by Charles Darwin’s effect on science and our world today is unimaginable. The whole concept of Darwinian Evolution is a theory of evolution that happens through natural selection. Natural selection is the idea that “Individuals in a species
show variation in physical characteristics. This variation is because of differences in their genes.” (Yourgenome) When looking at our world today there are many examples of evolution happening right before our eyes.
Scientists discovered during the Industrial Revolution that there was a mutation within moths in England that turned them black. During the industrial revolution, there was soot that blackened tree trunks and other places where moths thrive and call their habitats. Overtime scientists saw moths evolve and become a black color matching the soot that was on tree trunks and walls.
When Charles Darwin first came out with his theory of evolution there were a lot of backlashes. Darwin’s theory indicated that humans are a result of evolution which contradicted Christian beliefs. In the beginning, there were many people who were unhappy with this theory of evolution and used religion to disagree with Darwin’s hypothesis. Darwin’s theory was not compatible with the beliefs of certain religions, hence Darwin’s hypothesis was frowned upon. Adam Sedgwick, a scholar at the time, wrote to Darwin saying, “…parts I laughed at till my sides were almost sore… You (Darwin) have deserted the true method of induction… Many of your wide conclusions are based on assumptions which can neither be proved nor disproved.” (Santacruz).
Although, after some time people started to believe in Darwin’s hypothesis. The main push in believing in Darwin’s hypothesis was from Thomas Henry Huxley who was also known as ‘Darwin’s bulldog’. Huxley played an important role in defending Darwin’s work. Huxley argued for separating religion from science. When people started to separate religion from science this created some backlash towards Christianity and created unsettlement between different groups of people.
As people started to understand the difference between science and religion this recognition started to have lasting impacts. This proof of Darwin’s theory took the fear out of listening to science and it increased the amount of scientific research going on in the world. It became okay for people to believe in science. Along the lines of Darwin’s evolution scientists found many other instances of evolution within moths, three-toed skinks, cane toads, etc.
All in all, when we look back on our history we notice that Darwin’s effect has been extremely beneficial to us in the long run. It became acceptable to understand and accept science as a form of factual information. When we look at our world today there is still this constant battle between religion and science but it is at a different level from what it was in our history. For example, there are still some people that stick to their religious beliefs, and that sometimes is against what science tells us. We have seen this in our world today when it has to do with gender identity. As we as people keep growing our beliefs will start to fall in place and like Darwin’s idea of evolution ideas of people can keep adapting to the environment around them and their ideas can keep changing so it is only a matter of time before some social norms and ideas start to change.
Bibliography
Webb, Jonathan. “Famous Peppered Moth’s Dark Secret Revealed.” BBC News. BBC, June 1, 2016. https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-36424768.
“What Is Darwin’s On the Origin of Species and Why Is It Significant?” Santa Cruz Galapagos Cruise, September 28, 2020. https://www.santacruzgalapagoscruise.com/reactions-origin-of-species/.
“What Is Evolution?” Facts. The Public Engagement team at the Wellcome Genome Campus, February 17, 2017. https://www.yourgenome.org/facts/what-is-evolution.