Charles Darwin and the Works' The Origin of Categories

Charles Darwin (1809 - 1882) and 'The Origin of Categories'

1809 is the birth year of world celebrities like Abraham Lincoln, great liberation of slaves, Charles Darwin, renowned biologist, William Gladstone, British Prime Minister, Felix Mendelssohn, talented musician. poets like Edgar Allen Poe, Elizabeth Bannett Browning, Alfred Tennyson.

Among the above celebrities and among the millions of people born in the 19th century, except for Karl Marx, Charles Darwin changed the thoughts of human thought, creating a new perspective.

Charles Darwin's book 'The Origin of Categories by Natural Selection' (On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection) has been a turning point in new Science, creating a shocking theory. Until recently, the profound influence not only on the scope of scientific thinking but also on the areas of Philosophy, Religion and other thought industries.

Today, the basic principles of Darwinian theory are almost universally accepted by the scientific world but initially, this theory has caused turbulence for nearly a century. Beginning in 1860 was a debate in the city of Oxford, with many other controversies followed in 1925 as "monkey lawsuit" (Monkey trial) in Tennessee, USA, and arguments only calming. gradually over time.

1. The 'Monkey' lawsuit.

In 1925, the US state of Tennessee passed the Butler Act (the Butler Act) prohibiting Evolutionary teaching at state schools. Opposition took place and a lawsuit was brought before Justice. Pulled to Court is Mr. John T. Scopes, 24, Professor of Science and the Football Team Manager. Mr. Scopes confessed that he violated the law by teaching Charles Darwin's theory. So in July of that year the ' Scopes Monkey Trial ' (Scopes Monkey Trial) that historians of Law considered this case of the century.

This case is the largest title in the United States, overcoming all kinds of information, newspapers, radio systems, clarifying the arguments regarding the US Constitution, similar to the problem separates Church and state, such as academic freedom, as well as the First Amendment. But it was the characters in the dispute that made the case a drama.

William Jennings Bryan - 1907

The defendant, Mr. Clarence Darrow, faced a three-time presidential candidate and a pure Christian believer, this is the famous rhetoric William Jennings Bryan. After the judge prevented the release of witnesses as scientific experts, lawyer Darrow urged prosecutor Bryan to stand as an expert on the Bible. In the heat of July, Mr. Darrow kept asking questions about the Bible, which caused Bryan to finally admit that 'human creation may take millions of years' not just in 6 day, according to Genesis (Genesis). So many people believed that the lawyer on the side had won the Evolution theory. The party's tactic was to raise the unconstitutional issue of Butler Act, and the prosecution prosecuted Mr. Scopes for violating the law.In the end, the jury concluded that Mr. Scopes was guilty, which was what the party wanted! This "criminal" sentence was appealed to the Court, which will destroy the Butler Act against Evolutionism. However, the appeal was only heard in 1967 while the educational councils of several US states did not mention Evolutionary theory in multiple-choice questions when teaching this theory still in controversy.

2. Charles Darwin's school and survey period.

Charles Robert Darwin is the grandson of two famous and wealthy grandchildren who lived in the Victorian era of England. Eramus Darwin's grandfather was a liberal physician and thinker, and grandfather Josiah Wedgwood was the founder of Wedgwood kiln and also a leading figure in the Technological Revolution in England. Charles Darwin's father is Robert Darwin, a brilliant doctor and his mother Susannah Wedgwood. Charles Darwin was born on February 12, 1809 in the family of his older brother, Eramus, who was over 4 years old. This family lives in a large building outside Shrewsbury town.

Charles Darwin - 1816

As a young man, Darwin did not show any promise that would later become a famous scientist in the world. Although he comes from a family of scholars and professionals, Darwin is not an excellent student. At primary school, Charles was depressed by Latin and the education program was less flexible. He was scolded by the principal for wasting time on chemical experiments or in collecting insects and rock samples. Following his father's footsteps, Charles was sent to Edinburgh University at the age of 16 to study Medicine. After two years of study at this school, he insisted that the medical industry was not appropriate and should be transferred to Cambridge University to serve the Church of the Anglican Church later.

Charles Darwin considered the three long years at the university to be a waste of time, but even so, Darwin benefited greatly from knowing the two influential teachers, Mr. John Stevens Henslow, Professor of Botanicals. , and Mr. Adam Sedgwick, Professor of Geology. Guided by these two teachers, Darwin spent much of his time in travels, collecting insects and practicing nature watching.

Thanks to the introduction of Professor Sedgwick, Darwin was asked to take up the position of naturalist on the Beagle naval ship to conduct a thorough survey of the southern hemisphere. The HMS Beagle is a small ship, 90 ft long, 24 ft wide, so the room for Darwin is very narrow. Years after looking back on this journey, Darwin considered it "the most important event in my life." In five years from 1831 to 1836, the Beagle ship visited almost every continent and main islands as it circled the earth. Darwin served with the work of geologists, botanists, animal houses and a general scientist, this is a complete preparation for his life of research and writing later.

In each passing place, Darwin collects lots of plants and animals, fossils and creatures, forms of life on the ground or under the sea. He studied with the eyes of a naturalist who studied the flora and fauna of many lands and seas, searching for many specimens in the wild fields of Argentina, on the arid mountainside of the Andes mountains, where salt lakes or deserts of Chile and Australia, in the jungles of Brazil, Tierra del Fuego and Tahiti, on bare Cape Verde island. Darwin's survey sites are also the geological structures of South America's coast and mountains, active or extinct volcanoes on islands or land, coral islands, fossils of cave mammals in the Patagonia region, traces of human decline in Peru and the Aborigines of the region of Tierra del Fuego and Patagonia.

Galapagos island

But through all the regions visited and studied, nowhere has impressed Darwin more than the Galapagos Islands, located 500 miles west of the South American coast. On this uninhabited, lonely island, consisting of bare volcanoes, Charles Darwin saw giant turtles, huge real lizards never seen in the world, crabs and oversized sea lions. He also particularly noticed that the birds here are similar to birds on the neighboring islands but not identical. In addition there were changes in different types of birds from one island to another.

The strange phenomenon of Galapagos Islands plus the previously recorded certain events in South America has strengthened the idea of ​​evolution that began to form in Darwin's mind. Mr. Darwin noted in his handbook as follows: 'I was especially surprised because of the fossilized animal fossils like the second, existing armadillo because of the way the animals relate to each other on the continent. When going south and third, the changing organisms are slightly different on the Galapagos islands, although these islands are not very ancient in the geological sense . ' Charles Darwin did not immediately understand the meaning of the change in the appearance of the creatures, he recorded all the comments for later study when returning to England. He did not accept the doctrines in Genesis (Genesis) in which all categories were created at the same time and did not change over time.

After returning to England, Charles Darwin published in 1839 the book 'The Journal of Researching Geology and Natural Sciences of Different Countries by Beagle' voyage (Journal of Researches into the Geology and Natural History of Various Countries Visited by HMS Beagle) and he began to think about the theory of organic evolution in which species change not only from place to place but also from time to time. great geology, he wanted to discover the reason for changes and at the same time, Darwin wrote the book "The Origin of Species". The first sketch of 35 pages was written in 1842, and in 1844 it was expanded to 230 pages. From the beginning, the mysterious problem is how to make organic life begin to evolve since the beginning of the earth, to explain the appearance and disappearance of animals. Why are animals born, changed over time, divided into different branches and often disappear completely?

3. Getting married and studying Science.

On January 19, 1839, Charles Darwin married his cousin, Emma Wedgwood. The couple lived in Bloomsbury in a house filled with specimens like a museum and three years later they moved to Downe village in Kent county, a remote countryside. Mr. and Mrs. Darwin had 10 children, 2 premature babies, one daughter named Annie was most loved died at the age of 10, the other 7 children all have weak bodies.

For 20 years, Charles Darwin has compiled the above book 'Origin ', concretizing his theories. He has read countless documents: magazines, travel books, sports books, flower-growing books, animal books and natural history books. He talked with many breeders of plants and animals, sent questions to many savvy people. He collected the bones of domesticated animals, comparing them to the bones of wild animals. He studied floating fruits and seeds and moved on the sea. He used the data collected during the journey on the Beagle ship to answer many problems related to botany, zoology, geology, paleontology .

Charles Darwin used artificial selection of domesticated animals and plants: dogs, cats, horses, wheat, barley, garden flowers . that humans bred to have get something that is good for your needs. Thus many new categories have been developed by choice. Did he reason that if evolution was made by artificial selection, then nature could also operate under the same natural selection method? However, in the natural context, there was a struggle to survive. He observed that a large number of species were dead, only a small part survived. Some animals are food of other animals. The struggle continues and the fierce competition has eliminated any category that is not suitable for survival. Variation of species has occurred to meet the necessary conditions for survival.

4. Evolutionary theory was born.

The key to mysterious words for Darwin is by Thomas Robert Malthus's book ' Essay on Population'. Malthus said that the supply of food controlled the level of population growth and the number of people on earth was blocked because of positive restrictions such as accidents, illnesses, wars and famine. least. Thus the same factors can be applied to organisms and plants. Darwin wrote: 'From the long-term observation of the habits of organisms and plants, I realized that in living circumstances, the types of adaptations that are often maintained and those that are not adapted will be extermination. The results of this event are the newly created categories'.

Alfred Russel Wallace

Thus, Darwinism has a reputation for ' natural selection ' , 'fighting for survival' (struggle for existence) or 'the survival of the most suitable person' (survival of the fittest). ), and this is the foundation of the book 'The Origin of Categories'. Charles Darwin tried to establish very great evidence that made him in no hurry to disseminate the work until the 1850s because his wife Emma was a devout Christian who made her husband must contribute to the church, help the poor and show piety. But then, due to his friends' urging, Darwin prepared an episodic work. The work was halfway through when a loud thunder came. Charles Darwin received a letter from Alfred Russel Wallace, a senior scientist, currently exploring biology in the Malay archipelago. Wallace said that he was thinking about the origin of animals and like Darwin, also affected when reading Malthus' work. Mr. Wallace's letter comes with a survey called 'The essay on the direction of permanent change originating from the root' (Essay on the Varieties to Departure Indefinitely from the Original Type). This is also Darwin's clarification.

Charles Darwin is currently in a dilemma. It is clear that both of these characters, due to independent research, have come to the same conclusions, while Darwin has spent many years thinking and searching, and Wallace's idea is led by intuition. Many scientists who had a crush on Darwin wanted him to be credited because of long-term studies, so they arranged a publication of the works of two natural scientists. Darwin and Wallace were invited to present their searches before the Linnaean Society and the theory of evolution was first published on the afternoon of July 1, 1858. After that, both surveys were published in the Journal of the Linnaean Science Society.

Due to Wallace's search, Charles Darwin stopped writing a great work that wrote a brief study. In late 1859, Charles Darwin's work became a landmark of Science History and was published in London by John Murray. The first edition of 1,200 books sold out in the first few days. Other editions sold only in the UK have reached 24,000 books and have been translated into most major languages. The original of Charles Darwin's work is called: 'On the Origin of Categories by Natural Selection' (On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection), or 'Maintaining Adaptive Breeds in the Life Presence (The Preservation of Favorite Races in the Struggle for Life). The long title of the book has been reduced to: ' Origin of Species'.

The basics of Darwin's theory have been discussed in the first four chapters of 'Origin'. The following chapters deal with geology, the distribution of plants and organisms, events that are appropriate for classification, morphology and embryology, and ultimately lead to conclusions.

The work 'Origin of Categories' from the beginning describes changes in animals and plants controlled by humans, changes due to 'artificial selection' compared to changes in nature or 'natural selection' and Darwinism have concluded that every time there is life, there are changes and no two individuals are exactly alike. In the transformation, there is also the struggle to survive and the speed increases exponentially. The work 'Origin' also shows that the 'natural selection' principle has worked to control the increase in the number of organisms. Some individuals in one category will have more power, run faster, be smarter, less sick, be able to withstand the harsh weather. These individuals will survive and the weaker creatures will decline. The kind of long-lived white rabbit in the North Pole and the brown rabbit will be weaseled, the wolf will eat meat. The giraffes, due to their long necks, will survive by eating the leaves on the tops of trees while the short-necked deer will starve. Thus the changing circumstances have dominated the survival of the most capable creatures. Charles Darwin also mentions sexual selection with the most adaptable males in the habitat, leaving the most descendants.

Climate is also an important factor. The creatures that tolerate heat and cold, have the ability to feed, will survive. All complex forms of life must follow the natural laws and the 'Origin' work has presented continuous evolution.

5. Controversy about Evolutionary Theory.

Contrary to what everyone believes, Charles Darwin is not the first person to find the theory of evolution. Excellent scientists like Buffon, Goethe, Eramus Darwin (Charles Darwin's grandfather), Lamarck and Herbert Spencer supported this theory. But Charles Darwin's contribution was that he had gathered enough data to prove evolution and he went further in natural selection theory because of the way of interpreting evolutionary methods.

The work of 'Origin of Categories' appeared as a lightning bolt hitting the straw. If this new and revolutionary theory is valid, then the biblical story of God creating man will no longer be accepted. The Church of God therefore considered Charles Darwin's thesis to be dangerous to religion, causing a protest storm. Although Charles Darwin was careful to avoid the application of his theory to mankind, the accusation saw the author claim that humans originated from monkeys. A lot of humor has been used to deny Charles Darwin's theory. The Quarterly Review called Darwin a shallow man, disguising Science. Darwin was also accused of collecting many facts to concretize a 'false principle'. At the old school, Trinity University in Cambridge, William Whewell did not allow any edition of the 'Origin' work to be placed in the school library.

Among the opposing conservatives, Robert Owen, a social and industrialist in England and Louis Agassiz, a US-based zoologist and geologist, both claim Charles's theory. Darwin is a science theory, soon to be forgotten. The famous British astronomer Sir John Herschel described this theory as 'an indiscriminate law'. Darwin's former geology professor, Mr. Sedgwick, regarded Darwinism as heavily mistaken.

However Charles Darwin did not lack the courageous advocate. Leading among these figures is Sir Charles Lyell, geologist, Thomas Huxley, biologist, Sir Joseph Hooker, botanist and Asa Gray, a renowned botanist from the United States. Among these prestigious people, Darwin relies on Mr. Huxley the most. Darwin did not appear in public to defend his theory. Much of the protection is due to Mr. Huxley's ability and the arena being the British Association in the city of Oxford in 1860 with the theme of Darwinism. Head of the breakout is Archbishop Wilberforce of Oxford. In his concluding speech, the Archbishop believed that he could crush Darwin's theory so he turned to Mr. Huxley and asked sarcastically: 'I ask Professor Huxley, is it the grandfather or grandmother? Is your origin from the monkey? ' Mr. Huxley turned to a friend and whispered: 'God has delivered him to my hand!' Mr. Huxley stood up and said: 'A person has no reason to be ashamed when a monkey is a grandfather. If I am ashamed because there is an intellectual man who has an unknown question, obscures this question because of an unintentional rhetoric, distracts listeners with misleading words, cleverly used to religious prejudice '.

The above is just one incident in clashes that took place over the decades between the Church and Darwinism science. Through his work 'Origin', Charles Darwin gently mentioned the origins of man but later, through the book "The Descent of Man", a large amount of data Darwin's proof has shown that man is also a product of Evolution's law, from inferior forms.

Charles Darwin's Evolutionary Law was gradually considered accurate, affecting many major academic areas. The organic evolution was accepted by biologists, geologists, chemistry, physics, humanity, psychology, education, philosophy, sociology and even homes. history, political science, philology (philologists). Charles Darwin revolutionized not only in Biology, but also profoundly influenced other areas of Science, from Astronomy to History, from Antiquity to Psychology, from the Embryonic Industry. Study to Religion. So Charles Ellwood stated that Charles Darwin deserves the highest honor for the Thinker that brought the most profound results in the 19th Century.

Through the 20th century, Darwinism with a natural choice, was used by the Nazi regime to propagate and destroy some ethnic minorities. The wars between nations have been wrongly defended as a means to eradicate the weak, and after the power struggle, Marxist Communists also apply the theory of painting. fighting to survive on their 'class struggle' policy.

Charles Darwin died on April 19, 1882 because of heart disease. This sad news was published by many newspapers because in this period, his theory was widely recognized. The London Standard daily wrote: 'True Christian believers can accept the facts of the Evolutionary Law as they did for the Astronomy and Geology branches, not because of the biases caused by Long-standing and popular beliefs'.

Charles Darwin wished to be buried in the village of Downe, Kent County, but the British scientific community placed his remains at the prestigious Westminster Abbey, next to the tomb of another famous scientist in the world. , is Sir