Incest in the family, religious education and other little-known facts about the "father of the theory of evolution": Charles Darwin

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Charles Darwin, "The Father of the Theory of Evolution", was born in the English town of Shrewsbury on February 12, 1809. His father, Robert Darwin, was a fairly well-known doctor, the mother of the future scientist came from the Wedgwood family, world famous for their pottery, and his grandfather, the naturalist scientist Erasmus Darwin, also came from a well-known English family. Both the Darwin and Wedgwood families adhered to the Christian religion called Unitarianism, which rejects the doctrine of the Trinity. Charles Darwin has been revered for over a century because of his famous theory, but few people know a number of curious facts about his life.

10 There is incest in Darwin's family tree

Charles Darwin is called the "father of evolution" because his theory changed the world and the way people view genetics. Ironically, this did not make him more "immune" to genetic defects than the rest of humanity. Darwin had ten children in total. Of the seven who survived to adulthood, three never had children, despite very long marriages. In fact, an in-depth study of Darwin's family tree in 2010 showed that it was full of incest (cousins married to cousins), which is known to reduce immunity to disease and increase the chances of infertility. For example, his mother, Suzanne, was born into a family of cousins. Darwins were perhaps the most egregious case of incest in history.

9 Darwin originally trained as a priest

Darwin entered the University of Edinburgh in 1825 to study medicine, but soon found himself disgusted with surgery. Therefore, he transferred to the University of Cambridge and was going to become an Anglican priest (this was very much his father had hoped for). While attending Cambridge University (from which he graduated in 1831), Darwin became interested in natural history, which ended his interest in theology, as well as his desire to become an Anglican priest. Interestingly, Erasmus Darwin came up with a basic version of evolutionary theory long before his grandson published his version.

8 The famous Beagle trip

In 1831, Charles Darwin, who had not previously studied natural history at all, spent five years traveling around the world, including South America and the Pacific Islands, on the research vessel HMS Beagle. During the voyage, Darwin made countless geological and biological observations, some of which are still known today. Darwin's diaries convincingly show that he already at that time accepted the theory of evolution, which his grandfather had told him about. Most think of Darwin as an atheist, but he was never an atheist, but in fact adhered to deism (God created the universe and then left so that he had no further contact with his creation). Later in life, he claimed to be something of an agnostic, and although Darwin never became an atheist, he rejected the theory of divine creation in Genesis.

7 was Charles Darwin a plagiarist

In the 19th century, ideas such as evolutionary theory were considered heretical and could lead to persecution by the Anglican Church. Darwin knew this, so he did not really expand on his theory, discussing it only with close friends. This changed in 1858 when he heard that Alfred Russell Wallace had developed a theory very similar to his own, after which he published On the Origin of Species in 1859. It may seem strange today, but Darwin had by then assimilated a huge amount of data from the work of many of his contemporaries, including his main rival Alfred Wallace. There is evidence to support claims that Darwin deliberately delayed the publication of his book for a year because he needed time to plagiarize the entire theory. For example, in the 1830s, a man named Patrick Matthew wrote a book explaining natural selection, and it is claimed that Darwin later took it as the basis for his evolution without even mentioning Matthew. Many believe that Darwin was, at best, a mediocre scientist with a limited education.

6 Darwinism based on racism

Darwinism is based on the belief that some life forms have the ability to acquire more useful traits than others. This allows these organisms to survive in more unfavorable conditions. Thus, higher life forms are those that "deserve" to live because of their physical superiority. But Darwin applied this concept to humans, arguing that the white races are superior to the rest of humanity. This ideology evolved directly into what is known today as eugenics - a social philosophy that improves the hereditary qualities of a person by various means of artificial intervention, including genetics. The goal of eugenics is to create smarter and healthier people to conserve natural resources. Moreover, Hitler based his views on Darwinism, claiming the "superiority of the Aryan race."

5 Can neo-Darwinism preserve the theory of evolution

Neo-Darwinism is an attempt by the supporters of the evolutionary theory to both restore the reputation of a scientist and better "adjust" the theory to the current realities. The reason for this is simple: they want to continue to explain life on our planet without having to refer to some supernatural being. But the problem is that Darwinism turned out to be, to put it mildly, "intolerant" by today's standards. Darwin was racist because of his attitude towards people of color, as well as women, who, in his opinion, were inferior to men.

4 Can mutations supplant Mendelian genetics

According to Mendel's genetics, life forms cannot and do not change over time, so genetic mutations are almost always harmful. Darwinism claims the exact opposite: genetic mutations are beneficial and are the main mechanism that drives evolution. The father of genetics, Gregor Mendel, was a contemporary of Darwin. He was also well versed in science, about which Darwin knew almost nothing: genetics (and it is her followers of Darwin who are trying to "squeeze" their idol into the theory). This in turn gave rise to neo-Darwinism. But the problem is that random mutations are far from always able to create genetic information that leads to a beneficial mutation for the organism. Evolutionists claim that examples of this exist in nature, and cite the example of people with sickle cell disease, a very serious blood disorder. Doctors have found that patients with sickle cell disease are more likely to survive by contracting malaria. Evolutionists call this a "beneficial mutation" and the "proof" of their theory in action.

3 The illusion of intelligent design

This concept is devoid of logical reasoning, but it is worth remembering. Professor Dawkins believes that natural selection can be compared to a blind watchmaker - after all, he does not see what will happen next, does not plan the consequences and has no goal. Nevertheless, the living results of natural selection overwhelmingly impress everyone with their "planned" design, as if the master watchmaker meticulously assembled the mechanism from small parts.

2 Indivisible complexity - an amazing world under a microscope

"Inseparable complexity" is a term that, since it was first coined, has generated a lot of debate in the scientific community. And this is not happening without reason. Molecular biology has advanced greatly since the 19th century. For biologists back then, a cage was less complex than a doorknob. Scientists now know that the human cell is more complex at the microscopic level than some spacecraft. Indeed, if Darwin had used the same technology as it is today, he would undoubtedly revise his theory. Scientists are now comparing the complex biological structures of one human cell with a modern car engine, which is also a very complex system and will not work if even one key part is removed from it.

1 Darwin and his legacy

Darwinism proposed a theory of the origin of humanity in an attempt to replace belief in a divine creator, a belief that was common to many cultures and religions around the world. Today, in the new era of neo-Darwinism, all that matters is the "survival of the fittest," since "only the strong survive." According to evolutionary theory, human suffering is largely irrelevant, and responsibility for one's own actions is no longer a determining factor, because life supposedly evolved only by pure chance. Darwinism and the rampant racism that has come about has led to some of the worst suffering for various groups in human history, but it still exists.