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WALLACE, ALFRED RUSSELL.
Term Paper ID:28658
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Essay Subject:
Life & views of 19th Century biologist. His support of Darwin's theory of natural selection.... More...
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Paper Abstract:
Life & views of 19th Century biologist. His support of Darwin's theory of natural selection.
Paper Introduction:
Alfred Russell Wallace was a leading biologist in the nineteenth century and worked on writings with Charles Darwin. He was indeed one of Darwin's major supporters, in opposition to the alternative point of view embodied in Thomas Huxley and others. Wallace has not remained as well known as these other players in the controversy of the time, though he was extremely important in the development and dissemination of Darwin's theory of natural selection.
Alfred Russell Wallace was born in the village of Usk in Monmouthshire, England in 1823. His father died when Alfred was still young, and not long after that, formal schooling ended for the boy. He then joined his brother, William, in surveying a number of English counties, a task that extended over the next four years, an experience that taught him how to make accurate
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Department of Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, http://www.inform.umd.edu/PBIO/darwin/darwin 1.html.Wallace, Alfred. He was indeed one ofDarwin's major supporters, in opposition to the alternative point of viewembodied in Thomas Huxley and others. Bottino, and Charles F. Wallace has not remained as wellknown as these other players in the controversy of the time, though he wasextremely important in the development and dissemination of Darwin's theoryof natural selection. After a brief rest in Singapore, he headed to theislands of the Moluccas group, where he made his preparations for exploringthe region ("Alfred Russel Wallace [1823 - 1913]"). Alfred Russell Wallace was born in the village of Usk inMonmouthshire, England in 1823. There is thus a perpetual struggle among them which shall live and which shall die; and this struggle is tremendously severe, because so few can possibly remain alive--one in five, one in ten, often only one in a hundred or even one in a thousand (Wallace).Wallace thus expresses his version of Natural Selection and of Survival ofthe Fittest. Wallace and Mivartbelieved as much in evolution as did Darwin, but they wanted to express adifferent view of the mechanisms involved and of the results that can beseen in the world. However, he experienced disaster on the highseas when his ship caught fire and had to be abandoned. Alfred Wallace, On Darwin. Hethen joined his brother, William, in surveying a number of Englishcounties, a task that extended over the next four years, an experience thattaught him how to make accurate observations and detailed recordings,skills which would be of immense importance later in his life. Wallace was not defeated andturned his energies to writing an account of his time in Brazil, Travels onthe Amazon and Rio Negro (1853). Mivart does not give any idea of what this other cause might be,and Huxley said that Mivart is less of a Darwinian than Wallace but may bemore of an evolutionist because Wallace believed it necessary to invoke anintelligent agent to produce the animal frame of man, while Mivart requiredno divine intervention until he came to consider the human soul. Consequently every year, on the average, as many die as are born, plants as well as animals; and the majority die premature deaths. Bates and Wallace split up so they could cover a larger area.Wallace spent over four years in the tropical jungles of Brazil beforesetting sail for home in 1852. In Februaryof that year, Wallace was on the island of Halmahera (then called "Gilolo")in the Moluccas and was bed-ridden from an attack of malaria. Within a year, Alfred again left Englandto sail eastwards towards Singapore where, over the next eight years, hewould make the great voyage which led to his formulation of the theory ofNatural Selection. In 1855,Wallace published a cryptic note in guarded language entitled "On the LawWhich Has Regulated the Introduction of New Species" in the Annals andMagazine of Natural History, and in this piece, he maintained that newspecies arose from related, pre-existing species. They kill each other in a thousand different ways; they starve each other by some consuming the food that others want; they are destroyed largely by the powers of nature--by cold and heat, by rain and storm, by flood and fire. New York: AMS Press, 197 .Irvine, William. GeorgeMivart wrote many publications in which Darwin's views were discussed.Huxley stated that these arguments were worth examining first because ofthe known scientific competence of these writers and second because thesewriters showed an attention to the philosophical questions which is thebasis for all physical science (Huxley 12 -121). Wallace lost hisentire collection and most of his notes, though fortunately the crew andpassengers were rescued by a passing vessel. Darwin was impressed with this idea butobjected to the way in which Wallace referred to natural selection asDarwin's theory, for Darwin said it was as much Wallace's as his own(Irvine 182). Darwiniana. Works Cited"Alfred Russel Wallace (1823 - 1913)." http://www.iol.ie/~spice/alfred.htm.Huxley, T.H. Darwin got the letter and wrote immediatelyto Lyell: Some year or so ago, you recommended me to read a paper by Wallace in the Annals, which had interested you & as I was writing to him, I knew this would please him much, so I told him. This was in 1858. It was whilehe was ill and in a fever that he had an epiphany and drafted his own ideason "the survival of the fittest" in a single evening. While Darwin sought information on theevolution of obscure plants and animals, public debate began over the up-start Thomas H. "Darwin- Wallace 1858 Paper on Evolution: Introduction." The Darwin-Wallace 1858 Evolution Paper. Delwiche. Darwin started out writing an essay on his discoveries, but it wasturning into a major book. Wallace argued in various writings that human beings evolved from asingle species, and he stated the likelihood that physical differencesamong the races probably dated back to the dawn of human reason, at whichpoint natural selection ceased operating on the bodies of individuals andstarted to operate on the brains of social groups, at which point "the mostfavored races" were preserved. Two years later, the two friends set out for South America on anexpedition on which would they would explore the Amazon and Rio Negrorivers. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1955.Reveal, James L., Paul J. It seems to me well worth reading (Reveal, Bottino, and Delwiche). Mivart agreed that natural selection has been one of theconditions for the evolution of the lower animals, but he stated thatnatural selection even then must have been supplemented by some othercause. While there, he met Henry Walter Bates, afellow teacher who introduced Alfred to the methods and delights of botany. Charles Darwin was developingthe same idea on his own after his voyage on the Beagle from 1831 to 1836.Wallace traveled to the Malay Archipelago to collect for various museumsand private collectors, and at the time, he was looking specifically forevidence that related forms were found in both the Amazon Basin and on theArchipelago, believing that if he could find evidence that closely relatedspecies were found in widely dispersed regions of the world, this mightchallenge the idea that each species was created independently. He worked sent adraft to Darwin, asking that if Darwin thought the ideas worthy, he wouldsend the letter on to Lyell. Huxleynoted that there was considerable divergence between Wallace and Mivart(Huxley 122-123). He has to day sent me the enclosed & asked me to forward it to you. It was on this expedition that Wallace began to develop the idea thatwould be his version of Natural Selection. Wallace's writings show how much he reflects similaritieswith Darwin, as when he writes, From the first fact or law there follows, necessarily, a constant struggle for existence; because, while the offspring always exceed the parents in number, generally to an enormous extent, yet the total number of living organisms in the world does not, and cannot, increase year by year. Alfred Russell Wallace was a leading biologist in the nineteenthcentury and worked on writings with Charles Darwin. In the controversies that ensued, Alfred Wallace and St. Soon afterthis, Alfred was appointed to the position of drawing-master at theCollegiate School in Leicester. Huxley's (1825-1895) public challenge at the RoyalInstitute of Richard Owen's (18 4-1892), who had just proposed theestablishment of a new subclass for human, taxonomically isolating Homosapiens well away from the other primates. His father died when Alfred was stillyoung, and not long after that, formal schooling ended for the boy. At the time, Darwin didnot fully comprehend what Wallace was saying, viewing Wallace as only a"creationist." However, Lyell did understand what Wallace meant and soencouraged Darwin to publish his own work immediately to establish priority(Reveal, Bottino, and Delwiche). Wallace, says Huxley, denied that human beings evolvedfrom a lower animal by the process of natural selection as described byDarwin. http://www.wwnorton.com/college/history/ralph/workbook/ralprs31a. Darwin held that the process of natural selection is sufficientfor the evolution of man, while Wallace saw it as sufficient only for thelower animals. Apes, Angels, and Victorians.
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