Charles Darwin's book “The Origin of Species” became his main work, which told the world about the evolutionary theory of the development of life on Earth. Its influence on all science turned out to be colossal. With his publication, the British scientist ushered in a new era in biology.
History of the book
The scientific work “The Origin of Species” was published by Darwin in 1859. The appearance of the book was preceded by many years of work by the researcher. The basis of the work was the recordings that Darwin kept since 1837. As a naturalist, he traveled around the world on a Beagle ship. Observing the fauna of South America and the tropical islands during this voyage made the British think about whether the church theory of the divine origin of life is true .
Darwin's predecessor was Charles Lyell. His ideas also inspired the traveler. Finally, after two decades of hard work, the book The Origin of Species appeared. The main message of the author was this: all types of plants and animals change over time. The main incentive for these metamorphoses is the struggle for life. From generation to generation, the species receives useful traits and gets rid of unnecessary in order to adapt to existence in a changing environment.
Breeding and Evolution
Darwin's publication produced the effect of an exploding bomb. The Origin of Species was sold out at a tremendous pace, and the more rumors spread about this book, the greater the demand. Within two to three years, translations into the main European languages appeared.
What so surprised the advanced public? In the introduction to the book, Darwin outlined his main ideas. Further, the author gradually carefully argued every his thesis. Initially, he examined the experience of horse breeding and breeding pigeons. The experience of breeders has become another source of inspiration for the scientist. He asked readers the question: "Why are domestic breeds of animals changing and different from their wild relatives?" In this example, Darwin briefly explained the origin of the species on a larger, global scale. Like domestic populations, they all gradually transformed due to environmental changes. But if in cattle breeding there is artificial selection undertaken by man, then in nature there is natural selection.
Genus and species
In the era of Darwin, there was still no single and universally accepted species system. Scientists have proposed various theories and hypotheses for the grouping of living things. The same attempt was made in the book "The Origin of Species." Charles Darwin proposed a classification by birth. Each similar unit includes several types. This principle is universal. For example, there are many types of horses. Some of them are larger, some are faster, some are found only in a certain region. Thus, species are only varieties of one general genus.
The palette of individual differences has arisen due to nature. The order established in it is a constant struggle for existence. During it, species change and are divided into subspecies, which over time are more and more different from each other. The most insignificant unique feature (for example, the shape of the beak in birds) can be a significant advantage in survival. An individual who, unlike dissimilar neighbors, succeeds in surviving, will pass on its characteristics to the offspring. And after several generations, a unique trait will become a characteristic feature of many individuals.
Polemic with opponents
In the 6th and 7th chapters of his book, C. Darwin responds to criticism of opponents of his theory. In the first publication, he rather intuitively guessed the claims of creationists, ministers of the church, and other scholars. In subsequent lifetime editions, the author responded to the objections of specific opponents, naming them by name.
It is known that C. Darwin was not an eloquent public speaker. In the stands, his theory was best defended by Thomas Huxley. But in the silence of the cabinet, Darwin formulated everything succinctly and accurately. He smashed his opponents one by one, which only attracted more attention to the book.
Paleontological notes
It’s not without reason that the British scientist wrote The Origin of Species for so long. Charles Darwin not only explained his theory from the point of view of biology, but also argued with the help of geographical distribution and paleontology. The scientist drew attention to the numerous finds of fossils that recorded traces of extinct life forms. Thanks to paleontology, it became possible to study in detail extinct and intermediate species.
It was the writings of Darwin that made this science extremely popular, which is why in the second half of the 19th century it experienced a real flowering. The scientist was one of the first to describe the mechanism of conservation of the remains. He noted that under normal environmental conditions, organic tissue dies and leaves no residue. However, when exposed to water, permafrost or amber, they persist for a long time.
Species distribution
Speaking about the migration and resettlement of species, Darwin was able to build an organic system full of rules and patterns from the chaos of notes and facts. Natural selection results can cover entire climatic zones. The biologist, however, noted that there are natural barriers to the spread of animals and plants. In terrestrial species, such an insurmountable boundary is the huge water spaces between the New and Old Worlds.
Interestingly, in his discourse, Darwin dismissed theories about disappeared continents (for example, Atlantis). His arguments about how plants spread from the mainland to the mainland are curious. The scientist put forward a hypothesis that can be explained by the following example. Seeds can be swallowed by birds, which when flying to the other side of the world leave them there in excrement. Such a conclusion was not the only one. Saplings could stick together with dirt to the paws of birds and with them fall onto a new mainland. The further spread of the plant became a matter of time.
Embryo Features
In chapter 14, Darwin drew attention to the similarity of vestigial organs and embryonic development in plants and animals. From this observation, he concluded that the origin of all species is common. On the other hand, the scientist explained the similarity of some of the signs by the same habitat. For example, fish and whales actually have little in common, although outwardly they look approximately the same.
Darwin also emphasized that larvae of the same species, when exposed to different conditions, will behave completely differently. All instincts of embryos are associated with only one factor - the desire to survive in a changing environment. Speaking about the larvae, the scientist called them a kind of chronicle of the whole species to which they belong.
End of book
In conclusion of his work, Darwin summarized his own discoveries. His book was a typical work of Victorian England with all the diplomacy and roundness of formulations familiar to that time. For example, although the author became the founder of a scientific explanation of the formation of life, he made several conciliatory gestures in relation to religion.
The results of natural selection and the theory of evolution immediately became a serious problem for the church. In the epilogue, Darwin recalled: once Leibniz criticized Newton’s physical laws, but time has shown that these attacks were erroneous. The author of the sensational work expressed the hope that his own book will also find recognition, despite the serious pressure of creationists and other skeptics. Today we can say with confidence that this is what happened.