Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
Human Understanding of the
Animal Kingdom
Humans have always had an intimate relationship with the rest of the animal
kingdom—hardly surprising since the human is, after all, just another
animal. Animals' evolution and our own evolution are not dissimilar. We have
depended on them for food and for clothing. They have a political, economic,
religious, and cultural significance for us. We have domesticated them and
developed an intricate emotional relationship with them. Just look at the way
we treat our pets today. And in all of this we have steadily gained an in-depth
understanding of the animal kingdom—and we are still learning.
Perhaps one of the greatest single developments in our understanding of
the natural world is due to the work of the British naturalist Charles Darwin.
Darwin, born in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, in 1809, showed an interested in
natural history from childhood, though it was while studying medicine at
Edinburgh that he began to study natural history. While there he increasingly
neglected his studies in medicine in favor of natural history, and while he was
studying at Christ's College, Cambridge, he became more serious and this
long-time interest began to bear fruit. In 1851 Darwin embarked on the now
famous venture that would later make his name as a leading proponent of
evolutionary theory: He joined the ship
HMS Beagle
on its around-the-world
journey to survey and chart coastlines. He did have some experience and
expertise in geology and entomology, though at this stage he still had much
to discover and his work had just begun.
Darwin was 50 when he finally published his great work,
On the Origin of
Species
, in 1859. The work was based on his extensive studies of the animal
world, including those made during his epic journey of almost five years on
the
H.M.S. Beagle
.
On the Origin of Species
created an immediate stir in the
scientific world and among the general public alike; the original print run of
1,250 copies sold out as soon as it left the printing press. The work not only
went on to have a profound impact on our understanding of the natural world;
it also placed evolutionary theory at the forefront of scientific and religious
debate. The issue of evolution, and in particular the implications for the origin
of man, struck at the heart of religious sensibilities of the time. So far-reaching
were his theories that they continue to be the cause of controversy to this day.
The natural selection of species and theories of evolutionary development
that apply to all living creatures as first expounded by Charles Darwin explain
how the diversity of life on earth has adapted and changed over time.
Darwin went on to suggest that these developments occurred in order for
species to fill the various niches that opened to them within a broad range
of natural environments. Darwinian theories assist us in understanding not
only how animals have exploited their particular niche in the natural world
but also how they have developed physical and behavioral traits to either
avoid competition (by exploiting new and untapped resources) or to gain an
