Why was Darwin and Wallace's theory of evolution by natural selection revolutionary?
2 Answers
Darwin developed theory of natural selection during the period of 1836 and 1858. When he published the book "On the origin of species by means of natural selection", he was attacked by the church because it went against the beliefs that were advocated by the Church. Then during 1871, Wallace independently proposed a theory of natural selection
The theory of evolution was able to explain how over time, living organisms change through natural selection and survival of the fittest to become new species --> leads to the evolution of life
Looking from both the social and political aspects,
- the theory refuted claims by the Church who emphasised the idea of creationism.
- the power of the Church waned as the result of his theory as people questioned the church
- the age of enlightenment where people realised that science was independent from faith --> science would then become a more specialised and recognised profession
-the industrial revolution also provided the push for scientists as through the advancement in technology, there came new discoveries and new evidence to support their theory
Darwin's and Wallace's theory of evolution was revolutionary because it provided an explanation of life that was totally naturalistic, requiring no supernatural agencies.
Explanation:
Darwin's theory is basically an either or argument. Either everything on earth was created exactly the way it is observed today or everything is created by natural causes.
Darwin was able to effectively prove that living things change, that is the meaning of to evolve. Chapter one variation or change due to artificial selection. Chapter two variations in species observed in nature. Chapter three and four overpopulation causing a struggle for existence ( survival of the fittest) natural selection. Chapter five the observation of near infinite possible variations in a species.
Darwin then argued by extrapolation that the observed changes in species, could account for changes from one species to another species. The idea that all species were then related to one or a few ancestral species he called decent with modification. Darwin's great idea of descent with modification meant that all life could then be explained totally by natural causes.
The French Enlightenment had created a world view that everything should be explained by natural cause and that any reference or reliance on supernatural causes was anti intellectual and against human reason. Darwin's revolutionary idea that all life could be explained by natural causes was readily accepted and advocated by those that endorsed the world view of material realism, or naturalism.
Either or arguments are inherently fallacious. That species today change does not prove that all species are related in a tree of life by descent with modification. Darwin's belief that there was the possibility of infinite variation has been proven false by modern knowledge of DNA. Hackel's embryos that Darwin felt were the strongest evidence for his theory have been proven to be frauds. Mutations have been proven to only result in a loss of useable information instead of the gain predicted by Darwin's theory. There is good empirical evidence to doubt Darwin's Theory.
However the revolutionary vision of a explanation of life without the the need for the supernatural has continued to capture the imagination of people and transformed the way that the world and life is viewed.
