Puja Parekh

March 9, 2006

Alfred Russel Wallace Speaks on Evolution

Alfred Russel Wallace in Singapore, 1862. A

 Good Afternoon, Ladies and Gentlemen. Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to present my dissertation on the theory of Evolution and its relationship to spiritualistic beliefs as to the origins of man. My good friend Charles Darwin believes and states in his On the Origin of Species that species have “changed slowly and in a graduated manner,” 1 that is, they have evolved over the millions of years of our Earth’s existence. My research verifies much of Mr. Darwin’s hypothesis. I, Alfred Russel Wallace, stand before you today to not only share with you the theory of natural selection, but also prove that it is the incontestable truth regarding the nature of life.

            As many of you know, Mr. Darwin and I spent several years studying various life forms to develop our theories of the natural world. I carried out studies from 1854 to 1862 on the various species of the passerine bird belonging to the genus Pitta.  I found that in the Indo-Malay and Austro-Malay archipelagos over twenty-four distinct species of this genus were found. No more than two or three species co-habited a single island, supporting Mr. Darwin’s theory that the dominant species would outlive and eventually exterminate competing ones. I postulated on the basis of this evidence that the “amount of diversity in the species of two adjacent islands is the measure of the time those islands have been separated.” 2 Scientists around the world have verified that animals of other genii on adjacent islands are varied enough to be described as different species, yet have too many common features not to be linked together. The scientists studying these variations in the concentration of species in different geographical areas call this field biogeography. They have proved with fossil remains that many of these different species, as a matter of fact, do have a common ancestor having the characteristics that the species share. The differences occurred over time as a result of an adaptation to nature, or what Mr. Darwin described in our joint paper as natural selection.3

The Azure Pitta (Pitta Cyanea). B

 Much controversy has arisen regarding Mr. Darwin’s motives in taking the front seat as the formulator of the theory of evolution. While it is true that Mr. Darwin published his unfinished paper due to my sudden discovery of natural selection with the Pitta birds, it is necessary to remember that he had the idea “twenty years earlier” than I and had spent that time “laboriously collecting evidence.”4 I assure you that I chose “deliberately” to let “Mr. Darwin have the whole credit”5 because I felt that he had come up with the idea first, and I simply gave him the extra evidence and data that he required. Also, it was much more important to both of us to have our views expressed to the public than it was to achieve any fame. While I may have coined the phrase ‘natural selection’, Mr. Darwin alone deserved the acclaim for the breakthrough.

Homology observed in mammals. C

            Now that the question of motives has been set aside, let us turn to the topic at hand: that is the opposition that our theory has faced. The theory of natural selection has been facing aggression for quite some time, and I have been invited here to Oxford to shed some light on the matter. I hope to make clear the specific controversial issues that have been the cause of the confusion. First, I would like to focus on the theory of evolution as applied to man. I understand that many people find it impossible to believe that man shares a common ancestor with our primate cousins, but perhaps the evidence and ideas I will communicate shortly will allow some of the audience to share my point of view.

            All scientists, whether believers in Darwinian evolution or otherwise, have observed the similarities in basic structure between other creatures and man. Like all vertebrates, he has a skeletal system, and his hairy body and reproductive methods place him in the same class as other mammals. Detailed studies of the human body have revealed that many other features are shared, such as appendage structure and breathing mannerisms. A close look at the arms of humans and shrews, the limbs of dogs and sheep, the wings of birds and bats, and the flippers of dolphins and seals show that all of the species share a basic bone structure. More specifically, each organism has a humerus, radius, ulna, and share similarities all the way to the phalanges. The homology present here, that is, similar structure but different use, strongly suggests that all of these species had a common ancestor at some point in the past, and that the  differences found today are the result of functional adaptations demanded by nature for survival.

Embryology in Mammals. D

Another commonality man shares with mammals is embryonic development. Embryologists have discovered that this process initially looks very similar in hogs, calves, rabbits and humans. “There is always to begin with, an egg having the same essential structure as that of the dog; the yolk of that egg undergoes division or segmentation, as it is called, the ultimate products of that segmentation constitute the building materials for the body of the young animal; and this is built up round a primitive groove, in the floor of which a notochord is developed.”6 The striking resemblance between the embryos is impossible to miss and can be considered hard evidence for a common origin of all of these creatures. Once again, the differences that are seen later in development can be attributed to adaptation.

While the likeness between humans and other mammals is fascinating, the parallels between the bodies of men and apes such as gorillas, orangutans and chimpanzees are far more fascinating to see. It seems as though almost every single bone and structure in man can be observed in orangutans and chimpanzees, simply “altered somewhat in size, proportions, and position.”7 In fact the total number of additional or missing structures is four. Human beings also have many diseases in common with lower animals. It is well known that contagious sicknesses such as that of cholera and herpes can be transmitted from man to animals and vice versa. The monkey suffers from several of the same non-transmittable diseases that we do as well. It is almost impossible to explain these co-incidences without once again invoking the common ancestor.

While there are many parallels in the bodies of man and animals, there are some gaping differences as well. The human brain is nothing like the brain of chimpanzees and orangutans. These apes have more in common with each other brain-wise than they do with us. This suggests that we diverged from them much sooner than they did from each other. Man has an undeniable greater ability to use the brain, but this is not enough to suggest that he originated from something completely different from the rest of animals. The common ancestor theory still remains the only reasonable one in the face of the presented evidence.

The theory of natural selection is currently the only hypothesis that can explain the incontestable facts that I have just presented. Through homology, embryology, and a comparison in brain sizes of the higher quadrumana we can see that human beings have evolved from the same origins as all other mammals. Mr. Darwin and I both agree on the physical evolution of human beings, but differ on our beliefs as to where man’s intellectual capacities came from. Mr. Darwin believes that man’s sense of morals developed as he became a communal being, acting in ways that most benefited his tribe or society.8 I feel that attributing the evolution of the mind to the same causes governing the evolution of the body without further examination would be dismissive. Man’s mathematical capabilities, for example, in no way enhance his probability for survival. Our savage ancestors had no use for math in the wilderness, which could explain why complex algebra and geometry have come into existence only in the past few centuries, and that too in highly civilized societies. Artistic and Musical skills fall into this pattern as well. All of these mental capacities seem to be the result of intellectual advancement, not the cause. Natural selection therefore cannot prove their existence and we have to look for explanations elsewhere.

Alfred Russel Wallace, 1189. E

Although I am a firm believer and even one of the originators of the current theory of evolution, I find that there are several occurrences in the history of man that I believe cannot be explained. The first is the spontaneous formation of organic matter in an inorganic world. The earth was several million years old before the first living cell came into existence. Some argue that chance was the reason more complex matter formed, but chance cannot be the cause of matter to suddenly start living. These living cells had sudden and unexplainable new powers: “that of extracting and fixing carbon from the carbon-dioxide of the atmosphere, that of indefinite reproduction, and, still more marvelous, the power of variation and of reproducing those variations till endless complications of structure and varieties of form have been the result.”9 The next unexplainable phenomenon is seen in the shift from plants to animals. With this leap came the introduction of awareness, that is, the sudden incidence of feeling and a conscious knowledge of the actions one was committing. This phenomenon can neither be explained by increasing matter complexity nor any other theory proposed to date. The third unaccountable event is the previously discussed existence of the knowledge of math, art, music and an inherent sense of morals in man not present in his primitive ancestors. Although the body of man reached its peak through natural selection, the mind continues “to develop according to his needs.”10 Mr. Darwin attributes this continuing mental development to sexual and social selection, but I believe that there is a greater “directive Mind and Purpose”11 at work here. I believe that there was some sort of interference at the three aforementioned junctures, the cause of which is probably beyond the materialistic comprehensions of man.

The evidence I have presented shows that evolution and a spiritual approach to nature are not incompatible. As a matter of fact, evolution very much supports the work of an unseen force in shaping life towards what man has become today. The transformations that occurred at the aforementioned points in time are very much real when viewed scientifically, despite their unexplainable origins. Scientists warn us that the sun, currently a main-sequence star, will eventually expand into a red giant star, enveloping most of the planets around it in its heated shell. An expansion of this sort will be the destruction of all life on earth, but by no means will this be the end of the mind and intellect, which have yet to reach their pinnacle. For those who believe in spiritualism, as defined by looking to a superhuman source for answers, the entire purpose of life and nature is to create the perfect human spirit, something that is indefinite and imperishable. The human body may be the glorious product of natural selection, but the introduction of consciousness and spirit is the work of something that continues to remain a mystery to us. Even Darwinism at its rational extreme cannot explain the enigma of the universe, suggesting that perhaps nature and the “unseen universal spirit”12 will always remain a step ahead of the human mind.

Once again, I, Alfred Russel Wallace, would like to thank you for this wonderful opportunity. I’m deeply grateful for your time and attention. Thank you.

           

 

Old Word Count (without quotes): 1441
Old Total Word Count: 1615

 

New Word Count (without quotes): 1803

New Total Word Count: 1977

 

 

1        Charles Darwin. On the Origin of Species. The Gutenberg Project.    <http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/1228>

2        Alfred Russel Wallace. Remarks on the Habits, Distribution, and Affinities of the Genus Pitta (1864). < http://www.wku.edu/~smithch/wallace/S089.htm >

3        Wikipeida. Alfred Russel Wallace. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Russel_Wallace>

4        Amabel Williams-Ellis. Darwin’s Moon: A Biography of Alfred Russel Wallace. (London: Blackie, 1966), 219.

5        Ibid., 1.

6        Alfred Russel Wallace. Darwinism. Chapter 15 (1889). <http://www.wku.edu/~smithch/wallace/S724CH15.htm>

7        Ibid.

8        Ibid.

9        Ibid.

10    Alfred Russel Wallace. Alfred Russel Wallace: letters and reminiscences. (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1916), 415.

11    Ibid., 414.

12    Wallace, Alfred Russel. Darwinism. Chapter 15 (1889). <http://www.wku.edu/~smithch/wallace/S724CH15.htm>

 

 

List of Illustrations:

 

A       http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Alfred_Russel_Wallace_1862_-_Project_Gutenberg_eText_15997.png

B       http://www.finerareprints.com/birds/cassell/cassell_1009.htm

C       http://online.morainevalley.edu/WebSupported/BIO112/homologous.jpg

D       http://earth.unh.edu/esci402/docs/embryology.jpg

E        http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Alfred_Russel_Wallace_-_Project_Gutenberg_eText_14558.jpg