The Influence Of Writers On Charles Darwin

The theory of Evolution as presented by Charles Darwin has had a
great impact on the world today. It has caused many debates between
religious authorities and those from the scientific community. This theory
had prompted individuals to think about themselves, their origins and it
has changed the way in which they view themselves in the environment.

However, Darwin was not the first person to write on evolution. There were
many others before him such as Lamarck, Buffon, and Darwin’s grandfather
Erasmus Darwin. However, what distinguishes Charles Darwin from the others
is the fact that he collected and provided substantial proofs and he
related various branches of science such as geology, botany and biology
which helped validate his theories. His theory of natural selection as
stated by Nelson and Jurmain (1991, p.606) in the modern form is that “the
evolutionary factor causes changes in allele frequencies in populations due
to differential net reproductive success of individuals.” His grasp of the
evolutionary process and the clarity of his work makes Charles Darwin the
most popular figure in the scientific field of Evolution (Francoeur, 1965,
p.34). Charles Darwin (1809-1882) was the fourth child of Dr. Robert
Darwin and grandson of Erasmus Darwin.Much of Charles’ childhood was
spent collecting insects, coins and reading various literature on natural
history, travel and poetry. Charles Darwin was not a scholarly student
during his years at Edinburgh Medical College. He disliked what was taught
and found most of the lectures boring, yet he developed a natural interest
in studying rocks and fossils. He convinced his father that he could not
be a doctor as his father had wished, so instead Charles Darwin studied
Theology at the University of Cambridge. After his studies he was given
the opportunity to travel on the H.M.S. Beagle as a naturalist. Darwin
took this opportunity and it is this voyage that propelled him to begin his
work on evolution. During his research, Darwin read several references
which greatly influenced his own writings. Although there were many factors
which affected Darwin’s theories this paper will discuss how Darwin was
influenced by the beliefs of William Paley, Erasmus Darwin, Thomas Malthus
and Charles Lyell.

Erasmus Darwin (1731-1802) was a well renowned doctor, poet and
philosopher who wrote many books concerning nature. Among his works
Zoonomia, a medical textbook, has received the most attention. In this work
Erasmus Darwin expressed such ideas as “evolution by natural and sexual
selection, protective adaptation, inheritance of acquired characteristics,
and even the evolution of mankind” almost fifty years before Charles Darwin
(Nelson ; Jurmain., 1991, p.32). Erasmus Darwin had said that all
different living things were produced over millions of years by one
original ancient parent, such that each offspring had a natural tendency to
improve itself (Karp, 1968, p.14). However, fossil records show that this
theory of one original parent was not probable (Karp, 1968, p.14).His
opposition toward any form of organized religion and his rejection of
Christianity was considered to be superficial and eccentric (Chancellor,
1973, p.21). Histendency to theorize and create wild speculations
without testing his theories caused his reputation as a scientist to
suffer. By the end of the 18th century all discussions of evolution were
suppressed because of the rigid creationist views held by the Church who
persecuted anyone who challenged their beliefs (Chancellor, 1973, p.41).

It was not until the publication of Charles Darwin’s The Origin of Species
that the discussion of evolution was revived.

Being well renowned, Erasmus’ work was discussed in his family
circle thus exposing Charles to the work of his grandfather early on in his
life. Moreover, Charles Darwin having interest in poetry and philosophy
was naturally inclined to study the work of his grandfather. Although
Erasmus did not solve the problem of the process of evolution, the reading
and exposure of his work made it easier for Charles Darwin to approach the
topic and see it in a different perspective from Erasmus (Karp, 1968,
p.17).

In his early days at Cambridge University, Darwin was heavily
interested in the works of William Paley (1743-1805) a famous theologist
in his time. Paley’s works which include Evidences of Christianity and
Principles of Moral and Political Philosophy were required reading at the
university. However, Darwin was most impressed by Natural Theology at the
time. In this paper Paley examined the mechanism of the earth, its
creatures, the complexity of their adaptations, their effective use of
natural resources and their successful defence against nature. Paley also
argued the inevitability of a Creator: “Design must have a designer. That
designer must have been a person. That person is God” (Brent, 1981,
p.274). As a student Darwin admired Paley and agreed with his philosophy.

Paley had said that every species in existence was separately created by
God. According to Paley nothing evolved. However, while Darwin was
conducting research in evolution, he reread Paley’s paper and discovering
the flaw in it’s logic proved it to be an important element in Darwin’s
reassurrance of the evolutionary process (Brent, 1981, p.306).Darwin
disagreed with Paley on how species came to exist. Darwin argued that God
had created species and through natural selection these species evolved
over periods of time into the species that exist today. In the end Darwin
used the power of the paper against itself in order to prove his theory of
evolution. “Adaptation turned out not to be the result of some limitlessly
benevolent design, but the very mechanism through which natural selection
was expressed.” (Brent, 1981, p.304). Darwin’s rejection of Paley’s
ideology gave him a sense of pride and acted as a catalyst in his work on
evolution. (Eiseley, 1961, p.178)
Although Thomas Malthus was not a scientific writer like Erasmus
Darwin and Charles Lyell, he had quite a strong influence on the
intellectuals of his era due to the popularity and acceptance of his
theories on population growth. One of these intellectuals was Charles
Darwin.

Thomas Malthus (1766-1834) was an English clergyman and political
economist in the times of Darwin and his primary contribution to the
economic world was the his theory of population which was published in
Essay on the Principles of Population in 1798.

According to Malthus, population tends to increase faster than the
supply of goods available for its needs. Whenever there is
relative gain in production over population growth, it stimulates
a higher rate of population increase; on the other hand, if
population grows too much faster than production, the growth is
checked by famine, disease, and war. (Funk ; Wagnall’s New
Encylopedia, 1979, p.438)
Malthus’ theory was seen as being a dismal expression of the human struggle
for survival. This philosopy of survival of the fittest was used by many
to prevent society from improving living conditions for the poor.

For Charles Darwin, this theory provided an answer to the problem of
evolutionary change through the process of natural selection. Darwin was
impressed by Malthus’ work and realized that the population theory could be
applied to all aspects of organic life and provided a solid base in which
natural selection could be studied. Darwin believed that the theories of
biological variation combined with the struggle for existence explained the
biological divergence found in organic life. Darwin had such strong
beliefs in Malthus’ theory that he used the population theory to help
explain his own theory about natural selection in his book The Origin of
Species (Darwin, 1859, p.13):
In the next chapter the Struggle for Existence among all organic
beings throughout the world, which inevitably follows from the
high geometrical ratio of their increase, will be considered.

This is a doctrine of Malthus applied to the whole animal and
vegetable kingdoms.

Since Malthus’ theory was very popular and well accepted amongst the
scholars of that era, Darwin used it so that his theory of natural
selection would also be understood and accepted.

Darwin had developed his theories before reading the works of
Malthus, however his ideas were reinforced and this gave him the confidence
to continue. Knowing that Malthus was popular and well received at the
time, Darwin considered him a powerful ally who could assist him in
presenting his theory of natural selection to the scientific world
(Francoeur, 1965, p.53) .

The geometric growth of life as expressed by Malthus greatly
impressed him and may have turned his thoughts more intensively
upon the struggle for existence. There is evidence in Darwin’s
essay of 1842 of his impressed reaction to the mathematical
approach of Malthus. He comments almost as a memorandum to
himself: “Study Malthus and calculate rates of increase [for
various species].” (Eiseley, 1961, p.53)
From the admiration and references Darwin gives to Malthus, it can be
concluded that the ideas expressed by Malthus made him a key figure
involved in Darwin’s conclusions about evolution and natural selection.

Sir Charles Lyell (1797-1875) was a British geologist born in
Scotland. Although he studied law at the University of Oxford and was
admitted to the bar, he followed a route that was completely different. He
become a world renowned scientist famous for his studies and works in the
field of geology.

Both Charles Lyell and Charles Darwin were devoted believers of
Uniformitarianism which established that “no forces had been active in the
past history of the earth that are not also working today” (Nelson &
Jurmain., 1991, p.36). The work that brought Charles Lyell acclaim was
Principles of Geology . This was published when Lyell was virtually
unknown as a geologist by his contemporaries (Chancellor, 1973, p.81).

Lyell showed, through the process of uniformitarianism, that the
earth’s crust was formed via a series of slow and gradual changes.

Mountains, rivers, valleys, lakes, deserts, and coastlines were
not the sudden result of cataclysms, but rather the result of
purely natural forces, such as erosion by land, water, frost, ice,
and rain.(Nelson ; Jurmain., 1991, p.37)
This theory was highly debated amongst the geologists of the time but
Lyell’s training in law allowed him to “marshal the facts of an argument,
to weigh evidence and to present it well” (Eiseley, 1961, p.98). Because
of the simplicity of his writing, his book was read by the curious public
as well as professional geologists. Due to the large amount of exposure of
his book, his theories were gradually accepted by the scientific community
and this cleared the way for Darwin (Brent, 1981, p.353).

Being inclined towards geology, more than any other science, Darwin
read the first volume of Principles of Geology, during his voyage on the
H.M.S. Beagle. This was very important because Darwin observed evidence
such as the mountains, rocks and coastlines of South America, which
supported Lyell’s hypothesis during this voyage. Darwin soon became a
follower of Lyell. They met in England and kept contact with each other
through letters and due to this close relationship and Lyell’s work,
Charles Lyell can be considered the most influential individual who
affected Darwin and his theories of natural selection (Eiseley, 1961,
p.179).

It was through Lyell’s work in Principles of Geology that Darwin
learned about the development of the earth’s crust, the environmental
conditions, combined with the struggle of existence, that could have caused
physical divergence present among similar species (Nelson & Jurmain., 1991,
p.38). He also learned that the age of the earth was far greater than what
Arch Bishop Ussher estimated as 4004 B.C (Nelson & Jurmain., 1991, p.37).

One of the reasons why Lyell’s work was debated was because it challenged
the authority of the church and the religion. The age of the earth
estimated by Lyell was on the order of hundreds or thousands of million
years (Nelson and Jurmain, 1991, p.37) and this provided Darwin with the
necessary time frame in which the gradual process of evolution was
possible. The skeletal remains of giant sloths and the various species of
finches Darwin discovered in the Galapagos Islands supported his theory.

In effect, Lyell had provided all the facts and evidence for evolution
however it was the insight of Darwin that brought about its proof (Brent,
1981, p.380). Many scholars criticize Lyell for not being able to see the
the connections between the geological discoveries and its application to
the organic world. It was not until thirty years after Lyell wrote
Principles of Geology that he accepted Darwin’s theory of evolution
(Eiseley, 1961, p.134).

It is clear that the works and ideas of Erasmus Darwin, William
Paley, Thomas Malthus, and Charles Lyell had a positive influence on
Darwin’s own theories. It was the works of Erasmus Darwin that initially
introduced Charles Darwin to the concept of evolution of species. The
flawed logic in Paley’s Natural Theology convinced Darwin that his ideas
on the evolutionary process were correct. Malthus’ philosophy of the
survival of the fittest demonstrated the mechanism of evolution which
Darwin used to explain natural selection. Charles Lyell provided the
initial evidence and geological background which allowed Darwin to prove
that the species evolved over long periods of time. In 1859 Charles
Darwin published his findings and his theories in The Origin of Species.

In his book, Darwin had thoroughly examined all the evidence and
information he had gathered throughout his career which proved his theory
of natural selection and his theory of the evolutionary process to be
valid.

Bibliography
1. Brent, Peter. 1981, Charles Darwin “A Man of Enlarged Curiosity”
Toronto: William Heinemann Limited.

2. Chancellor, John. 1973, Charles Darwin London: Weidenfeld
and Nicolson.

3.Darwin, Charles. 1859,The The The Origin of Species and the
Descent of Man New York: Modern Library.

4.Eiseley, Loren. 1961, Darwin’s Century: Evolution and the Men
Who Discovered It New York: Anchor Books.

5.Francoeur, Robert T. 1965, Perspectives in Evolution
Baltimore: Helicon.

6.Nelson, Harry & Jurmain,Richard. 1991, Introduction to Physical
AnthropologySt. Paul:West Publishing Company.

7.1979,Funk & Wagnall’s New Encyclopedia New York: Funk ;
Wagnalls Inc. (p.438), Vol 15.