1. While many scientists and scholars who preceded Darwin greatly influenced his ideas and his research, it is my belief that economist Thomas Malthus had the greatest influence on Darwin and his renowned work.
2. According to http://www.allaboutscience.org/thomas-malthus-faq.htm, Thomas Malthus was primarily an economist who is most notable for his knowledge of human populations and why they will constantly surpass the number of resources available, which will inevitably result in issues like starvation and nutrition-related diseases. Malthus' essay on this subject, entitled Essay on the Principle of Population, was one of the works that inspired Darwin's work; the book expressed the concept that people will always outnumber the resources required for them to all survive, which led to Darwin's principle of natural selection that states that only the most dominant members of a species will survive and adapt.
3. One of the bullet points in the prompt addressed by Thomas Malthus in his work is the one encapsulating the idea that "Resources are limited", which is the fundamental message within his essay on human populations. Malthus influenced this idea with his essay by sharing with the world a glimpse into the reality of human desire versus the scarcity of the resources found within planet earth. With Malthus and his research establishing that resources are undoubtedly limited, Darwin used this knowledge to conclude that resources must be earned by a select group from every species, essentially the most dominant and fittest. This idea is encompassed by the bullet point entitled "Who gets better access to these limited resources," which derives from the previous bullet point as well as from the findings of Malthus' work.
4. While it is feasible to believe that Darwin could have potentially developed his theory of natural selection even without the influence of Thomas Malthus, I do not think he would have been capable of doing so. Malthus was one of a select few individuals of his time who addressed the issue of scarcity of resources and the effect that it has on society. People were skeptical of Malthus' ideas so naturally not many were willing to accept them. Without the work of Malthus, Darwin would most likely not have had the benefit of prior expertise on the limited nature of resources, which was essential in the creation of his theory of natural selection.
5. The attitude of the church affected Darwin by showing him how resistant many people would be to his revolutionary ideas regarding evolution. Religious individuals were outraged at the concept of natural selection because it did not involve the work of a deity and defied the idea that a powerful being is looking after the world and all of its inhabitants; in other words, Darwin's ideas provided a harsh reality that they were unwilling to accept. The negative responses of the religious community had a primarily negative effect on Darwin and the publication of his book because he most likely realized the level of resistance that many would have towards him and his ideologies. In the end, however, Darwin must have realized that all great innovators face obstacles, but in the end it will reduce the ignorance of society by sharing his ideas with the world.
Zach
ReplyDeleteCompletely interested on the fact that you chose Thomas Malthus. I found the fact that he was an economist interesting and the way that darwin played off his ideas. The way you answered all questions was extremely clear. Great job..
Awesome, Zach, you're nearly as long-winded as I am! :) Anyways, very good post; you went into a good level of detail and analysis in addressing each of the topics. Although I did not write about Malthus myself, I do agree that he had the most direct influence on Darwin's work. I'm unaware as to how well Malthus' work was received by his peers, but his conclusions were definitely very important finds, not only for Darwin's "aha!" moment but also for people's general awareness to the subject of moderation (I'm still unsure if we as a species understand the implications of Malthus' work). On the topic of Earth's resources, a Youtube channel called Vsauce has a really interesting video on the subject: http://youtu.be/nt6ab7BTlgE?list=UU6nSFpj9HTCZ5t-N3Rm3-HA
ReplyDeleteOne point I would like to argue is that the Church of England actually seemed to be pretty alright with Darwin's work. If I remember correctly, his hesitation to publish had something to do with disease and his dead son, or something close to that.
Anyways, good post, keep up the good work!
A caution: Make sure you take a look at the "Bad Resources" page on Blackboard. Your source is listed there and it will explain why it is not reliable. Take some time to also review the 'Good Resources" page to understand how to figure out what sources are good and which are bad.
ReplyDeleteWhile I agree with your outline of Malthus' work, does Darwin really argue that the "dominant" organisms will survive and adapt? Perhaps it depends upon how you use the term, but it is more correct to say that those organisms with the traits that help them compete most successfully in a given environment will survive and reproduce. Dominance is not always the best "fit".
"This idea is encompassed by the bullet point entitled "Who gets better access to these limited resources," which derives from the previous bullet point as well as from the findings of Malthus' work."
Excellent. That is correct and very insightful.
I always hesitate about giving too much credit to any one scientist (or theoretician) for their influence over another person's work. Are they really that indispensable? But for Malthus (and also Lyell), I actually do wonder it Darwin could have put all the piece together without that key, first question of "Who is getting better access to resources?".
The final question asks about the influence of the church before Darwin ever published. Darwin delayed publication for more than 20 years and until then, the church didn't even know about his ideas. So what caused the delay? Why was Darwin concerned, and how did the church play a role in this delay (if any)?
Other than this final point, good first post.
Thank you for the tip about appropriate resources to use, I have looked through the acceptable types of sources to use and will not be using sites like allaboutscience.org in future posts. Additionally, I appreciate the restatement of the final bullet point; I now realize that I did not properly address the question being asked in the prompt. I believe that Darwin postponed the publication of his ideas because he felt that the public would not accept his ideas because they were so different from the accepted beliefs of the time, many of which were shaped by the church and its influence. Darwin most likely saw himself in a situation similar to that of scientific predecessor Nicolaus Copernicus, whose idea of a heliocentric solar system was seen as absurd by the general public and was not supported by the church, who believed that the Earth was at the center of the solar system.
DeleteThank you so much for the constructive critique of my first post professor, I greatly appreciate it and will strive to improve the standards of my future posts!
Thank you for the response and the correction.
DeleteHi Zach! Great post. I too chose to write about Thomas Malthus in my blog because I thought he was one of the most influential figures for Darwin. And apparently we both got our information from the same source. As I agree with your post, I have to go back and check other sources to verify if everything is accurate. Based on what I read, your blog post in very informative and was enjoyable to read. I look forward to read more of your work in the future.
ReplyDelete