Species is a fundamental concept in modern biology, the building blocks of Earth’s vast and diverse biosphere. While the principal function of modern biology is naming, grouping, and defining species, the concept of species opens a window into the checkered history of evolution.
The term “species” emerged in the fifteenth century, taken from the Latin species meaning “a particular sort, kind, or type” originating from the Indo-European root *spek- a word meaning “to observe” – the language of Japheth, one of Noah’s three sons.
Mendel rescued Darwin’s theory – to a point. By the end of the nineteenth century, Charles Darwin’s influence continued to deteriorate primarily due to his obsolete inheritance theory. In the search for a scientifically valid inheritance theory, evolution scientists in 1900 rediscovered Gregor Mendel’s genetic inheritance theory, published thirty years earlier.
Mendel’s theory delivered what Darwin was missing – a scientifically valid theory of inheritance to drive evolution forward. Inheritance is the second topic of the V.I.S.T.A. acronym (Variation, Inheritance, Selection, Time, Adaptation) developed by Niles Eldredge of the American Museum of Natural History to describe Darwin’s theory – the second of natural selection’s five pillars. Not surprisingly, even Darwin was skeptical of his model of inheritance, noting –
“The laws governing inheritance are, for the most part, unknown.”
Mendel, a contemporary of Darwin, unwittingly solved Darwin’s inheritance problem. In 1866, Mendel, a German botanist and mathematician, uncovered the laws governing inheritance in the published paper Experiments on Plant Hybridization by studying the inheritance patterns in pea plants (pictured left).
Inheritance carries evolution forward, theoretically, and is the second topic in the V.I.S.T.A. acronym (Variation, Inheritance, Selection, Time, Adaptation) developed by Niles Eldredge of the American Museum of Natural History to describe the mechanisms of Charles Darwin’s theory – the second of the five pillars of natural selection. In 1837, Darwin drew his first tree of life sketch (pictured left), nearly twenty years before the Origin of Species.
Knowing Darwin’s mechanisms of inheritance is essential for understanding his theory since inheritance plays a “chief part” in natural selection. As Darwin explains in the Origin of Species –
“The most important consideration is that the chief part of the organisation of every being is simply due to inheritance.”
The selection of variations plays a pivotal role in driving Darwin’s theory of evolution. In the sixth edition of the Origin of Species, while “natural selection” appears 408 times, the term “variations” appear 303 times.
The intersection of logic and science is tricky to navigate. While science at Christ’s College was not Charles Darwin’s major, as the “father” of evolution with ministry plans, navigating this intersection with conflicting forces determined the course of his theory of natural selection.
In a recent British poll, only the Bible was narrowly voted as more valuable to humanity than the Origin of Species. Darwin argued that life on Earth is united into a single tree of life by common descent – all organisms are from one common ancestor.
Darwin, Then and Now, the Most Amazing Story in the History of Science, is a chronicle of who Darwin was, how he developed his theory, specifically what he said, and what scientists have discovered since the publication of The Origin of Species in 1859.
The book traces the rise and fall of evolution's popularity as a scientifically valid theory. With over 1,000 references from Darwin and scientists, Darwin Then and Now retraces developments in the most amazing story in the history of science. DarwinThenandNow.com focuses on understanding the intersection of biological evolution and science.
Species is a fundamental concept in modern biology, the building blocks of Earth’s vast and diverse biosphere. While the principal function of modern biology is naming, grouping, and defining species, the concept of species opens a window into the checkered history of evolution.
Mendel rescued Darwin’s theory – to a point. By the end of the nineteenth century, 
The intersection of logic and science is tricky to navigate. While science at Christ’s College was not 