Natural Selection
The article “Natural Selection: Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace” discusses the emergence of natural selection theory, its implication and details. Firstly, the article describes pre-Darwinian ideas about evolution claiming that it is Darwin who was the firs to show the evolution of species and to offer “a plausible mechanism by which life might evolve”. It is noted that though Lamarck and his follows promoted evolutionary theories, they failed to explain the changes, dependence and speculation. The author admits that many biologists considered that life rouse “rise from simple single-celled forms to complex ones”.
Darwin and Wallace were the first to find way for life to change called natural selection. Secondly, the article speaks about the pressure of population growth mentioning that population growth would lead to misery and famine. Darwin and Wallace revealed that animals and plants are also pressured by population growth stating that they are vulnerable to droughts and cold winters. It is known that the theory of natural selection was created in the end of the 1830s. Modern discoveries of mutations and genes prove that natural selection is unavoidable.
The article “The History of Evolutionary Thought” deals with development of evolutionary theories and thoughts from ancient times till present days. Science requires clear understanding of evolutionary history. The author describes how Earth’s history, mechanisms of evolution, history of life and genetic have contributed to understanding evolutionary thought. The article leads from developing comparative anatomy to genetic similarities and endosymbiosis.
Actually, the mentioned two articles are interrelated as they are devoted to understanding and studying evolutionary thought. The first article examines narrowed area of interest, whereas the second one is general overview of evolutionary thought development. Both articles involve the concept of natural selection theory.
