Who Was Charles Darwin Influenced By?
I would argue that Thomas Malthus had the largest impact on Darwin’s development of his Natural Selection theory. Malthus was a prominent economist who wrote an important piece of work titled, An Essay on the Principle of Population. This piece highlighted the dynamic between a population’s growth and it’s ever-constant resources. Although Malthus was far from interested in natural selection, his idea of environmental restraints on species that caused an element of population control, was key in the early development of Darwin’s theory. He emphasized that species reproduced far more young than could be accommodated for in a limited resource environment. By the time Darwin had read Malthus’s work, he had already begun his journey of inquiring knowledge of how nature progresses and how survival is determined. Malthus certainly contributed to Darwin’s curiosity. Malthus wanted to demonstrate that this principle applied to humankind, however, Darwin fixated on the species and deepened the questioning of just how nature worked.
The points under how evolution works that were most influenced by Malthus were:
- “All organisms have the potential of reproducing exponentially.”
- “Resources are limited.”
These two points alone are powerful messages Malthus was trying to convey. He was concerned with the patterns he was seeing amongst human reproduction and resources that seemed to remain constant despite the growth in those using them. Darwin’s theory confirmed that organisms do indeed reproduce more than they can care for, but he added that it is all for a calculated reason. Species over-reproduce to account for the fact that not all offspring are going to survive. Yes, resources are limited and this fact allows nature to decide which offspring are most equipped to survive in a complex environment. Tying these things together, Darwin was able to build upon what Malthus originally put on paper.
I don’t think Darwin would have been able to develop his theory in the way he did without the influence of Malthus because it was Thomas Malthus’s work that gave Darwin something to work off of. He said it himself in his autobiography when he stated the following:
"In October 1838, that is, fifteen months after I had begun my systematic inquiry, I happened to read for amusement Malthus on Population, and being well prepared to appreciate the struggle for existence which everywhere goes on from long- continued observation of the habits of animals and plants, it at once struck me that under these circumstances favourable variations would tend to be preserved, and unfavourable ones to be destroyed. The results of this would be the formation of a new species. Here, then I had at last got a theory by which to work” (Darwin, 1876).
Although it was being applied differently, the underlying principle Malthus was making strongly supported the work Darwin had dove into, thus allowing Darwin to further form his thoughts and theories regarding natural selection.
During the time of Darwin’s research and theory development, the church was anything but supportive of his ideas. The church had a very strict view of life in general- how it was made, by whom, and why. To them it all went back to the bible and the facts they felt to be true. The idea that organisms started from an almost non-existent place and slowly over time evolved themselves over billions of years was too grand for them to handle; change was not good. This fact was troubling to Darwin at first as he grew up in a well-respected household and at the time, to speak out against the church was a huge deal. He was hesitant to cast himself into the limelight in the name of science, so much so that he waited more than two decades before sharing his knowledge with others. Darwin did end up publishing his theories and although his findings were not accepted by the church, they did widely shape what we know about nature and evolution today.
For more information on Thomas Malthus or the influence he had on Charles Darwin, visit either of the links below:
Great post! I also ran across some research that really put Malthus very high up on the list of influences in Darwin's life. I actually have Malthus' book, Essay on the Principles of Population, although I have to admit that I have not yet read it. The concept of survival of the fittest is integral in the evolutionary theory, so it is definitely important to understand where that influence came from. I think it's also important to understand that the evolutionary theory has more influences than just science. It also stems from an understanding of economics, which gives the theory a more solid base and a larger platform of influence.
ReplyDeleteSo true! Thanks for your feedback. It definitely is important to see all the elements that contribute to the scientific field, not just the science itself.
DeleteOverall, very good summation on Malthus' work and you are correct that Malthus was primarily focused on human populations. One clarification:
ReplyDelete"He emphasized that species reproduced far more young than could be accommodated for in a limited resource environment."
Actually, Malthus spoke terms of "potentials"... he was a mathematician, keep in mind. So he recognized that populations had the *potential* to reproduce at an exponential rate, while resources grew at an arithmetic rate (i.e., much slower). He noted natural populations (non-human) tended to not over-populate past their environments capacity, but humans did tend to do so. That was Malthus' concern. And it was the fact that natural populations did not overpopulate that caught Darwin's attention.
Excellent choice of bullet points. Yes, Malthus two key contributions is the concept of potential exponential population growth and arithmetic growth rates of resources.
Great quote! Yes, I think we can take Darwin at his word as to how important Malthus was to his work.
" the church was anything but supportive of his ideas."
Actually, the church didn't know Darwin existed until after he published, though that doesn't mean the church didn't play a role in Darwin's decision to delay. You do go on and discuss this later, but was there any other reason Darwin may have delayed beyond the idea that it wasn't socially acceptable to speak out against the church? This is important because, technically, Darwin wasn't speaking against the church at all. He was presenting a scientific concept on evolutionary processes. So what was really going on here? What were Darwin's concerns? And was he only worried about himself or was he also worried about how his family might be impacted by publishing? Remember that his wife was very devout. How might she have been impacted if the church responded negatively to Darwin? Remember that scientists don't work in a vacuum. They can be influenced not just by academics but also by social, cultural and personal issues.
Thank you for the input, professor! I appreciate you taking the time to clarify those few things for me. After reading some other responses to how the church influenced Darwin's decision to share his work, I realized I could have dug a bit deeper with my answer. You're totally right, it wasn't just the church itself but everything (and everyone) that surrounded that- his family, his wife, his social standing, etc. If it had just been the fear of the church body casting judgement on him and him alone, he probably would have published his theory much earlier. However, he had other things to consider before doing so.
DeleteThank you for the response, Katelyn.
DeleteGreat post Katelyn! I chose Thomas Malthus for my blog post as well. I found it interesting how Malthus principles can be applied to both culture and science. It amazes me that just one person's research can inspire others to make new discoveries. I love how you cited Darwin's Autobiography! it furthers your credibility as an authority on the topic and strengthens your argument. You have inspired me to do this in future posts. Keep up the hard work.
ReplyDeleteI think that your post was very well written and had a lot of great information in there. You exectuted your words quite well. The only thing I want to point out is that you wrote a lot of information on Malthus but I feel like you did not give enough information on how he influenced Darwin. You dabbled a little bit but I just wish there was more of a connection between the two. Overall, I enjoyed reading your blog post.
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