Blog
#1
Q1.) 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.
A1.) The most influential individual over the
development of Darwin’s theory of natural selection was Thomas Malthus. In 1838, Darwin read Malthus’
essay, “An Essay on the Principle of Population” and was struck by his point of
population and having resources in order to survive or repopulate. He
learned from Malthus that humans, plants, and animals repopulate much faster
than food and supply. The
more we reproduced, the more supply we would need, and because we reproduced
faster, there would not be enough supply for all to survive. Malthus helped Darwin discover that
the proper resources made a difference with the reproduction of humans,
animals, and plants. Thomas Malthus was the most influential to Darwin because
these findings were what he needed to develop his theory of Natural
Selection.
Q2.) 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!
Thomas Malthus made a significant contribution to the scientific
community with his theory of changes in population. His theory was the
population growth would always overpower food supply growth, creating perpetual
states of hunger, disease, and struggle in the end. He was well known for the
essay, “An Essay on the Principle of Population” where he discussed the
importance of limiting human population. This was the essay the helped form
Darwin’s theory on natural selection.
Q3.) 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.
A3.) One of the key points to Thomas Malthus’
theory is that “resources are limited”. Malthus
found that the population grows at a much greater rate than resources do, such
as supplies and food. This is where
“checks and balances” comes into play. With a high population, you need enough
food and supplies (shelter, clothing, etc.) but these resources are not only
costly, but time consuming. The supply and demand ratio would not be in line
with one another and eventually a surplus in population would cause a scarcity
in supply.
Q4.) Could
Darwin have developed his theory of natural selection without the influence and
ideas of this individual?
A4.) I do believe
that Darwin could have developed his theory of natural selection without Thomas
Malthus’ influence. He had
a lot of very influential individuals that helped shape his theory on natural
selection. I do however, think that it may have taken longer to form him
theory, but I don’t doubt that he would have still developed his theory.
Q 5.) How
did the attitude of the church affect Darwin and his eventual publication of
his book On the Origin of Species?
A 5.) The attitude of the Church did prolong
Darwin’s publication of his greatest work, “On the Origin of Species.” In the
Middle Ages, it was frowned upon to question “God’s work or creation,” and was
considered unorthodox to do so. He initially chose not to publish his theory
right away to avoid a backlash from the Church, and avoid going against his
wife’s religious beliefs. Thanks to Alfred Wallace, who sent him a paper
discussing natural selection, Darwin decided to publish his work to ensure he
was given the credit for it. There was a lot of negative opinion from the
Church and the public, but he still received praise for his work.
