Essay, Research Paper: Charles Darwin

Charles Darwin was born on February 12, 1809 in Shrewsbury, England. He was the British naturalist who became famous for his theories of evolution. Darwin believed all the life on earth evolved (developed gradually) over millions of years from a few common ancestors. From 1831 to 1836 Darwin served as naturalist aboard the H.M.S. Beagle on a British science expedition around the world. In South America Darwin found fossils of extinct animals that were similar to modern species. On the Galapagos Islands in the Pacific Ocean, he noticed many variations among plants and animals of the same general type as those in South America. The expedition visited places around the world and Darwin studied plants and animals everywhere he went, collecting specimens for further study.
Upon his return to London, Darwin conducted thorough experiments of his notes and specimens. Out of his research grew several related theories. The four theories that came out of his research are that evolution does occur, the evolutionary change was gradual, evolution was triggered by natural selection, and all species of organisms evolved from a single original organism.
Darwin's theory of evolutionary selection states that variation within species occurs randomly and that the survival or extinction of each organism is determined by that organism's ability to adapt to its environment. He stated these theories in his book called, "On the Origin of the Species by Means of Natural Selection” which he wrote in 1859. After publication of “On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection”, Darwin continued to write on botany, geology, and zoology until his death in 1882. He was buried in Westminster Abbey.
Darwin's work had a tremendous impact on religious thought. Many people strongly opposed the idea of evolution because it conflicted with their religious beliefs. Darwin avoided talking about the theological and sociological aspects of his work, but other writers used his theories to support their own theories about society. Darwin was a hard working scholar who concerned himself with the feelings and motions not only of his family, but friends and peers as well.
It has been supposed that Darwin renounced evolution and converted to Christianity on his deathbed. Shortly after his death, a Lady Hope claimed she visited Darwin on his deathbed, and witnessed the renunciation. Her story was printed in a Boston newspaper and subsequently spread. Lady Hope's story was claimed false by Darwin's daughter Henrietta who was at his deathbed.
To become a scientist, emotionally, isn’t as easy as it could be. When introducing a new idea that contradicts a long running belief, people are going to tell that person that he or she in incorrect. Over a long period of time of being told that someone is incorrect, that person will eventually believe that. Scientists need to be emotionally strong in that people might declare you false because of the results you got from your experiments. Darwin’s ideas conflicted with many ideas of many religions. People opposed Darwin’s results but Darwin knew that evolution did occur. To prevent conflict, Darwin avoided discussing his research as often as possible.
When Darwin was alive, announcing new ideas that conflicted with religious ideas could have placed outside of society. Had Darwin actually discussed his work often, the Church might have isolated him from other people to avoid spreading “false” information. An example of when this actually happened was when Galileo announced that the Earth was round. Religious leader imprisoned him from the world so he couldn’t spread the idea of the Earth being round rather than flat. Later on the people did realize that Galileo was right about the world being round.
A scientist should become a scientist at a young age. Some results do not show very quickly. Evolution, for example, takes a huge amount of time for results to show. Evolutionary changes are so subtle that physical changes take many years to see a difference. So if a scientist become a scientist at a young age, he or she would have many more years to observe what they are studying.
Scientifically, a scientist should specialize in only one topic. Darwin specialized in theology, the study of religion. Had Darwin studied many other sciences, he wouldn’t have been as intelligent in one subject as he was. Darwin did study other sciences, however. Theology was the science he decided to specialize in.
Becoming a scientist is a lot of hard work. A scientist needs to enjoy what he or she does rather than just do the job for the money. Darwin didn’t sail around the world on the H.M.S Beagle for the paycheck, he joined the project because of personal interest of the subject. A scientist is a difficult job and should not be taken easily.


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