Charles Darwin did a lot of research before he came up with his theories about the evolution process. From 1831 to 1836, he signed as a naturalist and went on a scientific voyage in the HMS Beagle and sailed around the world trying to study various aspects of science together with the natural world. All his research work was carried out while on his voyage for he travelled in different places around the world. He conducted a lot of research studies while aboard the ship and he mainly concentrated on animals, plants, as well as the natural earth. After a few years after his voyage, Darwin published the first of his major work about the things he observed and his findings and the work was entitled “Zoology of Beagle.” Later he made other publications on evolution and natural selec
...tion and these publications were influenced by the voyage he underwent and the observations in made in places like Africa, South America, islands of the Pacific Ocean, and on the Galapagos Islands.
Darwin observed a lot of things while in his voyage and these formed the foundation of his research work and the theories he came up with. When the ship he was aboard reached a shore, he would note, collect, observe, and record different animals like the life of birds, the life of plants, the life of the natives he encountered while on the voyage. He was also able to observe the landscape around him and the things it contained. While visiting the Galapagos Islands, Darwin was able to discover various species of finches but these varied from island to island and through this he was able
to develop his theory of natural selection.
During his voyage and the research he conducted, Darwin was able to notice variations and similarities between different specifies of plants, birds, reptiles, and insects especially in the Galapagos Island. After that he started questioning the contemporary common belief that each of the different plant and animal species was created by God and would always remain unchanged because of the unique design he used. His doubts were confirmed by another young British naturalist by the name Alfred Russel Wallace who was working in Indonesia and had made almost similar observations to those of Darwin. His conclusions were that plant and animal species existed as a result of heredity, selection, and variation. Different animals and plant species had to adapt to their environment by changing their feeding habits and eventually over time their natural physical features also changed. His discoveries and conclusions were achieved through detailed studies on his subjects as well as testing his findings multiple times.
The theory of the “Descent of Man” was an application of the evolutionary theory to human evolution by Charles Darwin. He showed that the human mental and emotional capacities were not meant to make humans unique but were an evidence that humans came from an animal’s origin and as an evolutionary development. Darwin argued that no fundamental gap that existed between the humans and the animals even when it came to the intellectuals and mental faculties (2013). He also ranked life forms on a hierarchy but the humans were at the top. The human race was considered to have variations but within a single species. He strongly argued that human races were the
same species (Darwin, 2013).
References
- Darwin, C. (2013).Descent of man, and selection in relation to sex.volume 1. Place of publication not identified: Theclassics Us.
