Charles Darwin's Theory Of Evolution By Natural Selection
There have been many theories that explain how evolution occurred. Charles Darwin, on the book Origin of Species, spoke about how traits are passed on from generations to generations by natural selection. In addition, he stated how there are four objections to the theory of natural selection, how species can win the struggle for existence through natural selection, and how the origin of species challenges religion.
Central to the theory of evolution, is natural selection. Evolutionary theory was developed by Charles Darwin to explain the ways in which animals adapt to their environments (Akert, Aronson, Sommers, and Wilson 43). Natural selection, is the process by which heritable traits that promote survival in particular environments are passed along to …show more content…
Charles Darwin after studying the beaks, concluded that each shape seemed to serve a purpose suited to the particular island (Lee 15). He concluded that finches who had short, fat beaks mostly ate nuts and on islands where the main food source is insects the finches had long, skinny beaks (Lee 15). Based on this evidence Darwin developed a theory that at some point in the past, one type of finch arrived at the islands and then evolved differently on each island (Lee 15). This theory is called natural selection, which ensures that traits that promote survival will win the struggle for existence (Akert, Aronson, Sommers, and Wilson 43). This theory also states that any trait that lowers our chances of survival, such as those that cause life- threatening diseases, reduce the chances that we will produce offspring and pass traits to other generations (Akert, Aronson, Sommers, and Wilson 316). However, if traits are not passed on to different generations, there would be no mechanism through which traits could reappear in subsequent generations and therefore there will be no way for a species to
Central to the theory of evolution, is natural selection. Evolutionary theory was developed by Charles Darwin to explain the ways in which animals adapt to their environments (Akert, Aronson, Sommers, and Wilson 43). Natural selection, is the process by which heritable traits that promote survival in particular environments are passed along to …show more content…
Charles Darwin after studying the beaks, concluded that each shape seemed to serve a purpose suited to the particular island (Lee 15). He concluded that finches who had short, fat beaks mostly ate nuts and on islands where the main food source is insects the finches had long, skinny beaks (Lee 15). Based on this evidence Darwin developed a theory that at some point in the past, one type of finch arrived at the islands and then evolved differently on each island (Lee 15). This theory is called natural selection, which ensures that traits that promote survival will win the struggle for existence (Akert, Aronson, Sommers, and Wilson 43). This theory also states that any trait that lowers our chances of survival, such as those that cause life- threatening diseases, reduce the chances that we will produce offspring and pass traits to other generations (Akert, Aronson, Sommers, and Wilson 316). However, if traits are not passed on to different generations, there would be no mechanism through which traits could reappear in subsequent generations and therefore there will be no way for a species to