The Sixth Extinction: Chapter 3

     In Chapter 3, Kolbert introduces us to catastrophism vs. uniformitarianism in terms of evolution. William Whewell was a catastrophist who believed that the history of the planet was characterized by sudden, global catastrophes that caused large numbers of species to go extinct. Charles Lyell and Charles Darwin were uniformitarians who believed that all species and landscapes are gradually changing. Darwin disagreed with Lyell’s theories, and applied Lyell’s principles of gradual change to life, not just geology. He argued that there could be no extinction without the origin of new species. He also argued that different species were constantly in competition for the limited resources of food, water, and shelter. He concluded that new species must appear over time, either surviving because of their superior qualities or dying out(survival of the fittest). Darwin also argued that the origin of species was an incredibly drawn-out process, lasting many thousands of years. Kolbert then goes on to talk about the great auks. The great auks were excellent swimmers, and spent most of their life in the water. However, human beings hunted great auks into extinction. Native American tribesmen and European fisherman, used auks for food and fuel. Darwin had encountered the human-caused extinction during his time in the Galapagos Islands. Although he was clearly aware of human-caused extinction, he didn’t find it serious. Darwin concluded that human beings are subjected to the same laws of natural selection as all other animals. He even recognized that human intelligence was just an evolutionary adaptation.

     (C) I can connect Darwin applying Lyell's theory to humans to the Germ theory. In Marist (summer program), I learned about the Miasma theory, where many people in the 1600s-1700s thought they became sick because of miasmas(bad air). Then in the 1860s, a scientist named Louis Pasteur was able to conduct an experiment where he concluded that people were getting sick from bad microorganisms. Then later on, many other scientists, such as Robert Koch & Joseph Lister, were able to test his theory and were able to expand on it and make important contributions to the healthcare world. The theme that most resonated with the chapter is: natural systems change over time. I chose the theme because one of the main topics in the chapter was evolution. Darwin believed that every sort of life from on Earth underwent evolution and in the book it states, "Natural selection eliminated the need for any sort of creative miracles. Given enough  time for...new species would emerge from the old." (Pg. 54) (R) His theory on Darwinism said that there are too many species competing for too few resources. Many of Darwin’s colleagues thought of the natural world as a peaceful place, however, Darwin saw nature as a war zone for different species as they were all trying to beat extinction. This connects to Darwin's point on evolution because only the fittest would be able to evolve, and with natural selection it makes evolution for the fittest species better, because with the best genes and great abilities to adapt, the following generations will be able to beat out other species and will be able to have a better quality of life and will not go extinct.

By: Mousumi Dhar