03.19.09
150 years of Wallaceism marked Darwinism
150 years of evolution theory – Miriam Coronel Ferrer
I am launching my third year in this profession of column-writing for abs-cbnnews.com with a new name for this space – Ways of Species. The name is inspired by Charles Darwin’s Origin of Species.
This earth-shaking book is celebrating the sesquicentennial anniversary of its publication. Forgive me for that difficult word – sesquicentennial. It simply means 150 years. I picked it up from a friend, Dr. Emy Liwag, who is busy helping organize events for Ateneo de Manila University’s celebration of its 150th year.
Darwin’s full book title is also sesquicentennial-long. It goes: Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favored Races in the Struggle for Life.
Darwin knew his thesis on natural selection would be thwarted by the believers and guardians of the most fundamental truth-claim of the Christian faith: the genesis. In fact, it was also about God him/herself, as the story of creation is premised on a Creator.
That’s why Darwin postponed writing it for 20 years. The seed of the idea was planted in the young, amateur naturalist as he moved from coast to coast of South America aboard the Beagle. In the next decades, he pursued his obsession, studying plant and animal breeds and discoursing with peers.
Then he learned that another explorer, Alfred Russel Wallace, was getting to the same conclusion. Darwin hurriedly wrote up his volume.
I recomment this journalist read The Darwin Conspiracy.
The reason Darwin delayed for twenty years is that he had no real theory at hand. Not until he received various letters from Wallace.
The thesis on natural selection was doubted by more than the Creationists.
Even Huxley had a problem here.