DARWIN AND DARWINISM

CHARLES Robert Darwin is famous for having given the concept of

evolution to the world. He wrote two books on this subject: The

Origin of Species and The Descent of Man.

The Origin of Species is merely, an attempt to interpret the origin of

species. Therefore, a more appropriate name for it would have been

‘The Interpretation of the Origin of Species.’ After the publication of

Darwin’s book, the Christian church bitterly opposed his interpretation,

as people had come to regard Darwinism as the negation of the

existence of God. But that is not true. Darwin’s book, The Origin of

Species, mentions God’s name more than once. He concludes his book

with these words:

There is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having

been originally breathed by the Creator into a few forms or into one:

and that, whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed

law of gravity, from so simple a beginning, endless forms most beautiful

and most wonderful have been, and are being evolved.

During the final days, Darwin suffered from ailments which could not

be diagnosed. It is believed that he was totally dissatisfied with the

contradictory explanations given in his book. He suffered from heart

attack twice and died in 1882.