- Thomas Malthus was a great positive influence to Charles Darwin, who read the works of Malthus. Malthus argued that people had to control the amount of children they had in order to prevent starvation from devastating the human race. In other words, should the human species continue the trend of bearing multiple children, the Earth will eventually and inevitably be depleted of resources. Malthus believed that availability of resources determined the population in a given area.
- Thomas Malthus understood that reproduction was natural. However, Malthus influenced Darwin by explaining that because the Earth has limited resources. Ultimately, the harsh environment due to lack of resource would limit the population. People who had better access to natural resources were more likely to reproduce, and succeed Malthus warned the people that overpopulation would result in famine, outbreak of disease, and even war.
- Charles Darwin's were heavily altered because he read and accepted Malthus' works. At first, Darwin believed that species naturally reproduced until the population was steady. Malthus explained that species simply keep reproducing, with many dying in the process. In addition, should a species overpopulate, it could jeopardize the entire population due to lack of resources. In conclusion, Darwin could not have published his works with the level of accuracy science demands without Malthus.
- Charles Darwin was fiercely opposed to the existence of God and the concept of the Earth as God's creation. Due to the clergy attacking Darwin and his ideas during his early life, Darwin rejected the idea of a higher entity and incorporates his personal bias when publishing his work. The churches across the entire world opposed Darwin's famous book On the Origins of Species. During the time it was seen as blasphemous and a direct attack at the church.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/library/02/5/l_025_01.html
Good background on Malthus. Another key point is that Malthus used non-human populations to demonstrate his principles, pointing out that, in general, natural populations self-regulated and stayed in balance with their environments. Humans were in danger of pushing past these natural limits and disease, famine and petulance were natural processes that forced humans back into balance. This concept of the environment keeping non-human populations in balance was very important. It cause Darwin to ask "Which organisms are dying off?" and "Is there a pattern or is it random?" It's not random. The environment "selects" the successful organisms.
ReplyDeleteGood choice on your bullet point.
Usually, I don't like to place too much importance on any particular scientist with regard to their impact on another's work, but Malthus is one case where his work might have been indispensable to Darwin, who actually wrote about Malthus' influence in one of his writings.
Regarding your last section:
- No, Darwin was NOT opposed to the existence of God. He was actually a religious man, which is why it was difficult for him to publish, knowing the impact it would have in the church. Now me might have had his differences with Christianity (many, actually) but that is entirely different from being "opposed to the existence of God".
- The clergy didn't attack his ideas early in life. In fact, Darwin was initially destined to join the clergy.
- Churches across the world didn't oppose Darwin's theory. Watch the hyperbole. It was primarily Christianity, namely biblical-literalists, who had difficulty accepting it.
Where did you find the information for your last section? It is based largely upon misinformation and didn't come from the PBS site.
Other than the last section, the rest of your post is quite good. Make sure your sources are reliable and stick to the facts. Okay?
Hello David!
ReplyDeleteJust like you I also picked Thomas Malthus for this assignment and I also agree that he was a significant influence to Darwin and his theory. I found a quote that I would just like to share with you from Charles Darwin himself. "In October 1838, that is, fifteen months after I had begun my systematic inquiry, I happened to read for amusement Malthus on Population, and being well prepared to appreciate the struggle for existence which everywhere goes on from long- continued observation of the habits of animals and plants, it at once struck me that under these circumstances favorable variations would tend to be preserved, and unfavorable ones to be destroyed. The results of this would be the formation of a new species. Here, then I had at last got a theory by which to work". In this quote Darwin himself says that if it wasn't for Thomas Malthus his theory wouldn't have come together.
As for your last point I would just like to say that Darwin and his family had a lifetime involvement with the Church of England and wasn't opposed to the existence of God.
Thank you professor and fellow classmate Marina for pointing out my mistakes with the last bullet point. Turns out I misread the information (Unreliable source), which is a mistake I don't plan on making any time again. Thank you both for the ideas you support, I really do love this environment.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the response. Watch those sources!
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