History †Western Civilization Essay

Darwins view on natural selection is that human beings incessantly presents single(a) differences in all bring outs of his body and in his mental faculties. These differences or variations seem to be induced by the analogous general causes, and to obey the same laws as with the lower animals. In two cases similar laws of inheritance prevail. Man consorts to increase at a great rate than his means of subsistence consequently he is occasionally subjected to a good struggle for existence, and natural selection will have effected some(prenominal) lies within its scope.A succession of strongly-marked variations of a similar nature is by no means requi site slight fluctuating differences in the individual suffice for the work of natural selection not for any grounds to suppose that in the same species, all parts of the organization tend to vary to the same degree. It may be assuring that the inherited make of the long-continued use or disuse of parts will have through with(p) practically in the same direction with natural selection.Modifications formerly of importance, though no longer of any special use, are long-inherited. When one part is modified, early(a) parts change through the principle of correlation, of which we have instances in galore(postnominal) curious cases of correlated monstrosities. Something may be attributed to the direct and certain(prenominal) action of the surrounding conditions of life, such as abundant food, heat or moisture and lastly, many characters of slight physiological importance, some indeed of grand importance, have been gained through sexual selection.The belief in God has practically been advanced as not only the greatest, but the most finish of all the limpidions between man and the lower animals. It is however impossible to prevent that this belief is innate or instinctive in man. On the other hand a belief in all-pervading spiritual agencies seems to be ecumenical and apparently follows from a considerabl e advance in mans reason, and from a still greater advance in his faculties of imagination, curiosity and wonder.Darwins aware that the assumed instinctive belief in God has been utilise by many persons as an argument for His existence. But this is a prime argument, as one thus is compelled to believe in the existence of many cruel and malignant spirits, only a little more sinewy than man for the belief in them is far more general than in a beneficent Deity. The idea of a universal and beneficent spring does not seem to arise in the mind of man, until one has been magisterial by long-continued culture.Darwins view on race talks just about modifications acquired independently of selection, and due to variations arising from the nature of the organism and the action of the surrounding conditions, or from changed habits of life, no single orthodontic braces will have been modified much more than the other pairs inhabiting the same country, for all will have been continually blen ded through free intercrossing. Since man attained to the rank of manhood, he has diverged into distinct races, or as they may be more suitably called, sub-species.Some of these, such as the Negro and European, are so distinct that, if specimens had been brought to a naturalist without any further information, they would undoubtedly have been considered by him as good and true species. Nevertheless all the races agree in so many unimportant details of structure and in so many mental peculiarities that these can be accounted for only by inheritance from a common progenitor and a progenitor thus characterized would belike deserve to rank as man.But it must not be supposed that the divergence of each race from the other races, and of all from a common stock, can be traced back to any one pair of progenitors.REFERENCEDarwin, C. (1874). The derivation of man, and selection in relation to sex. New York A. L. Burt. Hart, M. (1992). The descent of man the origin of species. Retrieved Aug ust 15, 2006, from the Great Literature Book-Worm org Web sitehttp//www. book-worm. org/darwin-charles/the-descent-of-man/chapter-21. html