expedition to the Galapagos Islands. Darwin not only observed, recorded, and even drew many of the birds’ characteristics, but he also made pioneer evolutionary connections between many of their features, such as the similarity of beaks.
Besides being an excellent scientific observer, Charles Darwin also possessed many weak traits and suffered in many ways. Because he knew that his theory challenged common beliefs, Darwin...