Darwin's journey to discover evolution appears to have started at the University of Cambridge. He originally studied medicine at Edinburgh, but neglected these studies to investigate marine invertebrates. At Cambridge, a passion for natural science was encouraged and in 1931 set aboard HMS Beagle for journey that would later become world famous. The voyage lasted five years, as captain Fitzroy had intended. As the Beagle charted and surveyed coasts, Darwin spent most of his time on land, investigating geology and making collections of natural history.
Human development studies began with Darwin and other evolutionists who shared his theories. Darwin wanted to prove his theory of evolution; he believed the only approach to this was him studying human development. (Boyd& Bee, 2006) The definition of a lifespan is the average or minimum length of time an organism, material, or object can be expected to survive or last. (American Heritage Dictionary, 2000) The definition of development based on biology is the process of an individual organism growing organically a purely biological unfolding of events involved in an organism changing gradually from a simple to a more complex level. (Collins English Dictionary, 2003) Ultimately the two words conjoined define the methodical intra-individual change associated with progresses corresponding to age.
However the unreliability of the results makes the claim an ongoing discussion and an open debate. The theory of evolution, first proposed by Charles Darwin (1809 – 1882) implies that all species are derived from common ancestors through natural selection (Phoenix, 2007 p.118-121). Natural selection is thought to be the main factor resulting in the diversity of species: it has been defined as a natural process, whereby only the variants best adapted to their environment develop the ability of a longer survival and pass on the best characteristics to future generations. Natural selection in species leads to 'adaptation' which is a change in behaviour as a consequence of surrounding modification. Within humans many adaptations have happened through Darwin’s theory of natural selection, one of these adaptations is called Theory of Mind.
Evidence will be presented to illustrate the strength of each theory. Finally the main arguments of this essay will be summarized and will conclude that human language cannot be fully explained by evolution. It will end with suggesting that these theories have to be seen as provisional, due to the possibility of new findings. The growing interest in the origin of language can be seen as the outcome of significant technological changes in various scientific sectors. When genes and DNA were discovered in 1953, Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution has been supported in many aspects.
Hence the concept of holistic approach, which investigate the complex system as a whole and not by splitting it and recombining it as classic reductionist, appear and plays critical role in depicting the near causalities biochemical mechanisms in complex organisms. Together with Darwin theory of evolution, the Mendel theory of unit of heredity did an instant impact in the evolution of molecular biology that eventually set up the platform (indirectly) for its revolution. The discovery of nucleic acids 1944 by Avery et al, the discovery of double helix structure of DNA in 1953 by
Robert O’Brien Research Essay Wood Count:1597 Charles Darwin and the Impacts of His Life Charles Darwin had one of the greatest impacts on modern science; his theory changed how the world thought about how we came to be. He took on one of the most powerful organizations of his time as well as many of his colleagues. The belief at the time was that God had created the Earth and that he created humans in his own image. Because Darwin’s book suggested that we were merely animals and that God had not created us, his work was highly controversial at the time it was published. Throughout the course of his life, he influenced many people and had a hand in furthering many fields of science.
Although the modern day public may dismiss some of his ideas as backward or non-progressive, Galton was a genius among men; Galton published many works that introduced the scientific world to never-before conceived ideas and concepts. Francis Galton traveled extensively and studied many other fields including geography and meteorology before moving onto the study of heredity and the new field of “eugenics” (Gillham, 2011). This shift was due to Charles Darwin’s extremely influential arguments in The Origin of Species, which had one section on variations in human populations that provided a spark of proof to Galton that the human race could be advanced by means of selective breeding. Darwin heavily influenced many including Galton, largely due to the impact of
Erasmus Darwin (1731-1802) was an England physician, philosopher, inventor, and poet. He published several works explaining an evolutionary view of life including The botanic garden published in two parts, Zoonomia also published in two volumes, and The temple of nature (Wade, 2002). He believed that there was a God who created the life on earth and after plants and animals developed without his intervention, growing naturally (Schultz & Schultz, 2012). He also created and anticipated many evidence for evolution that later Charles Darwin, his grandson will discuss, including animals and plant changes due to different climate or metamorphosis processes. Robert Darwin, father of Charles was the third son of his first marriage (Wade, 2002).
Darwin’s evolutionary theory is made up of four forces which are mutation, gene flow, gene drift, and finally natural selection. In the example of the Grant’s finches, the founder effect, a.k.a. genetic drift, is clearly described in the Natural Selection in Action: Galapagos Finches handout when it said, “This small founder population to survived and reproduced, and through genetic drift and natural selection accumulated sufficient variations over time to establish a variety of new species.” It is important to understand that the process of natural selection is closely linked to the environment a particular species inhabits. In the case of the Grant’s finches, there was described to be fourteen species of Galapagos finches, which evolved from a common ancestor. The Galapagos finches is a prime example of adaptive radiation because the Grant’s study displayed how the shapes of the finches beaks varied in order to best equip them for the differing habitats and diets they had.
His book, Hereditary Genius was the first social scientific attempt to study intelligence and prominence. He also conducted numerous twin studies. In the 20th century, the Nazis pursued the agenda that people are who they are based on being defined by one's race. The Communists, on the other hand, largely followed Marx's lead in defining the human identity as subject to social structures, not nature. This argument led to ongoing debate of sociobiology and evolutionary psychology.