Alfred Russell Wallace and Charles Darwin have something in common, the thought of how evolution occurs. Both of these men were convinced that the process of evolution occurred by natural selection, where species live by adaption to environment. They shared the same interest in organisms, however were very different people. Charles Darwin discovered this theory at a very young age, and thought about it nearly twenty years before speaking up. After Alfred Wallace published an article presenting his ideas that were identical, Charles Darwin shot back and shared his ideas. I think Alfred Wallace was both a negative and positive influence on Darwin. In the beginning, he was a threat to Darwin, "stealing" his ideas, taking credit, but that influenced Darwin to present his theory. I think it gave him motivation to present his book, An Origin of Species. After that it was nothing but good for Darwin, his well-known theory is still around.
Alfred Russell Wallace posted an article
that, "suggested species were descended from other species and that the
appearance of new ones was influenced by environmental factors."
(Introduction to Anthropology 37). By stating that a species was descended from
another means that he believed in that reproduction must occur for natural
selection. Also, Wallace states that a new appearance could mean a difference
in the environment. This key point is listed in Darwin's simple
explanation.
People of the church were astonished with the publication of An Origin of Species. They were
frightened because it eliminated the belief of a “greater purpose” in life and
mortality. This created conflict between science and religion. Many debated over
the theory with Darwinists, however this did not bother Darwin. During this
time it was easy to become timid once religion was involved, so it was shocking
that Charles Darwin still stood behind it. “Ideas spread and people began
accepting natural selection as a valid scientific theory backed up by evidence.”
(Darwin 200 par 23).
I believe that Charles Darwin needed Alfred Wallace in developing
his theory, because he was the one who made him do it. If Wallace wasn't around
to present the same ideas, I think Darwin would still have kept his ideas to
himself. He might have been intimidated of Wallace since he had the same
information. I think Darwin would be proud of himself today since the theory is
still around and he’s the one who gets the most credit.
http://darwin200.christs.cam.ac.uk/pages/index.php?page_id=e6
Great background. Loved this comment:
ReplyDelete"I think Alfred Wallace was both a negative and positive influence on Darwin."
I agree, although since he ultimately convinced Darwin to publish, you could argue that even the negative was a positive.
While I agree that the point on reproduction applies to Wallace, couldn't you also argue that ALL the points apply equally to both Wallace and Darwin since they both developed the same theory?
The final question doesn't ask about the church's response after Darwin published. It asked about the influence of the church on Darwin's decision to publish. Darwin delayed for more than 20 years to publish. Why? What were his concerns and how were they related to the influence of the church?
Other than this final point, good first post.
I do agree with you Emilie Pfaender in the sense that people of that time were scared of the Darwin's theory and how the theory challenge their believe system- particularity those who were conservative in their religious. There was defiantly a big conflict between science and religion during this time.
ReplyDeleteThis created conflict between science and religion. Many debated
I like how you put a lot of background on Wallace unlike I did. I also agree with what you said about the conflict between religion and science and how that didn't bother Darwin.
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