What discovery led Darwin to develop his theories on adaptation?
1 Answer
There were no discoveries that led Darwin to develop his theories.
Explanation:
Darwin's theory is basically a either or argument.
Either all species are fixed created by God exactly as the species are today observed.
Or all species are related to one another by descent with modification from a common ancestor.
That species can change was well known in scientific circles. Linnaus the father of the classification system had written about hybridization and how " new species" could be formed from the combination of existing species. This was not a new discovery
Darwin applied Lyell's theories of uniformtarism in geology to biological changes. The idea of the present being the key to the past by slow uniform change was not a discovery but itself a theory. What was new was Darwin's application of the this geological theory to a proposed biological process.
Part of the power of Darwin's theory was appeal of adaptation that could be explained purely by natural causes. The Enlightenment philosophy was that everything should be explained using only natural causes that could be observed or explained by human an reason. Darwin's theory was in line with this philosophy and was widely accepted because of this. Enlightenment philosophy was not a new discovery. Finding an explanation for life compatible with the philosophy was.
Darwin's theory was not based on any new scientific discoveries but an application of other scientific theories and scientific philosophies in a new and novel manner.
