In
my opinion Thomas Malthus had the most influence on Charles Darwin. He followed
up on what Darwin would say about animals and humans and the amount of
offspring that both could provide. But is it healthy or even possible. In order
to survive it would be necessary to think about the well being of either animal
or human and what resources are necessary for survival.
Malthus
contributed to Darwins theory because both had the same view on Natural
Selection. That both humans and/or animals should not produce more offspring
than can handle. That we should think about what financial hardships could come
our way and if produced more offspring then should rivalry could occur which
would end up in survival of the fittest.
Link:
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/history/malthus.html
Given
the resources, I do not believe Darwin would have developed his natural
selection theory. Malthus in my opinion helped Darwin believe in his theory and
understand what natural selection is all about on a different level.
The church did not fully agree on what Darwin was all about
but they did respect him and his thoughts. Yes, the church did affect him because
he knew it would cause some sort of discomfort but it did not stop him from
publishing his book and giving his thoughts.
I'll start off with a caution: Malthus had nothing to do with natural selection itself. His focus was that populations can grow exponentially, outgrowing their available resources, leading to famine, disease, and death. He had not interest in which organisms survive and how. He was trying to convince people that they should limit their reproduction to prevent this from happening.
ReplyDeleteIn contrast, Darwin made no moral judgement regarding how many offspring animals (or humans) produced. He didn't think animals should limit their reproduction, he just wondered why they didn't actually reproduce to their full exponential growth capacity. Who survived and who didn't? That was Darwin's question.
Actually, fear of repercussions from the church and the impact on his family DID prevent Darwin from publishing for about 20 years. He wouldn't have published if not for Wallace coming up with natural selection on his own, causing Darwin to be afraid of losing his idea to Wallace after all that work.
Other than these points, good post.
Ashley,
ReplyDeleteI generally agree with your post but I wanted to add a quick note to it if that would be alright. Malthus, was mainly in the studies of what I like to believe as "survival of the fittest." His point was that while every organism multiplies and reproduces, the resources that are available slowly become limited. I personally believe that Malthus wad in fact the one that opened Darwin's eyes and gave him a push to look further into the definition of Natural Selection that involve more numbers and ideas. However, Darwin actually had many writings and beliefs on Natural Selection before he read up on Malthus.
1) Darwin was more in inquiry as to why animals didn't reproduce to their fullest potential.
ReplyDelete2)Natural selection isn't limiting the amount of offspring that one should produce. Darwin didn't say that people should limit themselves because of financial hardships, he inquired about why animals didn't reproduce to their fullest potential. In terms of animals, what hardships would force them to be the fittest?
3) I believe that natural selection is going to be well comprehended by professioinals who study it regardless of the level they try to perceive it. Darwin understood this on a level that was most realistic and made the most sense.
4) Though Darwin was a believer in God, he had a significant contribution that science and the world needed.