Alfred Russel Wallace
Alfred Russel Wallace, born January 8th 1823 to November 7th 1913, was a man of many talents but is more notably known for his contributions and discovery of the concept of evolution by natural selection. Although Mr. Wallace is highly touted as a brilliant mind and a trailblazer in the science community, he is often overlooked and not given enough credit for his work with Charles Darwin. Both men did not work hand to hand on their scientific theories/ experiments but were vital to each others work and progress.
What is preventing organisms from reproducing at their potential?
-Alfred thought about specimen and humans when disputing natural selection and what keeps the numbers down but it was through his severe topical fever that caused hallucinations that he came up with the idea that he later penned to Darwin through a private letter.
Resources are limited.
-Alfred was one of the first biologists to express concern about the effects humans were having on the natural world so he was more than aware of the benefits and restrictions that resources were not only for survival but in evolution.
If the environment changes, the traits that are helpful or adaptive to that environment will be
different
-Through his scientific expeditions to different continents and countries he understood the environment will either help or hurt the specimen and to each environment there are specific traits to have in order to survive and prosper.
In order for natural selection to occur, reproduction MUST occur
-It was through the theory of natural selection that Alfred came up with the concept of evolution that without reproduction, growth will stunt and is needed for life to move forward.
Individuals do not evolve. Populations do
-Through his concept of evolution, across generations Alfred was able to put both his work and Darwins work together in the sense that each other work only helped the others.
Charles Darwin would have not been able to develop his theory of natural selection without the work of his colleague Alfred Russel Wallace because they go hand in hand. Besides the fact that people, and accredited scientists already think Darwin stole the work of Wallace, Charles was unable to perfect or even make a clear concise formulation to his theory prior to Wallace sending him that letter. Would Charles have figured out it out on his own? We don't know and never will but we do know that it wasn't until Charles received Alfred's letter that he was able to make the connections.
The attitude of the church did not affect Darwin and his eventual publication of his book On the Origin of Species that much. Darwin was conflicted with religion most of his life but he did not let that interfere with facts and his studies. He understood the importance of religion, at the time, but he wanted his work to be taken seriously because that's what it was, important ground breaking information.
Sources: http://www.famousscientists.org/alfred-russel-wallace/
http://wallacefund.info/content/biography-wallace
http://people.wku.edu/charles.smith/wallace/BIOG.htm
Good discussion of Wallace's work in conjunction with Darwin's.
ReplyDeleteWhile I agree with each choice of bullet point, wouldn't it be fair to argue that ALL of the bullet points apply equally to both Wallace and Darwin?
"Charles Darwin would have not been able to develop his theory of natural selection without the work of his colleague Alfred Russel Wallace because they go hand in hand."
I'm concerned by your conclusions in this section. I though it may have been misconceptions based upon your sources, but I've checked them and none of them suggest that Darwin "was unable to perfect or even make a clear concise formulation to his theory prior to Wallace sending him that letter". Darwin had been working on his version of the theory for more than 20 years when he received the letter from Wallace. Wallace just provided confirmation and support for an idea that was already well-formed. Wallace didn't help Darwin develop his theory. It was *already* developed, but what he did do was provide the impetus to finally publish. I do wonder, if Wallace had never written that letter, if Darwin ever would have published?
"The attitude of the church did not affect Darwin and his eventual publication of his book On the Origin of Species that much."
Darwin delayed publishing for more than 20 years! I'm not suggesting that the church's influence was the only reason for that delay but to argue that it had no impact is to ignore the reality of the church's history of interference and aggression against other scientists who dared to propose ideas that contradicted church teachings. Take some time to consider how powerful the church was in Darwin's day. What repercussions might he and his family have experienced as a result of publishing this controversial work in this scientific and religious environment?
I liked that you answered several bullet points under question number two. I think they were all pretty much accurate, I am still learning about the evolution process and all the discoveries and important people along the way who helped make it happen. I also wonder without the push from Wallace, would Darwin ever published his book. Sometimes in life it takes another persons actions and influence to help us move forward with a big decision. I disagree with the fact that Darwin couldn't of developed the theory without Wallace, because I think Darwin was already making great strides in his theory without him. It just so happened they were both coming to similar conclusions at the same time.
ReplyDeleteHey George,
ReplyDeleteI was really impressed how at the end of the 4th question you had questioned if Darwin would have figure it out on his own. I thought it was smart because it made the readers pause for a second to think if Charles really could have. I do think you should do some more research on your last question to go more in depth as to how the church really felt. Overall great post I knew you could do it buddy!