Charles Darwin Essay

Charles Darwin was one of the prominent scientists of his epoch. His ideas and scientific findings have changed consistently not only science, but also philosophy and the traditional view on humans and life at large. In fact, his theory of evolution revolutionized the science of the 19th century and today his theory remains the dominant theory supported by the overwhelming majority of scientists. However, arguments concerning the reliability and credibility of the theory of evolution are still ongoing and the position of supporters of the idea of genesis is still supported by large number of people, though, the modern science basically rejects creationism.

In fact, the opposition between the theory of evolution, which is closely associated with Charles Darwin, and creationism is permanent, but, it is important to underline that the argument between the concept of evolution and creationism refers not only to the scientific field but also, and probably mainly, to the field of philosophy, traditional biases and beliefs. In this respect, it is important to underline that the idea of the evolution implies the process of natural selection and the development of life on the basis of natural loss which are not regulated by any supernatural power or deity (Forrest, 2006). This idea contradicts to the fundamental concept of creationism, according to which the life on the Earth was created by a supernatural force, a deity or any supernatural almighty power.

At this point, the starting point is probably one of the most arguable points in the argument between Darwin’s ideas of evolution and natural selection and creationist’s ideas. Creationists argue that the life was created abruptly, for instance, according to the Bible the entire world was created within seven days (Forrest, 2006). However, Darwin stands on the ground that the development of the life on the Earth occurs in terms of the process of evolution, which is carried out by means of natural selection. The latter implies that the most adaptable species can survive due to the modifications, which occur in the process of evolution, when species inherit new forms, which proved to be the most effective, from their ancestors (Darwin, 1998).

In such a way, Darwin and creationists offers absolutely different views on the beginning and development of the life on the Earth. In fact, both have arguments in favor of their position, but it is an undeniable fact that species are susceptible to changes under the impact of their environment.  The adaptability of species and changes that occurred to them proves Darwin’s idea of evolution. On the other hand, creationists argue that changes, if they occur in terms of evolution, cannot occur at such a fast pace as they do (Forrest, 2006). In response, Darwin argues that the speed of the evolution of species can vary since “the variability of each species is quite independent of that of all others” (Darwin, 1998, p.123).

In this respect, the observations made by scientists after Darwin basically support the fact of changeability and adaptability of species and the process of evolution, but their position has some gaps, such as the lack of factual evidences of the evolution of humans, whose line of ancestors remains incomplete. As a result, the argument concerning the theory of evolution persists and creationists’ ideas are still quite popular.



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