Darwin: Discussion Starter

In Darwin’s The Origin of Species, he introduces the idea of natural selection, the theory that organisms better adapted to their environment tend to survive and produce more offspring. This theory of change could be considered as teleological depending on how you look at it. The process does not necessarily imply that there is an endpoint because evolution is never ending. The environment is constantly changing, so organisms are constantly adapting, and as a result natural selection will always be taking effect. However, it could be seen as having a purpose. The purpose of organisms could be said to be to produce as many surviving offspring as possible in order to spread their genes, and if these genes are favorable, natural selection will promote their continuity. So there is no end, but the purpose could be to promote the continuity of the “stronger” variation of an organism.

The difference between natural selection and 'selection under domestication' (which I am assuming to mean artificial selection) is that organisms with the most adaptable traits are not necessarily the ones breeding. Humans have managed to domesticate certain organisms and breed them so they can control the resulting traits to be in their favor. The trait may not be more favorable for the organism's’ survival, but is continued to be passed on for the benefit of humans. This can be easily confused because in both cases a favorable trait is being bred, but the difference is who the trait is beneficial for.

The theory of natural selection can be applied to the history of modern day organizations. Sports teams, for example, undergo their own sort of evolution. They tend to change over time, recruiting the best players as those who were once good for the team are no longer able to be to the team’s benefit. Once a player grows older and is not able to play as well, he leaves the team and then the team recruits a player who shows desirable traits for the position that needs filling. If a baseball team loses their best pitcher, they would want to recruit someone with a good arm who can pitch. The team ends up adapting by taking in different players with different skill levels in order to satisfy a strategy to make them the best team, just like natural selection selects for individuals with the best traits to survive.

Darwin’s theory of natural selection is criticized by some for being in contradiction with the first few verses of Genesis. In the first verses, it is stated that God creates different organisms spontaneously, in particular that men was created in God’s image. Darwin’s theory contradicts because it suggests that these organisms were not created as they were stated to be in the book of Genesis. He asserts that they instead originated by the slow process of evolution, and so he rejects the book of Genesis. Even if people do not interpret Genesis literally, they may take offense to this rejection because it is a stepping stone to reject the bible and religion as a whole. This could be why Darwin’s theory is more offensive than that of Adam Smith. As presented by another classmate, Smith’s theory may be offensive because it is the driving force of capitalism, which promotes self-interest, contradicting the general ideas of the bible to give to others. However, Darwin’s theory rejects an entire book in the bible, and that may set precedent to reject religion as whole, making him more disliked than Smith.