Evolution and Literature Web Paper 1

In this paper, I will make a preliminary argument that we, humans, are living outcasts in our world, and that perhaps we are the pushing force of recent and modern evolution. Because humans subconsciously facilitate the growth and development of our own preferences, in order to improve our interest and satisfaction in the world around us, we have changed the natural evolution of our earth.

Elizabeth Olecki

Ann Dalke

Evolution of Stories/Story of Evolution

13 February 2009

Surprising Similarities

Darwin’s Literary Voice

Arielle Seidman

February 12, 2009

The Story of Evolution and the Evolution of the Story

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Origin of Species written by Sir Charles Darwin was a book that reshaped the thoughts of a generation, giving a completely new story as to how life on earth as we know it came to be. Darwin mainly uses examples of flowers, bees, and pigeons in his writing to support his theory, but he implies that all species, including humans undergo this process.  Pope Benedict XVI has outright stated that the thought of humans changing in a pattern that is completely random, that our species came to be by chance, is the most disturbing thing about this story.  Not that Darwin implies all species come from one common ancestor, but  that becoming human and our continuous evolution is unplanned.  Why is the fact that human evolution random disturbing?

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            Biological Evolution. These two words stand upon a pedestal, gracing society, science, and

Evolution and Evolution of Stories

13 February 2009

 

The Evolution of Natural Selection

Julia Lewis
Professor Dalke
2/13/09

In this course our first directions for reading Darwin’s book, On the Origin of Species, was to treat it as a novel.  Such instruction proved problematic for students, myself include, for a variety of reasons.  One reason is that reading a novel or enjoying any other work of art requires the reader to willingly suspend their disbelief.  In this paper, I would like to explore how the idea of willing suspension of disbelief is challenging to translate into studying a scientific text. 

As a theory of evolution, the origin of instinct by means of natural selection was one of Darwin's most significant theoretical challenges. The narrative of how Darwin articulated this role combines his understanding of the advancements of other scientists with his own observations and research, leading to his development of the concept of group selection. In The Descent of Man (1871) Darwin defined group selection as selection that produces characteristics that help others, including non-relatives, in an individual's group (Ruse 36).