Term Papers on Theory Of Evolution

Term Paper Title	Theory Of Evolution
# of Words	4379
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	17.52

Theory of Evolution

Title of Paper : Theory of Evolution
Grade Received on Report : 87

     TABLE OF CONTENTS                    Page

INTRODUCTION ............................................... 2

DARWINIAN THEORY OF EVOLUTION .............................. 4

THE THEORY OF BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION:
               CONTRIBUTING ELEMENTS ....................... 7

WALLACE'S CONTRIBUTIONS ................................... 13

HARDY-WEINBERG PRINCIPLE .................................. 15

COMPARISON:  LAMARCK vs. DARWIN ........................... 16

DARWIN'S INFLUENCES ....................................... 20

METHODS OF SCIENTIFIC DEDUCTION ........................... 23

LIMITS TO DARWIN'S THEORY ................................. 25

MORPHOLOGICAL & BIOLOGICAL CONCEPTS ....................... 27

BIO-EVOLUTION:  POPULATION vs. INDIVIDUALS ................ 29

MECHANISMS FOR GENETIC VARIATION .......................... 31

GENETIC VARIATION AND SPECIATION .......................... 35

DARWIN'S FINCHES .......................................... 37

SPECIATION vs. CONVERGENT EVOLUTION ....................... 39

CONCEPT OF ADAPTATION ..................................... 41

PUNCTUATED EQUILIBRIUM .................................... 43

VALUE/LIMITATIONS:  THE THEORY OF BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION .... 45

ALTERNATE EXPLANATIONS OF BEING ........................... 47

CONCLUSIONS ............................................... 48

     INTRODUCTION

     Theories explaining biological evolution have been bandied about since the ancient Greeks, but it
was not until the Enlightment of the 18th century that widespread acceptance and development of this
theory emerged.  In the mid 19th century english naturalist Charles Darwin - who has been called the
"father of evolution" -  conceived of the most comprehensive findings about organic evolution ever .
Today many of his principles still entail modern interpretation of evolution.
     I've assessed and interpreted the basis of Darwin's theories on evolution, incorporating a number
of other factors concerning evolutionary theory in the process.  Criticism of Darwin's conclusions abounds
somewhat more than has been paid tribute to,   however Darwin's findings marked a revolution of thought
and social upheaval unprecedented in Western consciousness challenging not only the scientific
community, but  the prominent religious institution as well.  Another revolution in science of a lesser nature
was also spawned by Darwin, namely the remarkable simplicity with which his major work The Origin of
the Species was written - straightforward English, anyone capable of a logical argument could follow it -
also unprecedented in the scientific community (compare this to Isaac Newton's horribly complex work
taking the scientific community years to interpret ).
     Evolutionary and revolutionary in more than one sense of each word.  Every theory mentioned in
the following reading, in fact falls back to Darwinism.
     DARWINIAN THEORY OF BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION

     Modern conception of species and the idea of organic
evolution had been part of Western consciousness since the mid-17th century (a la John Ray) , but wide-
range acceptance of this idea, beyond the bounds of the scientific community, did not arise until Darwin
published his findings in 1958 .  Darwin first developed his theory of biological evolution in 1938,
following his five-year circumglobal voyage in the southern tropics (as a naturalist) on the H.M.S. Beagle,
and perusal of one Thomas Malthus' An Essay on the Principle of Population which proposed that
environmental factors, such as famine and disease limited human population growth .  This had direct
bearing on Darwin's theory of natural selection, furnishing him with an enhanced conceptualization of the
"survival of the fittest" - the competition among individuals of the same species for limited resources - the
"missing piece" to his puzzle .  For fear of contradicting his father's beliefs, Darwin did not publish his
f...

This is ONLY a preview of the article. If you would like to view the entire document, you must subscribe to Digital Term Papers. Please register below now!

Digital Term Papers has over 63,000 essays, term papers, and book notes online. Many paper sites will charge you hundreds of dollars for a single paper. Digital Term Papers only charges $14.95 for a one month membership with instant account activation!

Don't waste anymore time! Join NOW!!!

1 Month (automatic renewal) ($14.95)

3 Months (automatic renewal) ($29.95)

6 Months (one-time billing) ($39.95)

Pay by: