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Charles Darwin's Theory Of Natural Selection

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Although scientists studying evolution had made several observations on anatomical changes in species over time, it was Charles Darwin who conceptualized the theory on evolution. According to the theory of natural selection, there are three requirements for evolution to occur namely variations; genetic component and selection (Buss, 2012). In short, Darwin’s theory of natural selection implied the notion of “survival of the fittest”. Evolutionary psychology stemmed from the goal to study human behavior by looking at evolved psychological mechanisms (Confer et al., 2010). While theory of natural selection was mainly applied on physiology and anatomy adaptations in the past, it has been extended to account for psychological adaptations that have contributed to human survival and …show more content…

According to KST, individuals can propagate their genes either through reproduction of their own offspring or ensuring the survival of their genetically-related relatives (Griffin & West, 2002). This theory anticipates that individuals are more likely to help their kin rather non-related people. Additionally, Hamilton’s rule states that when the benefits of helping their kin exceed the costs, individuals will choose to sacrifice themselves to help them (Krebs, 2011). Imagine a scenario whereby Person A can choose to either save himself and sacrifice his two genetic brothers or sacrifice himself and save his two brothers. In this case, KST predicts that Person A will choose to save his two brothers. This is because by sacrificing himself, it is twice likely that Person A’s genes can be propagated. Therefore, assuming that their kin share the same genes, altruistic gene will be passed down. Altruistic behaviors would be especially adaptive in the ancestral environment where there were constant competitions among different tribes for resources such as

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Innate behaviors evolve like other physical characteristics. They both influenced by Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection. This theory has been tested many times; is supported by hypotheses, laws, facts, and inferences; and has predictive power. The theory tells us that animals have different alleles caused by small mutations in the DNA. These alleles give animals an evolutionary advantage making it more likely that their DNA is going to be passed down to the next generation.

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This is much different than the bee who have the flight aspect. Another example to look at is the trolley example that we discussed in class. If a human were to have choose to save five people and kill one by pushing a button, or to save five people by pushing someone in front of a moving train, the human would choose the first option. This is due to the fact that the person is not physically killing another human, rather pushing a button to save five people. This would also be different if the person had someone they loved that was being killed to save the five people.

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According to Charles Darwin, using or disusing a certain trait can determine how a species will change overtime, "I think there can be no doubt that use in our domestic animals has strengthened and enlarged certain parts, and disuse diminished them; and that such modifications are inherited," (Darwin 175). Thus, Darwin is implying that when a species uses a certain quality for survival that trait is further developed to increase the likelihood of survival; for example, the beak shapes of finches are morphed to be better suited for certain foods. Darwin also implies that when a certain trait is not used that ability is diminished; for example, a mole cannot see because it lives in the dark most of its life and does not rely on the ability of sight (175-204). Moreover, how an animal or plant adapts is dependent on the use or disuse of a variation, and according to the scholar Noguera-Solano, "the origin of the variation does not arise in order to resolve the organism's needs to adapt" (Noguera-Solano). This means that the origin of the variation is changed from the adaptation in organisms.

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In this chapter, Darwin is very concerned about the topic of natural selection. He makes the point that just like in artificial selection where breeders might choose a particular feature in organisms and preserve this feature by breeding organisms with this trait more than organisms lacking the trait. Darwin mentions that nature acts in the same way, choosing some variations which are beneficial to the organisms in a specific environment and these variations are the ones which are said to be advantageous. If organisms do not naturally have variations which make them adapt easier to their environment they’re more likely to die out and be extinct. Darwin also discusses the concept of sexual selection which plays a huge role in species evolution.

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Evolution is the process of change over time. It can be split in two questions, how did something living come from something that was not alive? And, how did things that were already living turn into other living things? Natural selection is when the “breeder: is the environment. This belief of natural selection came from Charles Darwin.

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First of all, The Kin Selection Theory is a biological theory in that it attempts to predict that altruism depends on the number of genes the person

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In 1959, Charles Darwin wrote “On the Origins of Species by Means of Natural Selection” and in this book he had to main points to make about evolution by natural selection. In Darwin's first main point he presented a large amount of evidence in support of the evolutionary view that species living today descended from a succession of ancestral species, this was called “descent with modification”. In his book, he proposed a mechanism for “descent with modification” and the process was then called Natural Selection. What is Darwin's theory of Evolution by Natural Selection? According to North Dakota State University, more individuals are produced by each generation that can survive.

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A common name heard when discussing evolution is Charles Darwin, who is well known for his works as a naturalist. While other naturalist stated that all species stayed the same throughout time, Darwin wanted to prove otherwise. He noticed that there were similarities between species all over the globe which varied based on locatio. Despite the other naturalists, Darwin came up with the idea that all species gradually evolved from a common ancestor. This lead for him to believe that species would survive due to a process called “natural selection.”

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According to Levin (2003:102) the discovery of natural selection, by Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace, must itself be counted as an extraordinary philosophical advance. The concept of natural selection had remarkable power for explaining directional and adaptive changes. Its nature is simplicity itself. It is not a force like the forces described in the laws of physics; its mechanism is simply the elimination of inferior individuals. “Furthermore, the objective of selection even may change from one generation to the next, as environmental circumstances vary.

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Throughout this essay I intend to investigate how Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution has affected the philosophies of Daniel Dennett and John Dewey, and whether this has been a major influence on their work. Having always been interested in Darwin’s Theory, I was curious to see its effects on modern philosophy. Having read Darwin’s Dangerous Idea by Daniel Dennett, I felt that it was a persuasive and detailed defence of Darwin’s theory, therefore prompting me to investigate further as well as looking at similarities between the two philosophers. Equally I found it significant as, in my philosophy lesson we were looking at religion and politics and the long-standing battle between secularism and religion. The influence of the Theory of Evolution has been greatly discussed since the publication of On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection by Charles Darwin in 1859.

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Purpose: The purpose of this experiment is to explore Charles Darwin’s theories of natural selection and his theory of descent with modification.     Background: In this experiment, we were modeling Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection and his theory of descent with modification. His theory of natural selection states that “individuals with heritable traits better suited to the environment will survive” (NDSU). Descent with modification is “passing traits from parent to offspring” (Study.com).

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1. Introduction The Origin of Species written by Charles Darwin sufficiently demonstrates the fact of evolution: that existing plants and animals developed and diversified from ancestral creatures. This diversification takes place at every level of biological organization. It was made scientifically intelligible by natural selection.

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Charles Darwin became famous for his theory of natural selection. This theory suggests that a change in heritability traits takes place in a population over time. This is due to random mutations that occur in the genome of an individual organism, and offspring can inherit these mutations. This was defined as the key to evolution, this is because random mutations arise in the genome of an individual. Until the 19th century, the prevailing view in western societies was that differences between individuals of species were uninteresting departures from their platonic ideals of created kinds.

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By the summer of 1837 Darwin was convinced that species undergo evolution by means of natural selection. It was clear to him that species was modifiable and these changes occur by natural processes, but he wasn’t sure how the exact mechanisms of the processes. Darwin began keeping track of these speculations in notebooks. The first four of his notebooks are referred to as B, C, D, E by Darwin and commonly referred to as Notebooks of Transmission. These notebooks allow us to observe Darwin’s meticulous journey of developing his theory of evolution by natural selection over the fifteen-month journey.

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Darwin theory impacted so many ideologies prevailing at those times and changed the whole concept of human evolution which drastically impacted the modern thought and still effecting in many aspects of human life Each and every part of history had its distinctive yet of great importance ideas, concepts, value systems and belief, so is the west. Historians have referred to this whole of ideas dictate a definite age as its zeitgeist. These plenty of ideas are going on since the time of middle ages , the renaissance, reformation and the enlightenment in the Victorian period . When we contrast one zeitgeist and the accompanying one, we are typically astounded at the extent of the progressions. This is decently represented by a correlation of

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