Product Description
Charles Robert Darwin (1809-1882) was an English naturalist who achieved lasting fame by producing considerable evidence that species originated through evolutionary change, at the same time proposing the scientific theory that natural selection is the mechanism by which such change occurs. This theory is now considered a cornerstone of biology, and has significantly affected other disciplines such as philosophy, psychology and anthropology. Darwin's work was very controversial at the time he published it and many during his time did not take it seriously. Evolution by natural selection proved to be a significant blow to notions of divine creation and intelligent design prevalent in 19th-century science, specifically overturning the Creation biology doctrine of "created kinds". The idea that there was no line to be drawn between human beings, races, and animals would forever make Darwin a symbol of iconoclasm who removed humanity's privileged place in the universe.
About the Author
Charles Darwin, born on February 12, 1809, was a famous English biologist and the father of evolution, grew up in England and as a young man he earned a reputation among scientists as an amateur naturalist, particularly in the identification of beetles. He started to study medicine but changed his career to study theology at Cambridge. In 1831, at age 22, Darwin was invited to travel as an unpaid naturalist on the voyage of the Beagle, an expedition that lasted for years. Darwin was observant, well read and prepared for such an opportunity. During these five years, he studied the animals, plants, land formations and fossils of many countries and islands, and kept a journal and specimens for future studies. One of the places that Darwin visited during his trip was the Galapagos archipelago. He stayed there for five weeks and studied the flora and fauna of the islands. His first task upon return was to review his journal and organize his collections. By the time he!
had finished, at the age of 29, he had developed much of his theory on the evolution of species. But Darwin was not ready to publish his theory until he had gathered enough supporting evidence. He spent 20 years on this task, and in 1859 he finally published On the Origin of Species by Natural Selection. When this work was first published, the edition sold out immediately, but the newspapers and scientific journals attacked Darwin's theory.
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
edition.