Charles Darwin: On The Origin Of Species By Means Of Natural Selection

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Introduction

On the Origin of Species By Means of Natural Selection or The Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle of Life is Charles Darwin’s most notable and influential work of all time. In it, Darwin introduces a paradigm shift by questioning the legitimacy of the theory that all life has been unchanged since the time of its appearance. After over a quarter century of researching, Darwin published an “abstract” of his work which would confirm evolution and propose natural selection.

Author

Charles Darwin was born in 1809, in Shrewsbury, England. He grew up in a moderately wealthy family as his father, Robert Darwin, was a physician. Unfortunately, by the age of eight, Darwin’s mother, Susannah Wedgwood, died of cancer. Later on, Darwin’s father sent him to Edinburg University to study medicine like his father. However, Darwin quit that path as he hated witnessing others suffer. Two years later, Darwin’s disappointed father sent him to Christ’s College, where he would study to become a minister. Here, he met John Steven Henslow, a botanist professor, who heightened …show more content…

This book was a sensation in London. Soon after it was published, Darwin became a celebrity. Another one of his most popular works was The Descent of Man, wherein Darwin takes his evolutionary theories a step further and imposes them on man. In On the Origin of Species, Darwin only speaks about animals and plants and how they come to be through descent with modification from their pre-existing ancestors. In The Descent of Man, Darwin explores what could be our most tangible ancestor and more. Naturally, the public disliked Darwin’s notions because they couldn’t respect where he was coming from. Darwin wanted to answer the hardest questions of his time. He was once loved by England in his early adult years, then he was despised by most of