Alfred Russel Wallace
i believe was one of the major contributors to darwin theory of evolution in fact he should have been a co founder of the theory, during a trip to the tropics, exposure to malaria was when Wallace started to come up with the idea of natural selection. He sent his manuscript to Darwin, who puts together a set of notes to be presented alongside Wallace's and darwin hearing at the linean society.Darwin and Wallace found their inspiration in economics from an English reverend named thomas malthus. He published a book in 1797 called essay of principle population in which he warned his fellow countrymen that most policies designed to help the poor were doomed because of the rapid pressure of population growth. A nation could easily double its population in a few decades, leading to famine and misery for all classes of life mainly the poor.
i believe was one of the major contributors to darwin theory of evolution in fact he should have been a co founder of the theory, during a trip to the tropics, exposure to malaria was when Wallace started to come up with the idea of natural selection. He sent his manuscript to Darwin, who puts together a set of notes to be presented alongside Wallace's and darwin hearing at the linean society.Darwin and Wallace found their inspiration in economics from an English reverend named thomas malthus. He published a book in 1797 called essay of principle population in which he warned his fellow countrymen that most policies designed to help the poor were doomed because of the rapid pressure of population growth. A nation could easily double its population in a few decades, leading to famine and misery for all classes of life mainly the poor.
When Darwin and Wallace read Malthus, they realized that to both of them animals and plants should also be experiencing the same population pressure. It should take very little time for the world to be submerged or at least infested with beetles or earthworms. But the world is not , or any other species for that matter mainly because they cannot reproduce to their full potential. Many die before they become adults. They are vulnerable to droughts and cold winters and other environmental pressures. And their food supply, like that of a nation, is not infinite. Individuals must compete for what little food there is.
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/jan/20/alfred-russel-wallace-forgotten-man-evolution
Could Darwin have developed his theory of natural selection without the influence and ideas of this individual?
yes he could have developed the theories without the help of alfred but what helped darwin the most was that two scientific studies done in separate locations at the time arriving in the same conclusion to back darwin ideas.
How did the attitude of the church affect Darwin and his decision to publish his theory?
Having copious amounts of influence at the time the catholic church was not to fond of the theories of darwin or another evolution theorist at the time. Many believed it was blasphemy to speak of such theories and in doing so went against god.
How did the attitude of the church affect Darwin and his decision to publish his theory?
Having copious amounts of influence at the time the catholic church was not to fond of the theories of darwin or another evolution theorist at the time. Many believed it was blasphemy to speak of such theories and in doing so went against god.
In general, good background on Wallace's work and interesting history. There were actually regular communications between Wallace and Darwin in the time approaching the publication of their joint paper. I really appreciate that you note the way Malthus influenced both Darwin and Wallace... which led me to wonder why you didn't choose to write about Malthus instead of Wallace?
ReplyDeleteMissing the section on bullet points? In fairness, all of the bullet points in the guidelines could be argued to apply to Wallace, since he developed the same mechanism as Darwin, cut this should have been discussed to address that section.
I agree with two of your key points in the third section. Yes, Darwin not only could but *did* develop his theory without Wallace and Darwin did benefit from having independent confirmation from Wallace as to the validity of his own work. That said, with respect to Wallace, I suggest that while Darwin did develop his theory without Wallace, would he have actually *published* without Wallace? The greatest contribution Wallace likely made to Darwin was the impetus to finally publish after a 23 year delay.
With reference to your last section, the Church didn't know about Darwin's work until after he published, and that was the question. How did the church influence Darwin's decision to publish his work? That said, you other point as to the attitude of the church toward the concept of evolution is well taken. Do you think Darwin was aware of this attitude of the Church? Darwin delayed publishing for more than 20 years. Do you think awareness of the church's attitude toward evolutionary theory played a role in that delay? What concerns might Darwin have had? What possible repercussions might Darwin have experienced as a result of publishing? Was he only worried for himself or for other members of his family?
I like your input. I agree, Darwin could have developed his theory without the aid of Alfred because of all of his influences. Most importantly the studies he conducted at separate locations which you were just talking about. I like the way you phrased it.
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