Week 7

Lecture 1 (Monday)

Genesis and geology
Changes in geology lead to changes ~~as to~~in our perception of how long life ishas been on earth.
Darwin was working with the people before him and around him
Many revolutions at this time
Very polarized society
Thomas Malthus
- Looks for scientific rules
- Writes about the connection between food supply and a nation's population
- Darwin reads his ~~works,~~works and will ~~reply~~reply.
David Strauss and Charles Lyell talk about different ways to interpret the Bible.
- "How do we interpret Genesis?"
- David Strauss causes a stir around Europe with a book on the life of Jesus.
Darwin
- Are species fixed and immutable? Can they change? Can one transform into another?
- How old is the earth? Does the age of the planet correspond exactly to the history of humankind?
Alexander von Humboldt
- Visits South America and writes about it
- Inspires Darwin

Darwin challenged all the current teachings of the time
He saw humankind as a part of the living world, not different from it
Favorable positions were preserved, and unfavorable positions were eliminated
Many people did not like the new ideas
Had a thinking path
His wife was concerned about him going to heaven.
Darwin mislabeled some of the things he brought back from the islands. He made all his discoveries at home, none in the Galapagos.
Spent 8 years studying barnacles.
Pushed for phylogenetic trees with the reason of evolution.
His daughter's death pushed him away from Christianity and destroyed him.
Used pigeons to show natural selection. This was through artificial selection.