Charles Darwin Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Charles Darwin - Essay Example The life of Charles Darwin was as eventful as his works. He had keen interest in natural history from his boyhood days. Even though his mother died when he was just a little boy, he had a proper and cultivated upbringing courtesy to the care of his older brother Erasmus who looked after the schooling of Darwin. He picked up things that interested him quickly and paid attention to medical studies in the initial phase of his university life. Later on he learned taxidermy from John Edmonstone, a black slave born in Demarara in the continent of South America. The 'Journey of the Beagle' was the most important voyage that Darwin embarked on to explore the evolution of life on earth. His main objectives during this journey were to collect specimens of natural history and to investigate geology. Theoretical speculations were made along with acute observations on marine invertebrates. Darwin's stature as a scientist rose to dizzying heights by the time the Beagle returned in 1836. He settled in Cambridge to work on the publication of papers on evolution of species. Darwin's experimental observations on the Galapagos birds were among the primary topics of his theory, which were to be reassessed by our team of Darwin scholars. To proceed furthermore with the discussion in hand, let us look at the team that has made a reliving quest in the Galapagos to remind us of the pros and cons of natural imbalance. Our team consists of: 1) Frank J. Sulloway - Darwin scholar 2) William H. Durham - Evolutionary Biologist 3) Mark W. Moffett - Entomologist 4) Greg de Nevers - Botanist 5) Roger A. Lang, Jr. - Conservationist 6) Lance Milbrand - Cameraman 7) Kathy Turco - Sound Recordist 8) Patrick Gambuti, Jr. - Editor 9) Michael Whalen - Composer 10) Bruce Weiss - Producer/Director Frank J. Sulloway is one of the most famous Darwin scholars to have been inspired by the dedication and vision of Charles Darwin himself. Sulloways's life and philosophies have been shaped to a great extent by the adventurous spirit of Darwin. The sphere of his personal works is based on the evolutionary theory. Dr. Sulloway has used the basics of this theory to investigate into the relation between family dynamics and personality development. He has shown through research and supporting evidences that birth order has an impact on personality and behavior. His famous book Born to Rebel: Birth Order, Family Dynamics, and Creative Lives captures the spirit of scientific reasoning along with the indomitable thirst to explore the unknown, much in sync with the mind of his mentor Charles Darwin. (Sulloway.org, 2009) In the context, one might quote the words of Professor John Stevens Henslow at Cambridge University. He viewed Darwin as "the best qualified person I know who is likely to und ertake such a situation." (Sulloway, p. 121) The team collectively put a great deal of effort on its own to recreate the past exploration in the Galapagos Island in 2002. If we trace the similarities between what it was like 160 years ago when a young Charles Darwin made his visit to the island and how it was in 2002, we will first of all observe the physical as well as mental condition of the explorers. Each member of our chosen team of naturalists was at their fittest best when