Darwin's theory of natural evolution not only influenced the biological revolution, but also influenced anthropology, sociology, politics and economics, especially religious thought. Independent and multiple discoveries in science show that evolution would still exist without Darwin, and Wallace's view is very similar to Darwin's theory of evolution, which shows this. However, Darwin's important works, such as the Origin of Species, have brought about a revolution in the history of human development and changed human's understanding of his position in nature. Reading Darwin's biography, we can understand the formation of the viewpoint of evolution, the birth of the Origin of Species and the wonderful stories in the spread of Darwinism.

The position of 1 Malthus in the formation of Darwin's theory of evolution

Darwin's autobiography, notes and letters show that the formation of Darwin's theory of evolution began in 1837. After the voyage of Beagle, Darwin began to sort out the collected data, and when writing his own voyage experience, he began to think about the evolution of species and look for "some natural law or force that must change biological species to adapt to the changing world". 1In the autumn of 838, he read Malthus's population theory and was inspired. Malthus' argument about human reproduction that "life is a process of constant struggle for survival" can be applied to the study of animals and plants. 1839, Darwin initially defined the general outline of evolution in the form of a tentative outline. 1942, Darwin wrote a brief summary of 1 35 pages; By 1844, this summary has been expanded to 230 pages. At this point, the core part of Darwin's great achievements-evolution theory and its core mechanism "natural selection" have been formed.

In the process of the formation of Darwin's thought, what position Malthus' thought is in? There are differences between Scientific Outlook on Development's internal view of history and external view of history, and Scientific Outlook on Development's views of emergence and persistence will also be reflected in different biographies of Darwin. The views of internal history and continuity tend to ignore Malthus' influence on Darwin, while the views of external history and mutation tend to strengthen Malthus' influence on Darwin.

Darwin and evolution

In the Long Biography of Darwin, Necrasov thought that Malthus had little influence on Darwin. He believes: "When discussing the extinction and preservation of ostriches, he is close to the theory that only the fittest can be preserved. Perhaps, without Malthus, he would have come to this theory. " However, Stepford spent a lot of ink on Malthus' population theory in his short book Darwin and Evolution. The author compares Darwin to a person obsessed with puzzles, and "in the autumn of 1938, the most critical puzzle board found a suitable position." At that time, Darwin read Thomas Malthus, a British priest and economist, about population just for entertainment. " Owen Smith described the great shock of population theory in Darwin's mind in the way of universal art: "He started reading, and just read the second page of Malthus, he felt as if he had been struck by lightning." This is the lightning of wisdom, which makes him dizzy and strongly shocked. It has been 15 months since he began to systematically explore the origin, change and deviation of terrestrial vivid plants. But until now, he accidentally found the key to solve this mystery. ..... He couldn't restrain his inner ecstasy-he finally found a key and opened the locked and inviolable door of the world of species origin. He paced back and forth in the two anterooms, and his mind flashed through the scene of sailing with the Beagle and studying hard after returning to England. Although exhausted, he still can't go to bed. Now he takes off his coat and lies down on the sofa. Now, he has a theory that works! "

2 The Origin of Species and the Delay of Evolution

But it is puzzling that after Darwin's theory of evolution was formed, these manuscripts were not printed, but turned to the study of barnacles, which is not very important. It was not until 1856 that he began to sort out this theory and write a draft; It was not until 1859, that is, 20 years after his theory was formed, that Darwin published his thoughts on evolution and natural selection, and the publication of this theory was inspired by Wallace, another contemporary scientist with similar views on evolution.

Therefore, both Darwin's researchers and Darwin's biographers must answer the historical mystery of Darwin's career: why did Darwin disclose his theory of evolution after so many years? Opinions vary, some simple and some complicated, some related to social environment, some giving methodological questions, and some looking for answers in character. However, from these answers, we can draw a basically the same conclusion: if the time is not ripe to write a book that will offend the religious beliefs of people around him, including colleagues and his wife, Darwin must wait patiently for the opportunity, choose words carefully, have sufficient evidence and accumulate enough reputation to cushion the impact that will happen.

The first is the problem of time, energy and disease. Darwin must first complete his geological research, which has been carried out and belongs to the investigation report of Beagle. During this period, Darwin completed his marriage and raised children. Darwin was seriously ill and experienced the death of his child and father. During the formation of Darwin's theory of evolution, Darwin's health fluctuated and became a chronic patient. The basic characteristics of Darwin's disease are palpitation and heartache; Vomiting for a long time; Unbearable headache and stomachache; A painful rash; General weakness, collapse. This situation lasted for 25 years until his death. Such a physical condition made Darwin work only a few hours a day. In the extreme deterioration of health, Darwin could not even work for several months. Some medical scientists believe that Darwin was infected with a tropical disease-Chagas disease during his expedition to South America. This disease, also known as Chagas disease, is a tropical disease that can cause high fever and damage the liver and other organs. Some modern scholars believe that Darwin's illness is not due to organ diseases, but the result of long-term psychological anxiety. John Balbi, a British psychologist, wrote a psychological biography Charles Darwin: A Brand-new Life in 1990. In this biography, Balbi emphasized the influence of psychological and physical diseases on Darwin's life. Balbi believes that the spiritual cause is the origin of Darwin's disease, which is very similar to a medical disease called severe respiratory syndrome. This disease is closely related to psychological anxiety, and originated from the depressed sadness that was not released in time after the death of mother. Due to family pressure and work pressure, Darwin's long-term weakness, anxiety and stomach problems are often induced. The disease makes Darwin hope to alleviate the pain of the disease through work. Balbi believes that, more importantly, Darwin's anxiety about disease and fear of death are also important reasons why he can't complete the theory of evolution. Once the theory of evolution is published, all kinds of questions, criticisms and objections will follow. These external pressures and artificial tensions will aggravate Darwin's illness. The most severe period of Darwin's disease is probably 1839, 1848 to 1949, 1963 to 1964. The first two stages occurred during the formation of Darwin's theory of evolution, and 1855 ~ 65438+.

Secondly, the issue of faith, which is also the most common explanation. Darwin didn't have the courage to express his views, because the social environment in Britain at that time would not accept Darwin's theory. Before Darwin, his grandfather put forward the evolution theory of deism a long time ago, and it was not published until 20 years later. Lamarck put forward a similar evolutionary picture in the year when Darwin was born, namely 1909, which was condemned as heresy. The Creation of Ruins of Natural History, written by Chambers in 1844, outlined the outline of evolution from the viewpoint of deism and had to be published anonymously. After the publication, public opinion was in an uproar, and some critics dismissed it as a "dirty and filthy thing." The famous British scientists at that time, including Darwin's good friends Ryle, Hooke and Huxley, did not fully believe in the idea of evolution. Darwin can also clearly predict that his theory may cause a storm of criticism. This is also the case. After the publication of the Origin of Species, few people in Britain can accept the explanation of natural selection except Wallace, Hooke and a few naturalists.

Biography of Darwin (1 volume): sailing.

Another important reason is that Darwin must respect the religious views of his wife Emma. Darwin accepted his father's advice on women's religious beliefs. "Before I got engaged, my father advised me to hide my doubts closely. ..... He said: When a husband or wife is not sick, life is very happy; But once a man gets sick, some women will feel very painful because they are worried about whether their husbands can be saved by God. " (The Commercial Press, Memoirs of Darwin, 1982, p. 58) And Darwin was just a husband who had been ill for many years. His wife Emma is a believer in the existence of God and hopes that Darwin will go to heaven after his death. Darwin didn't want his evolutionism to hurt his wife. As time went on, Emma still believed in Christianity and insisted on going to church, but at least she tolerated her husband's point of view. For example, biographer Janet Browne wrote in the biography of Darwin (Volume 1): Voyage that Darwin left Emma a letter similar to a will after completing the first draft in 1844. This letter shows Darwin's contradictory attitude at that time. "He would rather die than bear the argument that he knew would pop up in his mind; He would rather die than intentionally hurt Emma's feelings, or worse, she was rejected by society. " (Charles Darwin: Navigation, Biology, vol. 1, p. 447)

The third is the issue of strategy. This explains why Darwin spent eight years studying barnacles, a kind of unimportant tendrils. Wright called this strategy "three-sided simultaneous strengthening measures" in Moral Animals-Why We Are So (translated and published by Shanghai Science and Technology Publishing House in 2002) (pages 284-286). The first aspect of the strategy is that Darwin directly obtained his own evidence through the study of barnacles; At the same time, through constant communication with experts, I also strengthened my evidence. The second aspect of this strategy is that Darwin upgraded his qualifications. Darwin's research on barnacles not only changed him from a naturalist who emphasized collection to an expert who emphasized research, but also improved his reputation in the theory of natural selection. The third aspect of the strategy is that Darwin mobilized influential social forces and established a scientific alliance. Through correspondence and mutual visits, Darwin and several famous scholars formed the so-called "Darwin Gang". The key figures are Ryle, Huxley, Hook and Gray. Darwin may realize that his works are aimed at three kinds of readers. The first category is theologians, whose opposition is predictable; The second category is ordinary readers, who read Darwin's works like novels and other literary works, and Darwin will not ignore their attitude; The third category is scientific isomorphism, that is, various geologists, botanists and zoologists. What Darwin really feared was their criticism. He hopes to improve his work as much as possible, provide more evidence, and minimize scientific objections to his views. It takes a lot of time to build a solid evidence base.

Perhaps all the efforts did not attribute the reason to Darwin's internal personality characteristics. Darwin, written by many biographers, is often indecisive in the choice of major issues, has no clear and firm will of his own, lacks independent opinions, and often has to rely on others. Only after receiving the support and encouragement from people he trusted, Darwin would strengthen his confidence in his thoughts and actions.

We can draw this from Darwin's performance in several important events. For example, when deciding whether to travel to the Beagle, Darwin was opposed by his father and immediately wrote a rejection letter. He felt it a pity to give up this opportunity and had to turn to his uncle for help. He carefully listed his father's objections and asked his uncle to do persuasion. On the issue of marriage, Darwin was also very rational, weighing the pros and cons of marriage repeatedly, rather than being driven by emotion. Even when the book Origin of Species was published, Darwin decided to publish it after consulting his friends repeatedly.

Irving stone wrote in Darwin's Biography, "He has been involved in it for twenty years, which fully shows the question he has repeatedly thought about. His beliefs are sometimes in a state of inferiority, and sometimes he believes in his own genius, seeing farther and knowing more than the average person. He has been beating around the bush. For a while, the supreme thought gave way to the thought of pain and failure, and for a while, depression replaced joy. He is eager to publish his book, but he doesn't want to publish it before he dies. He publicly declared that his book would be successful and widely accepted, but then he thought that his book would fail, and no one would buy it or read it. He told his friends that he was anxious about the unlucky style in his article, but he has been writing thousands of pages, complacent about what he wrote, and affirmed that his revelation of the universal laws of nature would be a revolution in scientific research. " (irving stone. A biography of Darwin. Beijing October Literature and Art Publishing House. 1999。 Page 779) Although Si Tong did not give a direct explanation, his description of Darwin's personality characteristics can be used as an indirect reference answer to explain Darwin's hesitation in understanding the meaning of species and the process of species formation.

Why is it "Darwinian evolution" instead of "Wallace evolution"

History shows that Darwin's On the Origin of Species was soon published with the encouragement of another naturalist, Wallace. 1858 Before June, when Wallace sent Darwin a paper, hoping to get his evaluation of his new argument and asked him to give it to the respected geologist Ryle, Darwin was still slowly writing his own "Endless Book of Species". To Darwin's surprise, Wallace's article briefly summarizes most of Darwin's hard-working natural selection theories in the past 20 years. Darwin faced a dilemma. One is to destroy this article and ignore Wallace, which may lead to dishonest moral condemnation. Second, publishing Wallace's paper alone may cost him his 20-year priority. He chose to turn to two trusted scientists, Ryle and Hooke, who arranged for the Linnaeus Society to read Wallace's article together with the outline written by Darwin, and later published it in the journal of the Society. This also prompted Darwin to realize that he could not hesitate any longer and must write his own book as soon as possible. In this way, The Origin of Species was published at the end of 1859. Some biographers praised Darwin and Wallace's spirit of cooperation. "In this way, when writing to Wallace, Darwin always called it' our theory'. Accordingly, Wallace clearly realized that Darwin had been tackling this problem and collecting evidence for 20 years, and never gave priority to Darwin. They became close friends, and their correspondence showed more approval and less disagreement. Therefore, this experience ended with one of the happiest stories in the history of science. " (Bowlby, page 332) Other biographers think that Darwin's confession "I seldom consider: who enjoys greater innovation or innovation, me or Wallace" is obviously a self-deceiving lie. Darwin's failure to directly publish Wallace's paper is Darwin's greatest moral defect. "The fact that Darwin and Wallace shared the honor of discovering the theory of natural selection is often praised as selfless cooperation and good wishes between scientists. In fact, Wallace didn't have a chance to decide whether to agree to such an arrangement, and no one even asked his opinion. " (Stefo, page 107)

In the history of science, Wallace's name is always accompanied by Darwin's name, which has become dim under Darwin's great glory. Why do people remember "Darwinism" instead of "Wallace Doctrine", or name it "Darwin-Wallace Doctrine" after two people like some physical equations? If Wallace's article is published first, will Darwin's priority really go down the drain as he feared?

The first is the issue of evidence. Darwin wrote in his autobiography: "I didn't intend to publish either the abstract of my manuscript or the letter to Aisha, and it was badly written. On the other hand, Wallace's paper is admirable for its extraordinary clarity. Even so, the joint paper we published this time rarely attracted people's attention; ..... This shows how much a detailed explanation is needed for any new point of view to attract everyone's attention. " This is the difference between the study of natural history and theoretical sciences such as physics and chemistry: in those disciplines, a scientist can make a new discovery by inspiration and intuition: give a self-consistent logical proof with the theorem expressed by mathematical equations and model structures, and then give it to other experimental scientists for testing. A short paper can make a scientist go down in history; The theory of whether species are unchanged or evolved is profound and profound, which can not be realized through a few simple examples and a dry theoretical framework, but needs all kinds of observation data as evidence. Evolution is not a deductive theory, but an inductive theory. Before Darwin, many scientists put forward the idea of species evolution, including at least Darwin's grandfather, Rasmus Darwin, Chambers and Spencer, but no one succeeded in providing enough explanations about the origin of species like Darwin. On that day, the first edition of Origin of Species sold out with a print run of 1250 copies, and the second edition sold out with 3000 copies. In a short time, it has been translated into almost all languages, studied and commented by readers, and its influence far exceeds biology and even the whole scientific community. Whether readers agree, disagree or disagree, they all play a role in the spread of evolutionary theory. The Origin of Species is called "long argument" by Ryle, which is used to demonstrate the whole evolutionary theory, especially the natural selection theory which gives a complete explanation to the natural selection theory. In other words, it is difficult for Wallace to win the honor of a pioneer of natural selection with just a short paper.

Secondly, the problem of scientific alliance. In the whole process of engaging in scientific research, although Darwin was an amateur scientist according to the modern point of view, relying on the financial support of his family to complete the trip around the sea, investigating all kinds of evidence in his own home and completing the thesis writing, he was never isolated from other scientists for a moment, and formed a "Darwin Gang" with other scientists such as Ryle, Hook, Huxley and Gray through letters and parties. Ryle is a famous geologist. Darwin's knowledge of geological changes benefited from Ryle's book Principles of Geology. Although Ryle was conservative in public, in private he encouraged Darwin to improve his theory. Hook is good at plant classification and constantly urges Darwin to complete his theory. 1944 Darwin's letter of Hooke expressing natural selection became strong evidence of Darwin's priority. When Darwin was indecisive, it was the respected Ryle and Hooke, a senior, who persuaded the Linnaean Society to make the theories of Wallace and Darwin known to the world. Huxley is a young zoologist and the staunchest defender of Darwin's theory. He won a great victory in the famous debate with wilberforce, the influential bishop of Oxford University, and was called "Darwin's dog fighting". Gray is a professor of natural history at Harvard University. 1857 Darwin's letter to him about the origin of species became another evidence of Darwin's priority. Gray is the main defender of Darwin's thought in America. Therefore, Darwinism is not only Darwin's theory, but actually "Darwinism".

Evolution. The picture is quoted from http://www.csicop.org/si/2003-11/intelligent-design.html.

In any case, Darwinism originated from a great book. "Darwin, a great man, has always been gentle and even polite to his opponents. Although he was at the center of these attacks, some of his friends and supporters experienced the most intense struggle. However, no matter how important the role of these people is, Darwin's main weapon to win more and more supporters is his excellent book "The Origin of Species", which constantly introduces new versions and translations. This book unconsciously and quietly defeated all opponents, persuaded those waverers, and won many friends and believers for itself among more and more people who are selflessly looking for truth. " (Necrasov, translated by Wei Qinghao, Biography of Darwin, Hunan People's Publishing House, 1983, p. 287)

Darwin, the giant who explored the evolutionary footprint

Darwin was an outstanding British biologist in the19th century. It was he who discovered the law of biological development and became the founder of evolution. His Origin of Species has a great and far-reaching impact on modern biological science, which is of epoch-making significance. April 19 this year is the 23rd anniversary of his death/kloc-0. Here, let's remember this great biologist-Darwin once again.

Charles Darwin, the father of modern biology (1809- 1882), 1909 was born in Shrewsbury, England. Grandpa and his father are both local famous doctors, and the family hopes that he will inherit his ancestral business in the future. /kloc-When he was 0/6 years old, his father sent him to the University of Edinburgh to study medicine.

Because Darwin had no intention of studying medicine, he often went to the wild to collect animal and plant specimens after entering medical college. His father thinks he is "idle" and "idle". In a rage, 1828 sent him to Cambridge University to study theology, hoping that he would become an "outstanding priest" in the future. 183 1 After graduation, I took part in a five-year round-the-world trip on the research ship Beagle. For Darwin, it was a decisive five years. The fact that there are a lot of species variation in South America and other places makes him doubt the Bible. By comparing and analyzing the collected animal specimens and fossils, he further realized that species are changeable. As a result, he gradually got rid of the shackles of creationism and firmly embarked on the road of believing in science and pursuing truth.

1828 One day, in a forest outside London, a college student wandered around an old tree. Suddenly, he found insects crawling under the bark that was about to fall off, so he quickly peeled off the bark and found two strange beetles crawling forward quickly. The college students immediately drew their bows from left to right, grasped them in their hands and looked at them excitedly. Just then, another beetle jumped out of the bark, and the college students were caught off guard. He quickly hid the beetle in his mouth and reached out to catch the third beetle. Looking at these strange beetles, college students really can't put it down, just admiring the beetles in their hands and forgetting which one is in their mouths. The beetle in his mouth couldn't stand it any longer, so he released a spicy poison that stung the tongue of college students. He remembered the beetle in his mouth and spat it into his hand. Then, regardless of the pain in his mouth, he proudly walked to Cambridge University in the city. This college student is Charles Darwin. Later, people named it "Darwin" to commemorate the beetle he first discovered.

183 1 year, Darwin graduated from Cambridge University. He gave up his high-paying career as a priest and remained keen on natural science research. In February 65438+, the British government organized the warship "Beagle" to explore the world. Darwin was recommended by others as a "naturalist" to take a boat at his own expense and began a long and arduous expedition around the world.

Wherever Darwin went, he always conducted serious investigations and studies, interviewed local residents, and sometimes asked them to be guides, climbed mountains and waded, collected mineral and animal and plant specimens, excavated biological fossils, and found many new species that were not recorded. He collects cereal rock specimens and animal fossils during the day and is busy recording the collection process at night. 1832 65438+ 10, the Beagle docked at Santiago Island in the Cape Verde Islands in the Atlantic Ocean. The sailors all went to investigate the direction of the sea. Darwin and his assistant climbed the mountain with backpacks and geological hammers to collect rock samples.

hms beagle

In the process of investigation, Darwin thought about a question all day long according to the change of species: how did the exotic flowers and trees in nature and the significance of human beings come into being? Why are they always changing? What is the connection between them? These questions became more and more profound in his mind, which gradually made him doubt creationism and species invariance.

At the end of February, 1832, Beagle arrived in Brazil. Darwin went ashore to investigate and proposed to the captain to climb the Andes in South America. When they climbed a mountain at an altitude of more than 4000 meters, Darwin accidentally found shell fossils on the top of the mountain. Darwin was very surprised. He thought to himself, "How did the shells at the bottom of the sea get into the mountains?" After repeated thinking, he finally understood the truth of crustal rise and fall. Darwin's mind churned and he got a better understanding of his conjecture: "Species are not static, but change with different objective conditions!" "

Later, Darwin crossed the Pacific Ocean, passed through Australia, crossed the Indian Ocean and bypassed the Cape of Good Hope, and returned to England in June 1836+00. Darwin accumulated a lot of information during his five-year exploration around the world. After returning home, he sorted out these materials, practiced deeply and consulted a large number of books to find a basis for his own biological evolution theory. 1842, he wrote the outline of the Origin of Species for the first time. 1859165438+10 In October, Darwin's scientific masterpiece The Origin of Species, written after more than 20 years of research, was finally published. In this book, Darwin clearly put forward the viewpoint of "evolution", indicating that species are constantly changing, from low to high, from simple to complex.

The publication of this book, for the first time, established biology on a complete scientific basis, and overturned the "creationism" and the theory of species invariance with a brand-new idea of biological evolution. The Origin of Species is a masterpiece of Darwin's theory of evolution, which marks the formal establishment of the theory of evolution.

The publication of the Origin of Species caused a sensation in Europe and even the whole world. It dealt a heavy blow to the foundation of theocracy, and people from reactionary churches to feudal literati were furious. They ganged up factions, slandered Darwin's theory of "blaspheming the Holy Spirit", infringed on "divine right of monarchy" and lost human dignity. On the contrary, progressive scholars represented by Huxley actively promoted and defended Darwinism. It is pointed out that evolution has opened people's ideological imprisonment, inspired and educated people to be liberated from the shackles of religious superstition.

Then, Darwin began to write his second masterpiece, Variation of Animals and Plants at Home. With indisputable facts and rigorous scientific judgment, he further expounded his views on evolution, put forward important points of species variation and inheritance, biological struggle for existence and natural selection, and soon published this masterpiece. In his later years, although he was weak, Darwin stubbornly persisted in scientific research and writing with amazing perseverance, and published many works such as The Origin of Man.

Darwin himself thought that "the main pleasure and the only career in his life" was his scientific works. There are also some most important scientific achievements obtained by direct investigation during the trip, such as Darwin's famous diary of investigation, beagle geology, beagle zoology and so on. In his works, The Origin of Species is of great historical significance, which shows the gradual development of Darwin's theory of evolution and natural selection. The publication of the Origin of Species is a great event of world significance, because it marks the profound changes in the views of most learned people on the biological world and the status of human beings in the biological world in the19th century.

Darwin bird

The publication of On the Origin of Species caused the creationists and teleological scientists (but most of them) to attack Darwinism fiercely, and also caused the corresponding struggle to maintain Darwinism. In addition to Darwin himself, progressive naturalists actively participated in this struggle. They became enthusiastic supporters of Darwin's theory everywhere.

Darwin was a man who climbed steep mountain roads without fear of fatigue. In the 20 years since the publication of On the Origin of Species, he has never stopped his scientific work. 1876, he wrote the book The Effects of Cross-fertilization and Self-fertilization in Plants, which was the result of a large number of long-term experiments. The hybrid fertilization proposed in the book is generally a favorable conclusion and has been widely used in agricultural breeding. In his later years, Darwin suffered from a serious heart disease, but he still insisted on scientific work. Just two days before his death, he was seriously ill to record the experiment.

On April 1882, the great biologist passed away. Because of Darwin's epoch-making contribution to biological science, people buried him in the north gallery of the central nave of Westminster Abbey in London, in the same place as the outstanding scientist Newton.