Charles Darwin's The Voyage Of The Beagle
In the excerpt from Principles of Geology, Charles Lyell discusses the importance of clarifying the age of the earth when determining the nature of geological changes. Lyell explains that geologists have had to overcome the long-held theory of a several thousand-year-old earth in order to explain that the striking geological features were not necessarily caused by drastic occurrences happening uniformly all over the earth, but over a long period of time and in different locations. Overall, Lyell is defending his theory regarding the lack of uniformity in geological changes and defending geology by explaining its current limitations. Robert Chambers, in the excerpt from Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation, explains how geological evidence
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In addition to describing the flora, fauna, and fossils found on his voyage, he also spends considerable length describing the different cultures and individuals from those cultures with whom he interacted. Perhaps the most well-known part of Darwin’s journey was his exploration on the Galapagos Islands, during which he noticed some characteristics in animals that likely changed over time through inherited traits. (A particular example of this is how even after men had easily killed some of the birds on the island, the birds did not learn fear of man, as many other species of birds in more populated areas appear to have done.) After his voyage, Darwin developed his ideas regarding natural selection and the survival of the fittest in his On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection. In the excerpts, Darwin explains how there are variations among individual members of species (as commonly known to those who breed livestock), and how, as man can selectively breed livestock for beneficial traits, Nature favors the breeding of individual members of species with variations that increase the likelihood of survival. One way this is accomplished is that individual members of a species that are better adapted for survival are more likely to live long enough to breed, and an
In addition to describing the flora, fauna, and fossils found on his voyage, he also spends considerable length describing the different cultures and individuals from those cultures with whom he interacted. Perhaps the most well-known part of Darwin’s journey was his exploration on the Galapagos Islands, during which he noticed some characteristics in animals that likely changed over time through inherited traits. (A particular example of this is how even after men had easily killed some of the birds on the island, the birds did not learn fear of man, as many other species of birds in more populated areas appear to have done.) After his voyage, Darwin developed his ideas regarding natural selection and the survival of the fittest in his On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection. In the excerpts, Darwin explains how there are variations among individual members of species (as commonly known to those who breed livestock), and how, as man can selectively breed livestock for beneficial traits, Nature favors the breeding of individual members of species with variations that increase the likelihood of survival. One way this is accomplished is that individual members of a species that are better adapted for survival are more likely to live long enough to breed, and an