AdamHWeek5

The site on “//Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation”// was very enlightening. “Vestiges” was an anonymously published book that tried to tie evolution and creation together. The book was a “viral” hit, to take a term from modern times, and was one of the most widely read books of the 1800s. Through this time books would get published and either have a good first year or a bad first year. No matter what happened through the first year, the popularity kept going down and down. This book managed to buck the system. It remained as a mainstream book for over twenty months with many debates over its subject matter. ‘The early pages described a nebular hypothesis of the universe, showing how stars, planets, and moons had evolved from a gaseous "Fire-mist." Tennyson then followed the book's story of geological progress, from simple invertebrate animals up through fish, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and man. These were ideas he knew well. God worked through a law that brought forth new species just as it did new worlds. Man's spiritual sense and reason were the products of development, part of what the unknown author called "the universal gestation of nature."’ Newspapers and journals all had glowing reviews of the book so much to the point where in 1845 two major refutations were published over it. The refutes were supposed to show the power of the book reviews to go against the popular culture. Even though they were only published to try and slow the books popularity, the reviews became two of the main arguments against the Vestiges. The idea of combining evolution with creation is an idea that appeals to me. As a believer in the creation story, I recognize that there are many concrete clues that evolution occurred and is still going on. I feel that “//Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation”// would probably have a good explanation for this since its main idea is that evolution follows God’s laws. Darwin was looking to prove that all living things on earth shared a common ancestor. Even with his theories of evolution, scientists have not proven that all living beings are connected. Darwin was born into a wealthy family and he was practically forced to become a clergyman and doctor before he became a scientist. Darwin’s first major “obsession” in science was with beetle collecting which seems much less dignified than his family. Here he recounts a memorable event; //"One day, on tearing off some old bark, I saw two rare beetles, and seized one in each hand; then I saw a third and new kind, which I could not bear to lose, so that I popped the one which I held in my right hand into my mouth. Alas! it ejected some intensely acrid fluid, which burnt my tongue so that I was forced to spit the beetle out, which was lost, as was the third one."// After Darwin graduated college he joined the crew of the H.M.S. Beagle where he was the naturalist. “Darwin later called the //Beagle// voyage **‘by far the most important event in my life,’** saying it ‘determined my whole career."’ When he left for the trip exploring the coast of South America, Darwin was still planning on becoming a clergyman. He had no idea that the ideas he formulated on the trip would push him away from the church so much.