aDepartment of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, 321 Steinhaus Hall, Irvine, CA 92697-2525, USA
Received 1 July 2009;
revised 22 September 2009;
accepted 23 September 2009.
Available online 1 October 2009.
Abstract
Copernicus, Galileo, Newton and other physical scientists ushered in a conception of the universe as matter in motion governed by natural laws. Their discoveries brought about a fundamental revolution, namely a commitment to the postulate that the universe obeys immanent laws that can account for natural phenomena. The workings of the universe were brought into the realm of science: explanation through natural laws. Darwin completed the Copernican revolution by extending it to the living world. Darwin demonstrated the evolution of organisms. More important yet is that he discovered natural selection, the process that explains the “design” of organisms. The adaptations and diversity of organisms, the origin of novel and complex species, even the origin of mankind, could now be explained by an orderly process of change governed by natural laws. The origin of species and the exquisite features of organisms had previously been explained as special creations of an Omniscient God. Darwin brought them into the domain of science. Evolution is a creative process that produces genuine novelty. The creative power of evolution arises from a distinctive interaction between chance and necessity, between random mutation and natural selection.
Keywords:
Evolution; Adaptation; Diversity of organisms; Scientific revolution; Copernican revolution; Darwinian revolution; Chance and necessity; A.R. Wallace; Evolutionary novelty; Natural theology
Article Outline1. Two revolutions: Copernicus and Darwin2. Darwin's explanation of design3. Darwin's Origin4. Adaptation and evolution5. Chance and necessityFurther Reading
Article Outline1. Two revolutions: Copernicus and Darwin2. Darwin's explanation of design3. Darwin's Origin4. Adaptation and evolution5. Chance and necessityFurther Reading
Based on an invited lecture presented on 30 October 2008 at the IX International Congress on Molecular Epidemiology and Evolutionary Genetics of Infectious Diseases (MEEGID IX).
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