Historical Influences on Darwin

1. Select one of the five individuals listed above who you would argue had the most influence over Darwin’s development of his theory of Natural selection. This could be a positive or a negative influence.

Alfred Russel Wallace was so influential over Darwin that many considered him the first to discover the theory of evolution through natural selection. His finding and observations through his many explorations led Darwin to make the connections to formulate the theory in a coherent fashion. Wallace sent Darwin skins of birds from his research opportunities in the Far East. Wallace published these findings in a paper entitled, “On the Law which has Regulated the Introduction of New Species.” Darwin got a chance to review the findings, but he was not as impressed, believing it to be a bit vague as to the specifics of the theory. In 1858, Wallace authored another report entitled, “On the Tendency of Varieties to Depart Indefinitely from the Original Type” and sent a copy of it to Darwin for personal use as well as for reviewing his work. He disagreed with Wallace's idea of natural selection stated as the “environmental weeding out” process of those weaker species that could not adapt, whereas Darwin said that “competition” referred to that process. Wallace also believed the mutation observed satisfied a goal, which is the construction of the perfect man.


2. Briefly (but completely) describe the contribution this individual made to the scientific community. You must provide one link to an online source of information besides your textbook. No Wikipedia sources! (10 pts)

Wallace is probably best known for formulating his unique “theory of evolution,” which was very similar to Darwin's due to the continued back and forth between the two. During 1848, he began an exploration throughout the Amazon. He began traveled back to England four years later, but during his trek back home, his vessel caught fire and his collection of specimen fell victim to the disaster. Thankfully, he was saved and used the following two years to write two books on his journey into South America. Wallace soon left on another research opportunity in the Far East in 1854. He used most of his time there studying specimen on the Malaysian islands, paying close attention to their inhabitation patterns and the comparing of similar species in Australia. When he was in Malay Archipelago, he began to question how these differences were brought about with his theory on “natural selection.” His books, “Malay Archipelago” and “Contributions to the Theory of Natural Selection,” allowed him to publish his findings from his exploration in the Far East.

Sources:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2013/jan/20/alfred-russel-wallace-forgotten-man-evolution

3. From the bullet point list above (under “How does evolution work?”), identify the point (or points) most directly affected by this individual’s work and thoroughly explain how this point was influenced by your selected individual. Again, this could be a positive effect, meaning Darwin built upon the knowledge this information provided, or a negative effect, meaning that Darwin demonstrated that this individual’s idea(s) were incorrect and the mechanism of natural selection was an alternative explanation. (10 pts)

Although Wallace never formulated his findings into a cohesive theory, he did find a large amount of evidence to answer the question of who gets better access to these limited resources. Throughout his expeditions, he began to question why some organisms die while others of the same species live on. He soon realized that only the best fitted live, meaning the organisms best suited for the environment thrive. This led him to find different variations in animals and plants that gave them a particular advantage in their natural habitat. Darwin used many of his findings to support his own theories, but some information of Wallace’s was incorrect that Darwin clarified in his theories.

4. Could Darwin have developed his theory of natural selection without the influence and ideas of this individual? Explain. (10 pts)

           

I believe Darwin could have theorized natural selection without Wallace’s influence, but it would have taken many years of additional research to make up for Wallace’s findings. Wallace presented much of his findings to Darwin, which led him to contemplate why there were differences between similar species. However, even with the amount of data Wallace collected, he could not tie everything together in one absolute theory. Since Darwin was the one who made the connections and was in a higher social class than Wallace, he is given all the credit for the theory of natural selection. However without Wallace’s findings, the creation of this theory would have required more analysis and research on Darwin’s part.

5. How did the attitude of the church affect Darwin and his eventual publication of his book On the Origin of Species? (10 pts)

Darwin understood that the church would be in an uproar once they read his publication. The church believed any opposition to the idea of creation and the words set forth by the Holy Bible was sac religious. There was never any encouragement from the theological side for him to publish his book. However, scientists like Wallace pushed him to publish the book and let the world see his findings. For better or for worse.