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Darwin and Wallace, natural selection

Charles DarwinAlfred Russel Wallace

This page delivers no verdict; it presents claims and evidence with their sources. No theory in science is absolute. Method

For everyone

Darwin and Wallace independently arrived at the idea that individuals of a species differ in heritable ways, that those better suited to their surroundings leave more offspring, and that species therefore change and diverge over time. Darwin published "On the Origin of Species" in 1859. Darwin himself recorded the scarcity of intermediate forms in the fossil record as one of the main difficulties facing his theory.

For specialists

The elements of the theory are heritable variation, overproduction, the struggle for existence, differential reproduction according to fit, and slow, gradual change through their accumulation. Darwin's model of inheritance (pangenesis) proved wrong. Fleeming Jenkin (1867) raised an important objection that new variations would be diluted under blending inheritance; the problem was resolved with the acceptance of Mendelian genetics. Long-term field studies have measured natural selection in the wild, for example changes in the beak size of Galápagos finches following drought years.

Claims

Evidence

Supporting

Observation

In Galápagos finch populations followed for over 30 years, beak size and shape changed measurably with environmental conditions.[3]

Experiment

In one of the E. coli populations followed for more than 30,000 generations, the ability to use citrate under oxygen arose.[4]

Challenging

Archaeological / fossil find

Darwin acknowledged the absence of the expected number of intermediate forms in the fossil record as a serious objection to his theory, attributing it to the imperfection of the record.[1]

Theoretical argument

It was argued that under blending inheritance, useful new variations would be diluted away within a few generations.[5]

Connections

Parent

Views on the origin and diversity of living things

Built upon by

The modern synthesis (neo-Darwinism)

Argued against by

Intelligent designCreationism

Related

Mendel and the laws of inheritance

This topic is a stop on these journeys

Views on the origin of living things · stop 3/11

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Sources

  1. BookDarwin, C. (1859). On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection. John Murray, Londondarwin-online.org.ukarchive
  2. ArticleDarwin, C.; Wallace, A. R. (1858). On the tendency of species to form varieties; and on the perpetuation of varieties and species by natural means of selection. Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society of London, Zoology 3, 45–62DOI 10.1111/j.1096-3642.1858.tb02500.xarchive
  3. ArticleGrant, P. R.; Grant, B. R. (2002). Unpredictable evolution in a 30-year study of Darwin's finches. Science 296, 707–711DOI 10.1126/science.1070315archive
  4. ArticleBlount, Z. D.; Borland, C. Z.; Lenski, R. E. (2008). Historical contingency and the evolution of a key innovation in an experimental population of Escherichia coli. PNAS 105(23), 7899–7906DOI 10.1073/pnas.0803151105archive
  5. ArticleJenkin, F. (1867). Review of "The Origin of Species". The North British Review 46, 277–318

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Cite this page

APA

Athena contributors. (2026). Darwin and Wallace, natural selection. Athena: The tree of human knowledge. Retrieved November 1, 2026, from https://latifkedi.github.io/athena/en/d/darwin-wallace/

BibTeX
@misc{athena_darwin_wallace,
  title        = {Darwin and Wallace, natural selection},
  author       = {{Athena contributors}},
  year         = {2026},
  howpublished = {\url{https://latifkedi.github.io/athena/en/d/darwin-wallace/}},
  note         = {Athena: The tree of human knowledge. Accessed: 2026-11-01}
}

Added: September 27, 2026 · Last changed: September 27, 2026 · Page history

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