Darwin vs Romanticism

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First Year Seminar Essay #4 Compare and contrast the description of nature as given by Charles Darwin and the description given by Romantic Artists (or any writer from the module). Victoria Lewis November 11, 2012 Charles Darwin’s evolutionary theory and The Romantics philosophy were both great breakthroughs of the 19th century. They both turned away from the mindless following of the church and came up with their own ideas and ways of viewing the world around them. Darwin’s theory opposed the Romantic Artist’s theory that nature is proof of God’s existence. Darwin presented biological facts that could not be ignored, and it began a huge debate, a debate that is still going on today. Darwin went on a five-year expedition to South America, observing animals and nature. He spent five weeks in the Galapagos Islands, where he made his main discoveries in evolution. Darwin’s theory of natural selection describes how the traits of species get passed to their offspring. He discovered that the individuals who can survive long enough to procreate did so because of specific traits that had made them stronger and more able to survive than the ones that died off. This is known as “survival of the fittest.” Over time, the strong traits get passed down from generation to generation and the weak traits slowly disappear. Biology has shown that there are certain traits that get passed down genetically, for example, the Galapagos finches’ beak shape. The Galapagos finches developed different beak shapes depending on the type of food that was available in their environment. There was one group of finches that had narrow beaks for picking up seeds and insects, and another group that had shorter, stronger beaks for cracking nuts. The finches that had a beak most suited to the environment were the ones who survived, and passed down their traits to their offspring. Darwin’s theory is

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