By the second half of the 19th century, all the prerequisites for the emergence of Darwin's theory had matured. All that was needed was a bright and courageous scientist who could formulate a new idea about In general, these prerequisites can be divided into two groups - scientific and socio-economic.
Criticism of creationists
Charles Darwin formulated the main theses of the theory of evolution in his book On the Origin of Species, published in 1859. It was also there that he first used the term "natural selection". Darwin's ideas became a real revolution in science and public consciousness. The secular public argued furiously, someone agreed with the scientist, someone doubted. The theory of evolution was instantly condemned by the Church.
And this is not surprising, because people for many centuries believed that the whole world and the creatures inhabiting it were created by God. For Christians, this story is described in the Bible. The theory about the involvement of a certain Absolute in the creation of life in the scientific language was called creationist. These views have not been questioned for many centuries. It was not until the 18th century that creationism as a theory was first seriously criticized by philosophers and thinkers. Then the first prerequisites for the emergence of Darwin's theory appeared.
Ideas about the variability of nature
In the XVIII century, the philosopher came to the conclusion that the Earth did not always exist, but appeared at a certain point in time. He elaborated his point of view in the book "General Natural History and Theory of the Sky". This was one of the first attacks on the Church and its creationist views.
In 1830, the founder of modern geology, naturalist Charles Lyell, substantiated the theory that the surface of the Earth changed over time depending on climate fluctuations, volcanic activity and other factors. Lyell was the first to timidly suggest that the organic world was not always the same. His idea was confirmed by the paleontological studies of the French naturalist. These prerequisites for the emergence of Darwin's theory gave rise to new research.
Environmental Unity Theory
The first half of the 19th century was marked by discoveries that proved that nature is a single whole. For example, the Swedish chemist Jens Berzelius proved that plants and animals are composed of the same elements as inorganic bodies. The German chemist and physician Friedrich Wöhler at the same time experimentally first obtained first oxalic acid, and then urea. By this, the researcher proved that organic substances can be synthesized from inorganic ones. For their occurrence, some divine life-giving force was not needed, as the creationists believed.
By the 19th century, Europeans had penetrated into the farthest corners of the planet. Research expeditions were sent to the tropical forests of Africa and the polar tundra of America. Scientists returning home shared their observations. In educated Europe, they understood more and more clearly how diverse and complex the world is. These prerequisites for the emergence of Darwin's theory allowed the English scientist to generalize a huge amount of information about different types of animals and plants from all over the planet.
Anatomical discoveries
In 1807, the German zoologist Alexander von Humboldt became the founder of the theory that the territorial distribution of living organisms depends on the conditions of their existence. His followers continued to study the relationship between fauna and the environment.
There are new scientific prerequisites for the emergence of Darwin's theory. New disciplines were born, including comparative morphology. Anatomists who studied the internal structure of different species came to the conclusion that they have common features. Botanists at the same time made a breakthrough in comparative embryology.
Development of agricultural selection
In addition to scientific, there were also socio-economic prerequisites for the emergence of Darwin's theory. The British scientist, before the publication of his most famous book, The Origin of Species, studied agricultural selection extensively. It originated in the 19th century due to the economic development of the British Empire.
Its colonial acquisitions increased. This allowed farmers to use a wide variety of crops on the farm. The socio-economic prerequisites for the emergence of Darwin's theory were that particularly enterprising farm owners began to artificially improve their crops in order to obtain a larger harvest. This was done through selection. Changing cultures to be more adaptable to new conditions in the economy prompted Darwin to think that a similar process could occur in nature.
Influence of the doctrine of market economy
The English scientist was greatly influenced by the views of the economist Adam Smith. He created the theory of the market economy. It emphasized the importance of competition between different producers. Because of the competition, companies needed to constantly improve the quality of their products in order to buy them.
The theory of Darwin and all other species is built on a similar principle. This rule has been called natural selection. Darwin noted that only those species survive in nature that are more adapted to changing conditions. In the environment, everything was the same as in a market economy. Darwin's theory (the origin of man) insisted on this.
Demographic theory of Malthus
The well-known provisions of Darwin's theory also appeared thanks to the studies of the English demographer. This scientist in his writings substantiated the idea that the human population is growing too fast compared to the increase in food production. Malthus thought that this contradiction would eventually lead to mass starvation and population decline.
The theory of the origin of species carries this principle over to all of nature in general. sooner or later it must lead to a struggle between representatives of the living world, Charles Darwin concluded, based on the ideas proposed by Thomas Malthus. The scientist believed that nature independently maintains a balance between species so that everyone has enough food, territory, etc.
Darwin's observations
Finally, the last prerequisite for the emergence of Darwin's theory was his own round-the-world trip on the Beagle ship. The voyage lasted almost five years (1831-1836). The researcher took part in the expedition, the purpose of which was to study the outlines of the coasts of South America. Thus, Darwin had a unique opportunity to look with his own eyes at the nature of the most mysterious and distant places on the planet.
The Englishman collected a significant number of facts that allowed him to be convinced of the correctness of the evolutionary theory. First, he found similarities between the armadillos and sloths of South America and untouched fossils that the scientist found during stops on the mainland. Secondly, Darwin was personally convinced that along with the change of geographical zones, the fauna also changes. Some species that lived on the South American shores were no longer found in the tropics, closer to the equator.
In the Galapagos archipelago, Darwin discovered a different pattern. Each of the islands in this group had at least one unique animal species of its own (owls, lizards, etc.). This observation allowed the English scientist to assume that in each isolated zone development goes on as usual. Darwin summarized all his conclusions, formalizing them in the form of a new theory in the book On the Origin of Species (1859). His idea of evolution turned the scientific world upside down.
Page 17. Remember
Jean Baptiste Lamarck. He mistakenly believed that all organisms strive for perfection. If with an example, then some cat aspired to become a man). Another mistake was that he considered only the external environment as an evolutionary factor.
2. What biological discoveries were made by the middle of the 19th century?
The most significant events of the first half of the 19th century were the formation of paleontology and the biological foundations of stratigraphy, the emergence of cell theory, the formation of comparative anatomy and comparative embryology, the development of biogeography, and the widespread dissemination of transformist ideas. The central events of the second half of the 19th century were the publication of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species and the spread of the evolutionary approach in many biological disciplines (paleontology, systematics, comparative anatomy and comparative embryology), the formation of phylogenetics, the development of cytology and microscopic anatomy, experimental physiology and experimental embryology, the formation the concept of a specific pathogen of infectious diseases, proof of the impossibility of spontaneous generation of life in modern natural conditions.
Page 21. Questions for repetition and tasks.
1. What data of geology served as a prerequisite for the evolutionary theory of Charles Darwin?
The English geologist C. Lyell proved the inconsistency of J. Cuvier's ideas about sudden catastrophes that change the surface of the Earth, and substantiated the opposite point of view: the surface of the planet changes gradually, continuously under the influence of ordinary everyday factors.
2. Name the discoveries in biology that contributed to the formation of Ch. Darwin's evolutionary views.
The following biological discoveries contributed to the formation of Charles Darwin's views: T. Schwann created the cell theory, which postulated that living organisms consist of cells, the common features of which are the same in all plants and animals. This served as a weighty proof of the unity of the origin of the living world; K. M. Baer showed that the development of all organisms begins with the egg, and at the beginning of embryonic development in vertebrates belonging to different classes, a clear similarity of embryos is found in the early stages; exploring the structure of vertebrates, J. Cuvier found that all organs of an animal are parts of one integral system. The structure of each organ corresponds to the principle of the structure of the whole organism, and a change in one part of the body must cause changes in other parts; K. M. Baer showed that the development of all organisms begins with the egg, and at the beginning of embryonic development in vertebrates belonging to different classes, a clear similarity of embryos is found in the early stages;
3. Describe the natural-scientific prerequisites for the formation of Ch. Darwin's evolutionary views.
1. Heliocentric system.
2. Theory of Kant-Laplace.
3. The law of conservation of matter.
4. Achievements of descriptive botany and zoology.
5. Great geographical discoveries.
6. The discovery of the law of germinal similarity by K. Baer: "Embryos show a certain similarity within the limits of the type."
7. Achievements in the field of chemistry: Weller synthesized urea, Butlerov synthesized carbohydrate, Mendeleev created the periodic table.
8. Cell theory T. Schwann.
9. A large number of paleontological finds.
10. Expedition material of Ch. Darwin.
Thus, the scientific facts collected in various fields of natural science contradicted the previously existing theories of the origin and development of life on Earth. The English scientist C. Darwin managed to explain and generalize them correctly by creating the theory of evolution.
4. What is the essence of the correlation principle of J. Cuvier? Give examples.
This is the law of the ratio of parts of a living organism, according to this law, all parts of the body are naturally interconnected. If any part of the body changes, then there will be changes in other parts of the body (or organs, or organ systems) directly. Cuvier is the founder of comparative anatomy and paleontology. He believed that if an animal has a large head, then it must have horns, to defend itself from enemies, and if there are horns, then there are no fangs, then it is a herbivore, if a herbivore, then a complex multi-chambered stomach, and if a complex stomach feeds on plant foods , means a very long intestine, since plant foods are of little energy value, etc.
5. What role did the development of agriculture play in the formation of evolutionary theory?
In agriculture, various methods of improving old ones and introducing new, more productive breeds of animals and high-yielding varieties of animals began to be used more and more widely, which undermined faith in the immutability of living nature. These achievements strengthened the evolutionary views of Charles Darwin and helped him to substantiate the principles of selection that underlie his theory.
Public life in England from the beginning to the middle of the 19th century, including the economic component, contributed to the progression of evolutionary views. The country was in the first position of development among other states. England intensively developed industry. In this regard, the number of workers increased and cities developed. It was at this time that a scientist appeared who comprehended and summarized the existing information about the organic world. This is how the theory of evolution was born.
What came before?
Before considering the main provisions of the theory called evolutionary, it is worth dwelling on its premises. The bourgeois revolution eliminated the factors hindering the development of capitalism. England in the 17th century began to grow rich. This is not surprising, since there were enough colonies in its exploitation. The funds that were at free disposal were invested in the development of industry and agriculture. Following the bourgeois revolution, the industrial revolution took place, which was the result of a revolution in the methods of production. All these events are the prerequisites for the emergence of Darwin's theory in England.
After all, the growth of factories and factories increased the urban population. The demand for agricultural raw materials and foodstuffs has been constantly increasing. The Industrial Revolution was the driving force behind the agrarian revolution.
Agricultural sector
The aim of agriculture was to improve the existing breeds of the livestock sector and varieties of cultivated plants. So different methods of selection began to be applied. Breeding practice plays a special role in the fact that at that time the prerequisites for the emergence of Darwin's theory arose in England.
In the course of breeding work, more and more confidence arose that man was able to quickly change and adapt existing plant and animal organisms to his needs. Based on the results of this practice, Darwin presented it as a kind of model and was able to proceed to the analysis of the processes of speciation in nature.
What later formed the prerequisites for the emergence of Darwin's theory in England?
In the middle of the 19th century, this power became the largest colonizer in the world. She conducted many military and trading expeditions to develop the colonies. But besides this, England developed science and research. Thus, new knowledge was accumulated.
Naturalist Ch. Darwin got on one of the research expeditions. The scientists went on the Beagle. From 1831 to 1836, for almost five years, Darwin had the opportunity to study the geology, fauna, and flora of the different places where he got. And so the prerequisites for the emergence of the theory of Darwin Charles began to form.
He discovered facts that contradicted the creationist view of the immutability of species. The thought of evolution increasingly visited the scientist. For example, on the banks of the Brazilian Parana River, Charles managed to find an accumulation of animal bones. He made an assumption about their mass death, not related to the catastrophes pointed out by J. Cuvier.
New discoveries
In South America, Darwin discovered paleontological finds that enabled him to compare extinct edentulous with well-known sloths, armadillos, anteaters and compare these species. So there was an assumption about the relationship of extinct and modern mammals. Gradually, the so-called scientific prerequisites for the emergence of the theory of Darwin, a scientist-naturalist, began to take shape.
Charles studied fauna in the Galapagos Islands. He drew attention to the similarity of some animals with representatives of the American continent. However, such animals are not found anywhere else on Earth. Even more surprising for the scientist was the fact that turtles and finches on almost every island have their own special shape. All these and other discoveries formed the prerequisites for the emergence of Charles Darwin's theory from a scientific point of view.
At that time he could not explain these facts. In his notes, the scientist left a statement about his extraordinary surprise about the creative power that manifested itself on these bare, small and rocky islands.
Evolution and economics
Darwin's views were influenced by the ideas of T. Malthus and A. Smith (1723-1790), who developed the theory of free competition in industry. According to Smith, the natural egoism (self-interest) of a person can serve as a source of national wealth. Those who cannot adapt to the process of free competition will gradually be forced to withdraw.
Thus, the socio-economic prerequisites for the emergence of Darwin's theory of evolution arose.
Malthus was an English clergyman and economist. He lived from 1766 to 1834. This scientist is the creator of the theory of population. According to Malthus, its numbers are growing exponentially, while the means of subsistence of people - in arithmetic. As a result, there is a lack of them. This is due to the natural law of nature. To limit its effect, it is necessary to reduce the population. Otherwise, nature itself will balance it through disease, hunger and other similar factors, sharply increasing the intensity of competition.
All social prerequisites for the emergence of Darwin's theory had an economic basis. At that time (the first half of the 19th century), the ideas of overpopulation, free competition and the natural selection of losers were widely spread in England. This is probably how Darwin began to think about the existence of such analogies in nature: the ground for explaining evolution in the organic world was ready.
Influence of science
The development of various fields of natural science in England led to the formation of scientific, socio-economic prerequisites for the emergence of the theory of Darwin, a native of this particular state. Facts were accumulating that could no longer correspond to the ideas prevailing at that time about the immutability of nature. E. Kant, a German philosopher of the period 1724-1804, rejected the myth of the first shock. He came to the conclusion that the entire solar system, including the Earth, originated in time and is constantly changing.
Also, the English naturalist C. Lyell (1797-1875) substantiated the idea of the variability of the Earth's surface, which occurs due to climatic factors, water, volcanic forces and other events. He suggested that the organic world is dynamic and gradually changes. Ch. Lyell's works on the fundamentals of geology had a significant impact on Darwin's worldview. So he began to think about the evolution of organic nature.
What other discoveries have had an impact?
The science of chemistry has discovered facts confirming the unity of animate and inanimate nature. It became known, thanks to the research of the scientist I. Berzelius (1779-1845), that living matter consists of the same chemical elements that can be found in inanimate nature. The German F. Wehler (1800-1882) was the first to carry out the synthesis of urea from an inorganic substance under laboratory conditions. So he showed that organic substances can be formed without the participation of living organisms.
Physics is also not far behind. The law of transformation of energy was discovered. And in biology it turned out that the law of energy conversion is applicable to living organisms.
Socio-economic background
1. In the first half of the XIX century. England has become one of the most economically developed countries in the world with a high level of urbanization due to the ruin of small farmers and the concentration of land in large latifundia; the demographic rise in England and the associated shortage of vital resources
2. Rapid development of industry and agricultural production; an increase in the demand of industry for natural raw materials (wool, leather) and the population of growing cities for food
3. Establishing the fact of the influence of crop rotation, the use of fertilizers and tillage on the morphology and productivity of plants
4. Intensive development of breeding and success in breeding new breeds and varieties of animals and plants, which proved that breeds of domestic animals and varieties of cultivated plants are changed and created by man
5. Territorial expansion and colonization of new regions of the world by England, which caused the influx of new biological material into the metropolis; round-the-world and local expeditions with the aim of developing the natural resources of the colonies, associated with expanding the range of known biological phenomena
6. The dominance of creationist, idealistic, religious ideas in the scientific worldview and the idea of freedom in the social, cultural and scientific sphere of activity as a result of the French Revolution
Natural science background
1. Development of the ideas of natural philosophy and transformism, ideas about the variability of species under the influence of environmental factors
2. Formulation of J. B. Lamarck's first evolutionary theory (1809)
3. Justification of the fundamental laws of the universe in the first half of the 19th century: the development of the solar system (mathematical justification of I. Kant's theory of the development of the solar system by P. Laplass, French), the law of conservation of energy, the atomic structure of chemical elements
4. Formation of the historical method of research in science
5. Approval in biology of a comparative anatomical method of research, the doctrine of homologous organs and the theory of types in (J. Cuvier), indicating the possibility of the origin of one type of animal from a single ancestor
6. Development of taxonomy, attempts to create a natural system (classification) of the organic world on the basis of their historical relationship (the doctrine of natural groups Jussier, Bonnet
7. Formulation of the theory of cellular structure (Schwann, M. Schleiden, German, 1838)
8. Advances in embryology (the discovery of the mammalian egg and the formulation of the law of germinal similarity (K. Baer, Russian), showing the historical relationship of vertebrates
9. Progress in paleontology, which showed the change of animal and plant forms over time, an increase in the organization of animals over time, the growing similarity of the structure of extinct animals with modern ones, anthropological finds
10. Evidence of the variability and evolution of the earth's crust over time under the influence of natural causes that are still active (climate, precipitation, winds, earthquakes, volcanoes, etc.); the principle of actualism, i.e., the connection between the transformations of the earth's crust and changes in living nature (C. Lyell, English,! 833); C. Lyell's book "Fundamentals of Geology" Charles Darwin took on a trip around the world and considered him his teacher
11. Malthusian population theory
12. Vigorous accumulation of descriptive factual material in all areas of biological science (systematics, comparative anatomy, embryology, zoology, botany, biogeography, ecology, paleontology, etc.)
13. Round-the-world trip to Charles Darwin as a naturalist on the ship "Beagle" (1831 - 1836) collection of huge paleontological and modern biological material, natural science facts during the expedition and more than twenty years of work on its study and comprehension
