Darwin’s theory of evolution was met with
controversy in the scientific community just as it was meet with debate
in religion. Adam Sedgwick excellently illustrated the mixed reactions
and opinions to Darwin’s work: “Parts of it [on the Origin of Species] I
admired greatly, parts I laughed at till my sides were almost sore;
other parts I read with absolute sorrow, because I think them utterly
false and mischievous” (Sedgwick). One prominent criticism sparked by
Darwin’s theory which was only recently solved was how mutations and
adaptations occurred. Darwin realized that organisms which appear with
beneficial adaptations are more likely to survive and pass on their
characteristic but he had no hypothesis to prove his theory. Darwin
relied on the now incorrect belief that parents pass on their traits by
blending characteristics together to create the offspring’s
characteristics. Modern science has proven that traits are passed
through genetic material and mutations in genetic material (mutations)
caused the adaptations Darwin observed. (Molina)
Another argument against evolution is that
randomness of adaptations cannot be scientifically proven and natural
selection does not eliminate the less adapted variant so the newly
adapted species may not always be better equipped to its environment.
After Darwin published On the Origin of the Species many leading
scientists attested that Darwin’s research was invalid because he failed
to strictly comply with the scientific method. Darwin utilized inductive
reasoning to connect observations and known scientific knowledge to
reach his conclusion, not a series of experiments. However, modern
technology proves that Darwin’s theory is a correct model to explain
evolution. Another aspect of Darwin’s theory which sparked debate was
evolutionary leaps, a method by which alterations in organisms cause
long-term evolution and gradual the formations of new species.
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