Charles Darwin errors in theory. Two centuries of Darwin: where he was wrong, and where we were wrong

The theory of evolution, put forward in the 19th century by naturalist Charles Darwin, denies the act of creation. According to this theory, all living beings evolved from each other through random coincidences.

However, with a scrupulous study of the characteristics of living beings, it becomes obvious how erroneous Darwin's theory of evolution was.

There are two fundamental reasons for this:

1. The bodies of living beings contain complex systems and organs of incredible complexity, and, as evolutionists claim, the random emergence and gradual development of these systems is impossible. The existence of these systems and organs in animals proves that life was created consciously. And the creatures living in the depths of the world's oceans are proof of this. Crab and flounder, which have a special eye structure that allows them, buried in the sand, to monitor what is happening around... Or an octopus, whose special cells allow it to merge with the environment in the blink of an eye... Fish, scaring off their enemies with false eyes located on the tail part of the body...and many other creatures are examples of the embodiment of an impeccable plan. The existence of these animals cannot be explained by a superficial formulation, as if they all appeared “by pure chance.”

2. When studying the fossilized remains of animals, it turns out that various species of animals suddenly appeared on the planet in the same form in which they exist now, without any evolutionary connection with each other. The theory of evolution states that there were “intermediate species” between the species inhabiting the earth. However, scientists have not found any traces or remains of these “intermediate species”.

All this can be attributed to sea creatures.

Analysis of fossilized remains shows that the oldest species of fish known to us appeared on earth suddenly, with an already formed individual body structure. These fish species are completely different from the invertebrate sea creatures that existed before them. Such difficult questions are raised by Gerald Todd, a paleontologist and adherent of the theory of evolution, in his article entitled “The Evolution of Bony Fishes”:

"As analysis of the remains shows, all three subspecies of bony fishes appeared at approximately the same time. They already differed from each other in their morphological structure and had good adaptations for protection from predators. How did they arise? What made them so different from each other? Where did they come from? where did their adaptations come from for protection? And why are there no traces of their ancestors, earlier, intermediate forms?"

Fish have no ancestors because they did not evolve from other creatures. They were skillfully created as they are today.

Another group of sea creatures that has baffled evolutionists is the electric fish. These creatures, which can generate electricity in their own bodies and use it to defend, attack or communicate, are truly marvels of creation. Some types of electric fish are capable of producing currents of up to 500 volts.

Moreover, there are electric fish, the structures of which differ significantly from each other. Evolutionists cannot make a single guess as to what evolutionary connection there may be between these electrical beings.

Charles Darwin, the founder of the theory of evolution, agonized over the mystery of electric fish and was forced to draw a number of conclusions. In his book “The Origin of Species” in the section “Difficulties of Theory” he literally writes the following:

“The electrical organs of fish present another exceptional difficulty for my theory, because it is difficult to imagine what steps the formation of these amazing organs could have taken... But these electrical organs present another, perhaps more serious, difficulty; they are found in almost a dozen different fish , some of which are related only by very distant kinship" (Charles Darwin, "The Origin of Species", sixth edition, p. 221).

In reality, there is no end to Darwin's difficulties. And all because every living creature living under water has properties that prove the fact of its impeccable creation.

Anglerfish, for example, use an interesting method of hunting. She attracts her prey by swinging a special organ resembling a fishing rod growing on her head from side to side.

The diving fish is so skilled in geometry that it can calculate with incredible accuracy the position of an insect in the air, which it sees, despite the refraction of light in the water. It knocks down the victim with a stream of water released from its mouth.

Another species of fish, found in the waters of the Amazon River, catches prey by jumping more than a meter out of the water. And again the angle of the jump and the distance to the victim are calculated with amazing accuracy.

All these living beings tell us a very important truth. Each creature is living proof of the existence of the One who created them. Each creature, with its own organs, complex life support systems, body structure, and even color and shape, is a masterpiece of art. There is not the slightest doubt that any work of art speaks about its Creator. And all the splendor created in the sea waters reveals to us Allah Almighty, the Lord of the seas, land and heavens, and all worlds.

These lines of the Koran tell us about the incomparable art of creation of Allah:

“He is Allah, the Creator, the Creator, who gives shape [to his creations]. The most beautiful names belong to Him. Those in the heavens and on earth glorify Him. He is the Great, the Wise!” (Surah "Assembly", verse 24)

This conclusion was reached in a recent review article by American biologist and evolutionist Michael Rampino. No, this does not mean the notorious “Darwin was wrong”; rather, it only corrects the generally accepted point of view on the Theory of Evolution and how the evolutionary process proceeds.

In the classic Darwinian view, the evolution of organisms under the influence of natural selection is a process similar to the slow, leisurely and gradual ascent of an escalator. Only occasionally does this or that catastrophe or some other out-of-the-ordinary event introduce an element of surprise into this picture: a species of, say, birds, accidentally finding itself on an isolated island, where it is forced to adapt to unusual types of food, begins to change extremely quickly, after which again returns to the general unhurried flow.

According to Michael Rampino, in its modern form the picture appears much more menacing - rather a series of poorly controlled disasters, mass extinctions, each of which, burying hundreds and thousands of species, stimulated the explosive development of the survivors. This view, as the scientist recalls, is close to the opinion of the Scottish landowner and naturalist Patrick Matthew, who expressed evolutionary ideas almost half a century before Darwin. By the way, for a number of reasons, Matthew’s publications became more or less known only much later than Darwin’s, and there is no reason to believe that Darwin “borrowed” the idea of ​​natural selection as the driving force of evolution from him. Moreover, the views of Matthew and Darwin really differ in many ways.

Michael Rampino explains: “Matthew discovered and clearly described the idea of ​​natural selection in relation to the origin of species, but placed it in the context of geological exploration, marked by a series of catastrophic events followed by rapid adaptation... In light of modern ideas about the role of mass extinctions in the evolution of life on the planet , it is worth rethinking Matthew’s ideas as much closer to our view than Darwin’s.”

Let's briefly return to the history of the issue. Unlike Darwin, who devoted many detailed works to the consideration of various aspects of evolutionary theory, Patrick Matthew expressed these ideas in a brief appendix to his book “The Breeding of Wood for Shipbuilding,” published in 1831. Darwin’s notebooks indicate that he came to evolutionary ideas on his own , in 1838, and his first small work on this topic was published in 1842. He formally presented his ideas together with Alfred Wallace in 1858, at a meeting of the scientific community in London. The revolutionary book On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favored Races in the Struggle for Life was published a year later.

Well, Matthew, almost three decades earlier, limited himself to a brief description of the idea. He wrote: “There is a natural law, universal in nature, which promotes the reproduction of that creature which is better adapted to its circumstances... And since the arena of existence is limited and already peopled, the stronger, more robust, more fit individuals capable of surviving are better reproduced...”

However, in revealing the forces driving this process, Matthew paid special attention to catastrophic events and mass extinctions, believing them to be the main factor when “the area of ​​existence of living beings is so reduced that uninhabited areas appear for new, adapted creatures.”

By the way, Darwin in “The Origin of Species” downplayed the role of catastrophic changes in every possible way. For him, the action of natural selection is, one might say, a daily, moment-to-moment catastrophe, a constant struggle between individuals within populations and between populations. This process, naturally, gives evolution a gradual rather than spasmodic character.

Let's return to the present day, when Michael Rampino casts his vote in favor of the Scottish naturalist Matthew - and almost against one of the apostles of modern science. As he notes, modern geological knowledge allows us to view history as long periods of comparative calm and “absence of incident” with short but key episodes of catastrophe when changes occur quickly and dramatically. Not at all like in the classical views of Darwin, in which evolutionary changes occur very slowly, due to competition between organisms becoming more and more adapted to the same old conditions.

All this, however, does not negate the brilliant genius of Darwin - who even made the very bold assumption that all living things have a single common ancestor - an assumption that is confirmed by modern genetics. Read: "

For many, this news came as a shock, because Darwin's theory was completely debunked. Every year more and more scientists speak against evolution.

Any sane person should have this information: The theory that we are taught in school actually has no scientific or logical basis.

The person who put forward the theory of evolution is the English amateur naturalist Charles Robert Darwin. Darwin was never really trained in biology, but had only an amateur interest in nature and animals.

Most people consider Darwin's theory (Darwinism) to be a scientific fact. In fact, this theory, refuted by modern science, nothing more than a 19th century fairy tale.

From the inception of this theory to the present day, developing fields of science such as biochemistry, microbiology, genetics, paleontology and anatomy have shown that Darwinism is just a figment of the imagination.

Modern science, while proving the inconsistency of Darwin's theory, simultaneously reveals the real reason for the origin of life - creation. All living beings were created (!!!) at the genetic level in a perfect form and did not undergo any evolution.

Microscope

The study of cell structure became possible with the invention of the electron microscope. In Darwin's time, a cell could be studied only superficially using a primitive microscope.

Darwin, while refining his theory, was influenced by the evolutionary biologists who came before him, especially the French biologist Lamarck. According to Lamarck, living beings pass on from generation to generation the characteristics they acquired during life, and thus evolve.

For example, giraffes evolved from a species of gazelle-like animal whose necks elongated on their own because they were forced to forage for leaves from tall trees.

However, both Lamarck and Darwin were wrong. Because at that time, the study of living organisms was carried out using primitive technology and to an insufficient extent. At that time there were not even names for such fields of science as genetics and biochemistry. The theory relied only on the power of imagination.

Darwin himself understood that there was much that was unresolved in his theory. He admits this in his book Difficulties of Theory. These difficulties lay in the complex organs of living organisms that could not appear by chance (for example, the eye), as well as fossil remains. Darwin hoped that these difficulties would be overcome through the process of new discoveries.

DNA completely ruined the theory

While Darwin was monitoring responses to his “scientific theory,” the Australian botanist G. Mendel discovered the law of heredity in 1865. However, Mendel's discoveries were not heard until the end of the century and only gained significance in early 1900 with the discovery of genetics. During these same years, the structure of genes and chromosomes was discovered.

And the discovery in 1950 of DNA, which stores genetic information, subjected the theory to complete collapse. Because the structure of living organisms turned out to be much more complex than Darwin believed, and the inconsistency of the mechanism of evolution came to light.

As a result of all these discoveries, Darwin's theory had to be relegated to the dusty shelves of history. However, some circles insisted on the need to update the theory and tried by any means to put it on a scientific platform. It was clear that all these efforts had more ideological purpose than scientific concern.

Modern scientists have refuted Darwin's theory but that evolution is a constant process. The result of numerous experiments and experiments states that speciation occurs under the influence of dramatically changing environmental conditions, and Darwin's theory of mutation and natural selection can only describe the evolution of species by 8%.

The scientists' work shows that Darwinian natural selection may not be the source of new species on Earth at all, and they are confident that they will be able to convince most scientists of this as a result of future experimental and modeling work.

Today, few would deny Darwin's enormous contribution to biology. The name of this scientist is familiar to every adult. Many of you can sum up Darwin's contributions to biology in a nutshell. However, only a few will be able to talk in detail about the theory he created. After reading the article you will be able to do this.

Achievements of the ancient Greeks

Before describing Darwin's contributions to biology, let us briefly describe the achievements of other scientists on the path to the discovery of the theory of evolution.

Anaximander, an ancient Greek thinker, back in the 6th century BC. e. said that man evolved from animals. His ancestors were supposedly covered in scales and lived in water. A little later, in the 4th century. BC BC, Aristotle noted that nature preserves useful traits that randomly appear in animals in order to make them more viable in the future. And brothers who do not have these signs die. It is known that Aristotle created the “ladder of beings.” He arranged the organisms in order from simplest to most complex. This staircase began with stones and ended with a man.

Transformism and creationism

The Englishman M. Hale first used the term “evolution” (from the Latin “unfoldment”) in 1677. He outlined to them the unity of the historical and individual development of organisms. In biology, in the 18th century, the doctrine of how different species of plants and animals changed appeared. It was opposed to creationism, according to which God created the world and all species remain unchanged. Supporters of transformism include the French scientist Georges Buffort, as well as the English researcher Erasmus Darwin. The first theory of evolution was proposed by Jean-Baptiste Lamarck in his 1809 work Philosophy of Zoology. However, it was Charles Darwin who revealed its true factors. The contribution to biology of this scientist is invaluable.

The merit of Charles Darwin

He owns an evolutionary theory, scientifically substantiated. He outlined it in a work entitled “The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.” Darwin published this book in 1859. Contributions to biology can be briefly summarized as follows. Darwin believed that - hereditary variability, as well as the struggle for existence. In conditions of struggle, the inevitable result of this variability is natural selection, which represents the preferential survival of the fittest individuals of a particular species. Thanks to their participation in reproduction, beneficial hereditary changes accumulate and are summed up, as Charles Darwin noted.

His contribution to biology was recognized by scientists who continued research in this direction. The development of science subsequently confirmed that Darwin's theory is correct. Therefore, today the terms “evolutionary doctrine” and “Darwinism” are often used as synonyms.

So, we have briefly described Darwin's contributions to biology. We propose to take a closer look at the theory he created.

Observations that led Darwin to the theory of evolution

Charles Darwin first began to think about the reasons why there are certain similarities and differences between species. He did not make the contribution to biology that we have briefly described immediately. First, they had to study the achievements of their predecessors, as well as make several trips. It was they who prompted the scientist to important thoughts.

He made his main discovery in South America, in geological deposits. These are the skeletons of giant edentates, very similar to modern sloths and armadillos. In addition, Darwin was greatly impressed by the study of the animal species living on the island. The scientist discovered on these volcanic islands of recent origin close species of finches that are similar to the mainland ones, but have adapted to different food sources - flower nectar, insects, hard seeds. Charles Darwin concluded that these birds came to the island from the mainland. And the changes that have occurred to them are explained by adaptation to new conditions of existence.

Charles Darwin raised the question that environmental conditions play a role in speciation. The scientist observed a similar picture off the coast of Africa. Living animals, despite a certain similarity with the species inhabiting the mainland, still differ from them in very significant features.

Darwin could not explain the creation of species and the peculiarities of the development of the rodent tuco-tuco, described by him. These rodents live underground, in burrows. They give birth to sighted cubs, which subsequently become blind. All these and many other facts significantly shook the scientist’s faith in the creation of species. Darwin, returning to England, set himself a large-scale task. He decided to solve the question of the origin of species.

Major works

Darwin's contributions to the development of biology are presented in several of his works. In 1859, in his work, he summarized the empirical material of contemporary breeding practice and biology. In addition, he used the results of his observations made during his travels. His circumnavigation of the world shed light on various species.

Charles Darwin supplemented the main work "The Origin of Species..." with factual materials in his next book, published in 1868. It is known as "Change in Domestic Animals and Cultivated Plants." In another work written in 1871, the scientist hypothesized that humans descend from an ape-like ancestor. Today, many agree with the assumption made by Charles Darwin. His contributions to biology allowed him to become a great authority in the scientific world. Many people even forget that the origin of man from the ape is just a hypothesis, which, although very probable, is still not fully proven.

The property of heredity and its role in evolution

Let us note that Darwin’s theory is based on the property of heredity, that is, the ability of organisms to repeat types of metabolism and, in general, individual development over a series of generations. Together with variability, heredity ensures the diversity and constancy of life forms. It is the basis of the evolution of the entire organic world.

Struggle for existence

“The struggle for existence” is a concept that is one of the main ones in the theory of evolution. Charles used it to refer to the relationships that exist between organisms. In addition, Darwin used it to describe the relationships between abiotic conditions and organisms. Abiotic conditions lead to the survival of the fittest individuals and the death of the less fit.

Two forms of variability

As for variability, Darwin identified two main forms. The first of them is a certain variability. This is the ability of all individuals of a particular species under certain environmental conditions to react in the same way to given conditions (soil, climate). Second form - Its character does not correspond to the observed changes in external conditions. Undefined variability in modern terminology is called mutation.

Mutation

The mutation, unlike the first form, is hereditary. According to Darwin, the minor changes observed in the first are amplified in subsequent generations. The scientist emphasized that in evolution the decisive role belongs to uncertain variability. It is usually associated with harmful or neutral mutations, but there are also some that are called promising.

Mechanism of evolution

According to Darwin, the inevitable result of hereditary variability and the struggle for existence is the survival and reproduction of new organisms that are most adapted to living in their respective environment. And in the course of evolution, the death of the unadapted occurs, that is, natural selection. Its mechanism operates in nature in a similar way to breeders, that is, vague and insignificant individual differences are formed, from which the necessary adaptations in organisms are then formed, as well as differences between species.

Charles Darwin spoke and wrote about all this and much more. The contributions to biology briefly described go beyond what we have covered. However, his main achievements were outlined in general terms. Now you can talk in detail about Darwin's contributions to biology.

Charles Darwin went down in the history of science as the creator of the theory of evolution. Darwin's theory has been one of the foundations of modern biology for many years, without which it is impossible to imagine science.

February 12 marked the 205th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin, an English traveler and naturalist who went down in the history of science as the creator of the theory of evolution.

This theory, although it is more than 150 years old, still causes fierce controversy in society - even to the point of demands to ban its teaching in schools. Meanwhile, Darwin's theory has been one of the foundations of modern biology for many years, without which it is impossible to imagine science.

However, modern concepts in biology have still evolved since Darwinian times. Alexander Markov, head of the Department of Biological Evolution at the Faculty of Biology at Moscow State University, author of books on human origins and winner of the Enlightenment Prize, told RIA Novosti about Darwin’s mistakes, as well as the erroneous ideas about his theory that exist in society.

Inheritance of acquired

Darwin did not deny the possibility of inheritance of acquired characteristics, that is, for example, direct inheritance of the results of exercise.

“This was not a specific error of Darwin, at that time everyone thought so, it was generally accepted: that learning, events during life can influence heredity. Only several decades later, the German zoologist August Weismann experimentally proved that, for example, if you cut off the tails of rats from generation to generation, then this does not affect heredity; tailless rat pups do not begin to be born. And other experiments have shown that acquired characteristics are not inherited,” says Markov.

“However, the latest advances in molecular biology show that there are still a number of very specific exceptions when acquired characteristics can still be inherited. So Darwin was not 100% wrong,” he added.

Carriers of heredity in the blood

Darwin believed that the carriers of hereditary characteristics are submicroscopic objects - gemmules, which enter the germ cells through the bloodstream and carry hereditary information.

“Not knowing the nature of heredity, he tried to come up with a molecular mechanism to explain the inheritance of acquired characteristics, and proposed the theory of pangenesis. He suggested that there are particles in the cells of the body that contain information about events that happened to the body, about the experience gained, and they enter the germ cells through the bloodstream and transmit this information. It was a very bold hypothesis; in general, it was not confirmed,” Markov said.

He noted that technically such a possibility could exist: there was a hypothesis about so-called endogenous retroviruses embedded in the chromosomes of higher organisms, which could play the role of Darwinian gemmules.

Downplayed the role of natural selection

In Darwin's later works, natural selection was less important than it actually was.

“Darwin was very sensitive to the criticism of his contemporaries. Therefore, the first edition of his book “The Origin of Species” is now considered the best. He made many corrections in subsequent editions. In particular, he reduced the importance that he initially attached to the mechanism of natural selection: he added various reservations about the influence of the environment and learning. But today it is clear that Darwin’s original version of the leading role of natural selection was closest to reality,” says Markov.

He emphasized that in Darwin's time the nature of heredity and the nature of variability were not yet known. Knowing nothing about DNA, chromosomes, or mutations, Darwin was able, on the basis of such incomplete data, to correctly guess the main evolutionary mechanism that really provided all the diversity of life on our planet, the scientist notes.

Society's mistakes

Darwin said nothing about the origin of life. “He didn’t write about it at all. There is not a word in any of his books about how life appeared. He only once, in a letter to his friend, Hooker, mentioned in one phrase the possibility of the spontaneous generation of life. In the latest editions, he even mentioned the Creator,” says Markov.

Evolution is a random process

Evolution is often viewed as a chain of blind mutations that lead to the emergence of surprisingly purposefully designed creatures. However, Darwinian natural selection is anything but a blind force.

“This is a strictly natural process that gives evolution direction; it is this process that explains the apparent expediency of the structure of living organisms. There is a gap between a random process and evolution under the influence of natural selection; there are random processes in evolution, these are random mutations and genetic drift, but they do not give direction,” says Markov.

Monkey man?

The phrase “man descended from apes” can be misinterpreted.

“With many interpretations, it turns out that this phrase is incorrect. For example, if by “monkey” we mean modern apes. We did not descend from chimpanzees, orangutans, or gorillas,” says Markov.

Humans have common ancestors with them: the last common ancestor of humans and chimpanzees lived 6-7 million years ago, from whom we descended.

“From the point of view of biological systematics, this common ancestor belonged to the order of primates, to the group of narrow-nosed monkeys. But from a systematic point of view, man did not descend from a monkey, but he is a monkey, he belongs to monkeys, to great apes,” says Markov.