I often wonder how I really came to be where I am.

I look at my personal history and past and

wonder how those patterns came to be. Where did humanity come from? I was raised with the
idea that some intelligent being in the sky brought me here, but as I started going to school, a
different idea struck a chord with me that seemed more legitimate than the one I was brought up
with. This idea is the theory of evolution. I dont necessarily believe in it, but I prefer it over the
one I was brought up with. This theory is important because it has gone through an evolution all
of its own, from Greek philosophers to French scientists. It went mainstream through the Darwin
family, mainly Charles Darwin with his idea of Natural Selection and was expanded upon by
numerous scientists. This theory went through plenty of steps to bring us here in this moment of
time using the capability of vocal speech to communicate with members of the same species.
1. The idea of a species evolving from one into another is not unique to Charles Darwin.
There have been people who either spoke or wrote about evolution before him.
a. According to a book by historian Don Nardo, in Greece during the sixth century
BC, a philosopher-scientist by the name of Anaximander said that the first animals
came out of the waters and adapted to their environments. Anaximander also said that
human beings came about through similar means. Nardo quotes Anaximander saying,
Man came into being from an animal other than himself, namely the fish, which in
early times he resembled. Nardo also said that in the fifth century BC, another
Greek by the name of Empedocles hinted at evolution by saying things like
Monstrous and misshapen births were created, but their existence was all in vain.
Nature debarred them from increase.
b. In his book, Nardo mentioned a physicist named Pierre Maupertuis, who was born
in 1698. Maupertuis noticed that people were often successfully breeding animals and
plants, and were regularly creating new kinds of animals and plants. He figured that
different species in existence at the time were also prone to change. He eventually
came up with an explanation that foreshadowed the discovery of genes which are (the
tiny particles that determine the physical characteristics of living things) and
mutations (random genetic alterations that cause physical changes). Maupertuis wrote
Repeated deviations would have arrived at the infinite diversity of animals that we
see today but to which perhaps the passage of centuries will bring only
imperceptible increases.
c. The idea that set forth Charles Darwins theory was put in motion by his grandfather
Erasmus Darwin, a radical thinker of his time who wrote briefly about the evolution
of species. An article on AccessScience, accessed on May 8, said that Erasmus came
up with many of his ideas through observation. This article described Erasmuss idea
saying evolution is brought about by a largely unconscious effort of will.
2. The traditional view of evolution is usually described by happening through a process
called natural selection, which, According to Biology-online.com, accessed May 8 is
the process by which genetic traits that increase an organisms chances of survival are
favored over less beneficial traits. Natural Selection is the prevalent theory, but not the
only one.
a. In their article titled "Self-organization, Natural Selection, and Evolution
which appeared in the 11th issue of 2010, Brian R Johnson, and Sheung Kwan
Lam describe Natural Selection by saying that beneficial traits that get inherited can
cause changes in average physical features of the population that will occur as a result

of the greater contribution to each generation from the most fit individuals. Johnson
and Lam are basically solidifying the traditional claim of survival of the fittest.
b. According to a book byFrancisco Jose Ayala, Darwin came up with the idea of
natural selection to explain the organized adaptive behavior of a group in any
particular species, and that evolutionary change is a byproduct that doesnt always
occur as a result of natural selection.
c. Johnson and Lam, mentioned before say that natural selection is a theory that came
about as a result of research and observation that was done using the naked eye. They
believe that for physical changes to occur, interaction between the environment and
the organism at the cellular level had to happen. Their big example is that the cell
membrane may have developed before DNA. They said that a barrier to the outside
world was a major factor in creating the conditions for life. The DNA has instructions
on how to manipulate the behavior of the membrane to either create hills or
depressions to direct molecules from or away from certain regions.
3. The theory of evolution, as it exists today, went through a rigorous refining process. The
science of genetics and the idea of random mutations along with learning how to use
tools have been plugged into the idea of natural selection to expand and solidify the
theory.
a. In his book, Ayala wrote that the discovery of genetics by an Austrian monk named
Gregor Mendel was the missing link in the theory of evolution. Mendels work was
happening at about the same time Charles Darwins Origin of Species was published.
The main point of Mendels work is that genes maintain their distinct characteristics
in the crossbreed and are so passed on by the hybrid to its descendants.
b. Ayala also said that the discovery of mutation is also an important contribution to the
theory. Mutation is the changing of one gene into another. Mutations that are not
suited for an efficient adaptation dont get passed on to their descendants, and
eventually that mutation dies out. Mutations that are useful get passed down through
the generations.
c. In an article titled "The story in the stones which appeared in New Scientist on
March 1, 2014 David Robson wrote that the motor control areas of the brain that are
used for learning how to use tools effectively also function to produce language, and
speech as methods of communication.
Using our methods of verbal communication, we as a species eventually put our history down in
print so that it could be accessible through a means that only requires looking, and sometimes
listening. If you were listening, I told you that Darwins ideas were around before his family that
Darwins theory is prevalent and is continuously being expanded upon. If this theory is true, and
I hope it is, then we will continue to evolve whether we believe its happening or not.