It is talked about today that Darwin discovered the theory of evolution. Darwin's theory of evolution stated that individuals within a species vary from one another, variation is in some part heritable so that variant forms have offsprings that resemble them, and that different variants leave different number of offspring. Darwin then proceeded to elaborate on the mechanism of evolution by suggesting that in the universal struggle for life, nature "selects" those individuals who are best suited (fittest) for the struggle, and these individuals in turn reproduce more than those who are less fit, thus changing the composition of the population. In addition to natural selection, Darwin also suggested that species also evolve through the complementary process of sexual selection. According to Darwin, in sexual selection, one gender of a species develops a …show more content…
He still believed that God had instituted the laws governing reproduction to maintain species in a state of perfect adaptation to their environment. Only after his full appreciation of the struggle for existence did he come to believe that a changed environment disturbs growth to produce random variation. Curiously, Darwin asserts that in originating his theory of evolution he was trying to follow "Baconian principles", that is collect facts before theorizing. Darwin "Discovers" Natural Selection During his early theorizing, Darwin was fixated upon the "whys" of evolution. He contemplated such questions as "Why is life short? Why does the individual die, and why do species die? Why does nature put so high a premium on generation? And why does generation have the twofold character of perpetuation and variation?". It seems that apart from the occasional reference to "adaptation", Darwin ,at that time, almost deliberately tried to avoid the contemporary theories of the mechanics of