Was the book he wrote after having traveled to various islands documenting animals and plants he came across noting not just the changes but theorising on what was driving such change.
The concept of evolution predates Darwin by thousands of years.
Ancient Greek philosophers such as Anaximander postulated the development of life from non-life and the evolutionary descent of man from animal.
Darwin simply determined one of the processes by which this is accomplished - 'Natural Selection'. While observing finches on several remote islands in the Galapagos he observed that their beaks had adapted to the ready food supply on each island.
The ones that primarily survived by eating insects had developed longer and pointier beaks - which were better for getting into holes in wood or the ground. The ones that had to eat nuts, on the other hand, had developed shorter, stronger beaks, more capable of cracking the hard shells.
He was able to observe first-hand how an advantageous trait gives its owner a much higher probability of surviving to pass this trait on to the next generation.
In the years since then, the scientific theory of evolution has been shown to be the best explanation for all of the available evidence - which ranges from biology, genetics, zoology, paleontology, geology, and many others.
Unfortunately, it has (through no fault of its own) run up against considerable criticism by those who feel obligated to believe in literal translations of stone-age creation myths. This is unnecessary - since the concept of a creator and the facts regarding evolution are not mutually exclusive, and there are many people who are able to easily reconcile the two in their minds if they so choose.
The 'creationist' or 'intelligent design' side of the debate does not center around any of the facts regarding evolutionary theory - and instead relies on intellectual dishonesty, 'pseudo-science' and bald-faced lies in order to propagate itself.
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On the Origin of Species - Charles Darwin
Was the book he wrote after having traveled to various islands documenting animals and plants he came across noting not just the changes but theorising on what was driving such change.
http://darwin-online.org.uk/EditorialIntroductions...
The concept of evolution predates Darwin by thousands of years.
Ancient Greek philosophers such as Anaximander postulated the development of life from non-life and the evolutionary descent of man from animal.
Darwin simply determined one of the processes by which this is accomplished - 'Natural Selection'. While observing finches on several remote islands in the Galapagos he observed that their beaks had adapted to the ready food supply on each island.
The ones that primarily survived by eating insects had developed longer and pointier beaks - which were better for getting into holes in wood or the ground. The ones that had to eat nuts, on the other hand, had developed shorter, stronger beaks, more capable of cracking the hard shells.
He was able to observe first-hand how an advantageous trait gives its owner a much higher probability of surviving to pass this trait on to the next generation.
In the years since then, the scientific theory of evolution has been shown to be the best explanation for all of the available evidence - which ranges from biology, genetics, zoology, paleontology, geology, and many others.
Unfortunately, it has (through no fault of its own) run up against considerable criticism by those who feel obligated to believe in literal translations of stone-age creation myths. This is unnecessary - since the concept of a creator and the facts regarding evolution are not mutually exclusive, and there are many people who are able to easily reconcile the two in their minds if they so choose.
The 'creationist' or 'intelligent design' side of the debate does not center around any of the facts regarding evolutionary theory - and instead relies on intellectual dishonesty, 'pseudo-science' and bald-faced lies in order to propagate itself.