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On the Origin of Species: 150 Year Anniversary

By Robyn Broyles, November 24, 2009 11:19



Today is the 150th anniversary of the publication of Charles Darwin's world-shaking opus, On the Origin of Species, which introduced the concept of natural selection to science.

Evolution had long been discussed by naturalists. Darwin's great contribution was his proposal of a plausible mechanism, backed up by extensive evidence, for evolution and adaptation. His theory still had a gaping hole: the lack of a mechanism for traits to be inherited and for the natural variablility that the theory depended on. As Gregor Mendel's work was rediscovered and developed into the science of genetics, the two theories were merged, an intellectual event called the Modern Synthesis.

NPR has an interesting article that points out that Origin is more controversial today than it was when it was first published. In fact, a Church of England official said of the book, 

It's just as noble a conception of God to think that he created animals and plants that then evolved, that were capable of self-development, as it is to think that God has to constantly create new forms and fill in the gaps that he's left in his own creation.

What do you think of Origin and Darwin's theory?

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Tags: science, evolution, history of science, science and faith

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Comments on “On the Origin of Species: 150 Year Anniversary”

Comment #1 Permalink
I cannot fathom that god would be working to fill in gaps in the evolutionary chain. Do you really picture god as an man with a grey beard sitting on cloud and tweaking the animals here and there that he, supposedly, created in one day about 6000 years ago??? Darwin is controversial, there are gaps and it is not complete. At the same time there is scientific evidence in support of much of it. Intelligent Design (I almost have to cringe when thinking of it and typing the word intelligent), is laughable.

Posted on February 04, 2010 10:09 by Mark |

Robyn Broyles's avatar
Comment #2 Permalink
First, Darwinian evolution is not the least bit controversial among biologists. Only non-scientists, and a few non-biologists scientists who do not know the nuances of this deceptively simple theory, question it today.

Also, considering the nature of the fossil record, gaps are to be expected. One would expect that over time, some of the gaps would be filled in as more fossil discoveries are made, and that is exactly what has been observed.

I agree that ID is a poor theory. And I don't believe in a literal six day creation or a young earth. This blog's "official" position is that evolution is the best theory there is to explain observations of living things, and it's reasonable to consider evolution as a fact of natural history, indeed the central fact of natural history.

Thanks for the comment!

Posted on February 04, 2010 15:14 by Robyn Broyles | RobynBroyles.net | Robyn Broyles's profile

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