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Dorian STEP 1

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Life

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Life

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The man who struggled with his own ideas

Charles Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection made us rethink our place in the world. The idea that humans shared a common ancestor with apes was a challenge to the foundations of western civilisation.

Darwin kept silent for 20 years before going public and was only half joking when he described writing his book 'On the Origin of Species' as 'like confessing a murder'. This is the story of one man's struggle with the most radical idea of all time.

Collecting beetles in Cambridge

Abandoning plans to be a doctor, Darwin now considered a career in the Church. Aged 18, he went to study Divinity at Cambridge.

Though he held fairly conventional beliefs in God, Darwin wasn't particularly keen on this new direction. But training to be a clergyman meant he had plenty of time to pursue his real passion: biology. He spent much of his time collecting beetles and walking on the Fens. He graduated in 1831 but before he could take a job as a cleric, the chance of a lifetime would come his way.
In Our Time: Darwin's Cambridge years

Survival of the fittest

Origin of Species was a bestseller worldwide and went into multiple editions.

With each new edition, Darwin strengthened his arguments. By responding to critics, he was able to build a more robust case. For the 5th edition he introduced the phrase 'survival of the fittest', borrowed from philosopher Herbert Spencer. The phrase has become shorthand for Darwin's idea. Unlike 'natural selection', it doesn't imply a divine being selecting anything. Darwin now described himself as an 'agnostic' - a term coined by Huxley.

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Charles Darwin: Evolution and the story of our species

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Charles Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection made us rethink our place in the world. The idea that humans shared a common ancestor with apes was a challenge to the foundations of western civilisation. Darwin kept silent for 20 years before going public and was only half joking when he described writing his book 'On the Origin of Species' as 'like confessing a murder'.