Charles Darwin's Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection

Charles Darwin: Architect of Evolutionary Theory

Darwin's Life and Enduring Scientific Impact

Charles Robert Darwin (February 12, 1809 – April 19, 1882) was an English naturalist who postulated that all species of living things have evolved over time from a common ancestor through a process called natural selection. Evolution was accepted as fact by the scientific community and much of the public in his lifetime. While his theory of evolution by natural selection was not considered the primary explanation of the evolutionary process until the 1930s, it now forms the basis of the modern evolutionary synthesis. Amended and expanded, Darwin's scientific discoveries are still the foundational pillar of biology as a science, providing a logical explanation that unifies observations on the diversity of life.

What is Evolution? A Fundamental Biological Process

Evolution is the process by which a species changes over generations. Since it takes place very slowly, many generations must pass before significant variation becomes apparent.

Tracing Life's Origins: From Mystery to Science

Early Speculations on Life's Diversity

Since ancient times, the origin of life and the emergence of the wide variety of known organisms remained a mystery that, to a lesser or greater extent, aroused the curiosity of scientists. However, superstition, prejudice, religious dogmas, and unprovable theories—due to the limited scientific knowledge of those times—often led to the issue being forgotten or the inability to trace origins simply accepted.

Modern Scientific Inquiry into Origins

It was not until relatively recently that humanity was able to finally address this issue with reliable criteria and sufficient scientific knowledge to prove hypotheses.

"On the Origin of Species": Darwin's Revolutionary Work

Natural Selection: The Core Mechanism

On the Origin of Species (original English title: On the Origin of Species) is a book by Charles Darwin, published on November 24, 1859. It is considered one of the pioneering works of scientific literature and the foundation of the theory of evolutionary biology. In this book, Charles Darwin (1809-1882) proposed the mechanism of natural selection as an explanation for the origin of species. Making a parallel with artificial selection by humans in plants or livestock, Darwin created the concept of natural selection, in which nature selects the most suitable individuals for survival in a particular environment and discards the least fit.