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Darwin called his theory natural selection, because it explains how variations between individuals can lead to changes in a species over time. Natural selection works as follows:

1. Individuals with variations that help them survive and reproduce in a given environment are more likely to have offspring.
2. Over time, the number of individuals with these variations will increase in the population.
3. This process will eventually lead to changes in the species.

Artificial selection is a process by which humans select certain traits in plants and animals for breeding purposes. For example, farmers might select cows that produce more milk or pigs that grow faster to produce more meat.

Artificial selection is similar to natural selection in that it involves the selection of traits that are beneficial in a given environment. However, there are some key differences between the two processes. In natural selection, the environment selects the traits that are beneficial. In artificial selection, humans select the traits that are beneficial.

Purpose and progress play a different role in natural selection and artificial selection. In natural selection, there is no purpose or progress. The environment simply selects the traits that are beneficial. In artificial selection, humans have a purpose in selecting certain traits. They are trying to improve the plants or animals for their own benefit.

Here is a factual example of natural selection at work:

• Peppered moths are a type of moth that lives in England. In the early 1800s, most peppered moths were light in color. This helped them to camouflage with the light-colored bark of the trees they lived on.
• During the Industrial Revolution, the air in England became polluted with soot from coal-burning factories. This caused the trees to darken in color.
• The light-colored peppered moths were now more visible to predators, and they were more likely to be eaten. The dark-colored peppered moths, on the other hand, were able to blend in with the dark-colored bark of the trees, and they were less likely to be eaten.
• Over time, the number of dark-colored peppered moths in the population increased. This is an example of natural selection, because the dark-colored peppered moths had a trait (dark coloration) that was beneficial in the changed environment.

Ernst Mayr was a German-American evolutionary biologist who is considered to be one of the founders of modern evolutionary theory. Mayr identified five theses that he argued were essential to Darwin’s theory of evolution:

1. All species are populations of interbreeding individuals.
2. Variation exists within all populations.
3. Some variations are heritable.
4. Individuals with favorable variations are more likely to survive and reproduce.
5. Over time, the population will become more and more adapted to its environment.

Social Darwinism is a philosophy that applies Darwin’s theory of natural selection to society. Social Darwinists argue that the strong and the successful should be allowed to thrive, while the weak and the unsuccessful should be allowed to fail.

Social Darwinism contradicts Darwin’s theory in a number of ways. First, Darwin never argued that humans should interfere with the process of natural selection. Second, Darwin believed that humans were capable of moral behavior, something that Social Darwinists often deny.

A number of factors led to Darwin getting the lion’s share of credit for evolution rather than sharing it with Wallace. Darwin was a more experienced and well-known scientist than Wallace. Darwin also had a better network of connections in the scientific community. Additionally, Darwin’s book On the Origin of Species was published several months before Wallace’s paper, which gave Darwin a head start in claiming credit for the theory.