1.) I believe that Charles Lyell, the British lawyer/geologist, had the biggest impact on Darwin as they both held a belief in uniformitarianism.
2.) Charles Lyell is known for his work in the field of geology. He wrote many books on geology that popularized the idea of the Earth changing due to slow moving processes and forces. This theory was also known as uniformitarianism.
3.) The point most effected by Lyell in respect to Charles Darwin's work is the point: If the environment changes, the traits that are helpful or adaptive to that environment will be different. Charles Lyell made popular the belief that Earth was gradually changing due to slow-moving processes that supported Darwin's theory of natural selection. The slow changing of the environment allowed for the idea that some species used to be more successful and after the environment underwent changes, these same species were not as "fit" to continue their species. Darwin originally lacked a time frame for his theory of evolution until he accepted Lyell's ideas on a slowly changing environment.
4.) I believe that Darwin may have been able to come up with his theory but it would lack the time frame of how long it took for a species to evolve. With Lyell's work on explaining the Earth being shaped by gradual processes, Darwin was able to fit in his ideas of gradual change among a population.
5.) The church didn't affect Darwin or his eventual publication very much. Although many clergymen were quick to dismiss the theory, many other clergyman were able to accept it as part of God's design for natural selection. The Vatican never officially banned the book or made a statement in regards to his book until recently, some 150+ years later.
I must admit, I was struck with Lyell's observation too that Darwin had lacked a time frame with which to better understand that environmental process were ongoing. These processes were slow moving and must have taken place over a great span of time. He deduced that the earth was far older than anyone had imagined. In doing so, Lyell changed the way scientists viewed the past.
ReplyDeleteI really like reading your post and agree with you that Charles Lyell had the biggest impact on Darwin as they both held a belief in uniformitarianism. Darwin was able to fit his ideas of gradual change among a population because of Lyell's work on explaining the Earth being shaped by gradual processes.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your post but I do believe that Lyell was a strong impact on Darwin. With his approach on what it actually takes for a species to evolve, it gave Darwin more of a perspective and "opened his eyes" in a sense (not to be cliche). Without Lyell's input, Darwin would not have been able to have a strong backing to his statements because in the long run they would have been quickly dis-proven. Great post though!
ReplyDeleteWow. I did not realize how Lyell's opinions and theories about how the Earth changing would influence Darwin. That is a really good observation! If the Earth was not changing, there would be no reason for species to change and grow as well. Without Lyell's ideas on the evolving planet, I am not too sure that Darwin would have been able to come up with his own ideas about the evolving species that live there.
ReplyDelete"Darwin originally lacked a time frame for his theory of evolution until he accepted Lyell's ideas on a slowly changing environment. "
ReplyDeleteExcellent! That's the key sentence right there, the issue of time. That is Lyell's biggest contribution to Darwin's work. Great catch.
However, I have to disagree with you on the influence of the church. Darwin postponed making his ideas public for more that 20 YEARS because he was well aware of the powerful influence of the church and was terrified (to the point of making himself ill) over the idea that his family might suffer social repercussions for his views.