1. The individual I would argue had the most positive influence over Darwin’s development of his natural selection theory is Thomas Malthus.
2. Thomas Malthus, a political economist, argued in his “An Essay on the Principle of Population as it affects the Future Improvement of Society” that the food supply would never be able to keep up with population growth and that other forces such as disease or persons marrying later in life, kept the population in check. (http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/_0_0/history_07).
3. Mathus’s theory discusses why we are not up to our eyeballs in rabbits by providing a rationale for the first three bulleted points and bullet 9: 1) All organisms have the potential at growing exponentially; Mathus point, human populations can also grow exponentially; 2) What is preventing organisms from reproducing at their potential, Mathus point other forces, e.g., disease, waiting for marriage, keep population growth in check; 3) Resources are limited, Mathus point, land space is limited; and 9) individual do not change populations do, Mathus writings also focused on changes in groups of humans rather than individuals.
4. After reading Mathus’s work, Darwin was quoted as saying: “It all once struck me that under these circumstances favorable variations would tend to be preserved and unfavorable ones would be destroyed. The result of this would be the formation of a new species (Jurmain et al., 2010, pg 36). It is this statement by Darwin that confirms that Mathu’s work was pivotal in helping him develop his natural selection theory.
5. Darwin knew his theory was very controversial at the time and delayed his publication for many years. His views even differed from those of his wife Emma (Jurmain et al. pg 36). For that reason, he delayed publication for 15 years, from his early draft in 1844 to the publication "On the Origin of Species" in 1859. Today’s Darwin’s work continue to be contested by fundamentalists, although the Catholic church is more accepting of evolutionary processes (Jurmain et al. pg 44).
I agree that Thomas Malthus research contributed greatly to Darwin's theory of natural selection, But also included in Malthus essay, "Essay on the Principle of Population"(http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/history/malthus.html) he explains that he believed that the natural outcomes such as: famine, poverty, disease, and space limitations were put in place by divine authority. That God put them in place to keep man from getting lazy and limit the amount of offspring that can be produced.
ReplyDeleteLike many others have agreed on the selection of Darwin's influence I also agree with you that Thomas Malthus had he greatest influence on him as far as natural selection is concerned. However, I was also tempted to say that Charles Lyell had a great influence on him, but that influence I think is more relevant to that of a mentor. I also like how you mentioned good details publication of his book and how the church and family felt towards his views in this book.
ReplyDeleteVery good discussion. Malthus had a dramatic impact on Darwin's work.
ReplyDeleteThe Catholic Church has come a long way in its attitude toward Darwin's work. In 2009, the Vatican announced that evolutionary theory and religion can be compatible.
I agree and that is great insight about his wife. It would be very hard in that day to stand for something so controversial and dear to his heart when you know you will be out there by yourself.
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