Historical Influences on Darwin

1. Perhaps the most influential scientist ever was Charles Darwin. Obviously known best for his theory of evolution, and his published work On the Origin of Species. But who and what gave Darwin the foundations for his theory? Who was it that sparked Darwin’s interest that led him to form the theory of evolution? In my opinion, the scientist who had the most profound influence over Darwin was the geologist Charles Lyell.

2. Charles Lyell was a British born lawyer turned geologist. His contributions to the evolutionary theory were enormous. Lyell first began studying under the catastrophist William Buckland while attending Oxford University, however Lyell began to doubt the theory after his professor tried to link catastrophism to the Bible. Lyell believed that science should built on scientific observation and not, “susceptible to wild speculations or dependent on the supernatural.” After this Lyell set out to make sense of why the earth looks the way it does. Lyell's version of geology came to be known as uniformitarianism, because of his insistence that the processes that alter the Earth are uniform through time. Lyell argued, “that geologic formations were the result of steady cumulative forces of the sort we see today.” Lyell created a powerful lens for viewing the history of the Earth scientifically. Because of Lyell’s theory he enabled Darwin to decipher the history of the Canary Islands by applying Lyell's ideas. “He influenced Darwin so deeply that Darwin envisioned evolution as a sort of biological uniformitarianism.”

3. The idea that Lyell had the most influence over Darwin is the point that individuals do not evolve. Populations do. Individuals cannot change their heritable traits; they can only pass them on. Evolution does not occur within a generation. It occurs between generations. Lyell had argued that, “geologic formations were the result of steady cumulative forces. Darwin had seen them . . . He imagined the eons it had taken to raise the fossilized trees in sandstone (once seashore mud) to 7,000 feet where he found them. Darwin began thinking in terms of deep time.” Therefore Darwin began forming the idea that, much in the way that over a long period of time the earth’s structure changed, over long periods of time species evolved as well.

4. Without the influence from Charles Lyell, Charles Darwin would not have been as successful coming up with his theory of natural selection. Because Lyell believed that science should remain separate from religious views and supernatural thought he set the groundwork for Darwin’s theory of evolution. Like Lyell, Darwin believed that over time things gradually change and evolve, things don’t just magically happen, it’s a long process. Without Lyell’s “uniformitarianism” and the idea that things progressively change over time, Darwin might not have recognized the early signs that eventually led to his evolutionary theory.

5. The church had a profound affect on Darwin and the eventual publication of his book On the Origin of Species however it did not deter him from publishing his views. At the time it was dangerous and extremely rare to question the church, and that is exactly what evolution does, it challenges creationism and the idea that the universe and all living organisms originate from a divine creation. However, Darwin was not intimidated and was unafraid of the repercussions that publishing the theory would bring. Because of his courage, he inspired thousand of scientists to follow in his foot steps and further the study of evolution.

Links to more info:

http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/history_12

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/151902/Charles-Darwin/225885/On-the-Origin-of-Species

Happy Blogging!!

~Stacy