Charles Darwin life Summary

Most any presentation on the life or work of Charles Darwin is forced to consider the religious implications, and invariably will tiptoe around such a minefield to avoid losing a potential audience. This approach is steadfastly avoided by the sublime David Attenborough work Tree of Life. Consider this a crown upon his prior reviews Life of Mammals, Life of Birds, Life in Cold Blood; just as Darwin’s theory unified the whole of life with an origin and direction, this looks back upon his life’s work where past becomes present along the expansive arrow of geologic time. In the introductory passage, Attenborough starts by regarding a painting of the moment of creation, and reading from the Holy Bible. It is important to meet the controversial aspects of Charles Darwin head-on, as this controversy stems from a lack of understanding of what science is and what it attempts to explain.

There was a time when the Bible, being a book, was one of the few sources of information whereby people could understand their world, and consider the meaning of life. As scientific methods were developed, and experimentation allowed hypotheses to become theories, a body of knowledge was painstakingly crafted to answer a multitude of increasingly large questions. ith time and the careful pressure of scientific challenges. Meanwhile, the Bible remained static, and its proponents less able to grapple with what they saw as competition. Ultimately, those who have a problem with the Theory of Evolution do not have an intellectual quibble with the body of evidence via natural observation, ribosomal and chromosomal studies, and direct experimentation with evolution in micro- and macro-organisms. The problem is with a potential explanation for how we came to be that does not come directly from one’s chosen religious text. And this is why there will never be an acceptance of evolutionary theory by those who shun it – it is a rejection of information at the root of Creationism. Attenborough elegantly alludes to this without any smug underlining – information is on his side, so there is no need to rub it in. The Creation myth did just fine as an explanation until better information came along.