Historical Development of Theories of Evolution Essay Example
Historical Development of Theories of Evolution Essay Example

Historical Development of Theories of Evolution Essay Example

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  • Pages: 1 (232 words)
  • Published: April 30, 2018
  • Type: Case Study
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The development of theories surrounding evolution has been heavily influenced by social and political factors. During the time of Charles Darwin, Christianity was a dominant force and creationism was widely accepted as both a religious and scientific concept. Despite being aware of the impact his theory would make, Darwin withheld it for 25 years until he believed that the societal changes brought on by the Industrial Revolution and weakening power of the Church created an appropriate climate. It was only after Wallace proposed his own version of evolution that Darwin published his papers, causing controversy between evolutionists and creationists like Thomas Huxley and Bishop Samuel Wilberforce. Unfortunately, misapplication of "Survival of the Fittest" led to blame b

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eing placed on Darwin for various historical catastrophes. Furthermore, some attribute religion's destruction and rise in atheism, fascism, communism, even World War II to philosophies based on The Origin of Species such as Karl Marx's. However, technological advancements in biochemistry have enhanced our understanding through providing evidence via techniques like DNA hybridisation or amino acid sequencing analysis.

The process of DNA hybridisation includes the use of heat to separate double helix strands and compare the DNA of distinct species. After separating, the single strands are mixed and cooled so that hydrogen bonds between them reform with varying degrees of similarity. The more significant number of bonds indicates a greater genetic likeness between the compared species.

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