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Charles Darwin (1809 – 1882)
The
Inadvertent Originator of Evolutionary Psychology
Charles
Robert Darwin was born on 12 February 1809 in Shrewsbury, England, the son of an
upper middle class physician. Charles’
mother died when he was eight years of age.
The next year, Charles was sent to a boarding school, also in Shrewsbury,
which he attended for seven more years. Because the school was only a mile from
his home, Charles was able to see his father, brother and sisters frequently.
Darwin studied math, sciences and literature, but was not considered an
especially good student. Nonetheless,
he was sent off to Edinburgh University in 1825, where he studied medicine for
two years. He found he had no
interest or inclination in that profession, but was instead impressed with some
Lamarckian ideas on evolution that he picked up along the way.
Also, in 1829, Darwin went along on an entomological survey trip of
Northern Wales with a well-known professor.
Darwin's childhood interest in that field was rekindled.
Graduating
in 1831, Darwin had showed no special talent for the clergy, either, but at
least he was exposed to a variety of influential scientists at Cambridge. He majored during his last year there in geology.
After graduation he began thinking about what career to pursue, and in
late summer he was invited to come along on a round-the-world trip as unpaid
naturalist on a survey ship, the H.M.S. Beagle.
In
the autumn of 1835, Darwin had the opportunity to observe the plants and animals
of the Galapagos Islands, as well as its geology.
(His notes on the finches and tortoises, of course, are still respected
and well remembered.)
In
1836 the Beagle finally returned to England, and Darwin took up residence in
London. In 1840 he published the first of the five volumes describing
the Beagle’s findings. Not forced
to pursue other gainful employment, he studied on his own for several more
years. In 1838 he proposed marriage
to Emma Wedgwood, whom he had been courting –— at first largely in letters
— for many years. In 1839 he both
married and was elected to the Royal Society.
(Reading his autobiography, one is certain he considered the former event
even more significant than the latter!)
Until
1855, Darwin busied himself studying and writing mostly about barnacles.
But in 1856, he began work on what he hoped would be a complete guide to
evolution — it was never finished to be finished, however.
(Later he thought of the Origin of Species as merely an abstract
of this larger, only imagined tome.)
In
1858 Darwin received a letter from the man who is now thought of as the
co-developer of evolution theory, Alfred Russell Wallace.
The letter more than hinted that he had developed his own theory of
natural selection. Of course
Darwin, always overly methodical and hesitant, was very alarmed that this
relative unknown might scoop his life’s work.
However, a compromise was reached, and in July of that year papers by
both Darwin and Wallace were read at the Linnaean Society, describing a theory
of evolution through the processes of natural selection.
With
this encouragement, Darwin finished his Origin of Species by the spring
of the next year. The first
printing, 1250 copies, hit the streets in November 1859 — and sold out the
first day!
In
1872, Darwin published his last major work, The Expression of the Emotions in
Man and Animals. He died ten
years later, leaving behind a careful body of work that has not only served to
stimulate many other branches of science (including of course psychology), but
remains largely unchallenged, just as it was originally envisioned.
Rev. 13
March 2001