Charles Darwin: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 17:00, 24 November 2005

Revision as of 17:06, 24 November 2005

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In South America he discovered fossils of gigantic extinct [[megatherium|megatheria]] and [[glyptodon]]s in strata which showed no signs of catastrophe or change in climate. At the time, he thought them similar to African species, but after the voyage [[Richard Owen]] showed that the remains were of animals related to living creatures in the same area. In [[Argentina]] two species of [[Rhea (bird)|rhea]] had separate but overlapping territories. Darwin found different [[mockingbird]]s on the nearby [[Galápagos Islands]], and on returning to Britain he was shown that Galápagos [[tortoise]]s and [[finch]]es were also in distinct species based on the individual islands they inhabited. The Australian [[marsupial]] rat-kangaroo and [[platypus]] were strikingly different animals. This made him remark that "An unbeliever ... might exclaim 'Surely two distinct Creators must have been [at] work'." In the first edition of ''[[The Voyage of the Beagle]]'', he explained species distribution in light of [[Charles Lyell]]'s ideas of "centres of creation"; however, in later editions of this ''Journal'' he foreshadowed his use of Galápagos Islands fauna as evidence for evolution: "one might really fancy that from an original paucity of birds in this archipelago, one species had been taken and modified for different ends."

Three natives of [[Tierra del Fuego]] returningreturned with themthe Beagle as missionaries. They had become civilized over the previous two years, yet their relatives appeared to himDarwin savages little above animals. Within a year, the missionaries had -in Darwin's opinion- reverted to savagery,.<!--Please specify what "savagery" they returned to, as this term is a highly loaded one.--> yetYet they preferred this and did not want to returningreturn to civilization. This experience and his detestation of the slavery he saw elsewhere convinced him that the widespread concept of inferior races was incorrect, and that humanity was not as far removed from animals as his clerical friends believed.

While on board the ship, Darwin suffered from seasickness, in October 1833 he caught a fever in Argentina, and in July 1834, while returning from the Andes down to [[Valparaíso]], he fell ill and spent a month in bed. From 1837 onwards Darwin was repeatedly incapacitated with episodes of stomach pains, vomiting, severe boils, palpitations, trembling and other symptoms, which particularly affected him at times of stress, such as when attending meetings or dealing with controversy over his theory. The cause of [[Charles Darwin's illness|Darwin's illness]] was unknown during his lifetime, and attempts at treatment had little success. Recent speculation has suggested that in South America he caught [[Chagas disease]] from insect bites, leading to the later problems. Other possible causes include psychobiological problems.