Darwin's Postulates
By: Sara Ortiz
What is a postulate?
A postulate is a statement that is assumed to be true without the need of any proof. Postulates come from reasoning and are often known as fundamental principles or necessary conditions. Darwin came up with four postulates based on evolution and what happens through evolution and based on natural selection.
DARWIN'S 4 POSTULATES
1. Individuals within a species are variable
Not all individuals within a species are exactly the same. There are many differences within individuals of the same species, and this is why we can say they vary. Some variations come in height, length, color, or even size. As can be clearly seen in the photo, not all dogs are the same color even though they are of the same species.
2. Some of these variations are passed down to their offsprings
Variations can be passed down to their offsprings at all times. Some offsprings have the same color hair as their parents, while others have similar height or eye shape. In humans, parents often even pass down their birthmarks to their offsprings, making them different than all others.
3. More offsprings are produced than those who will survive
When offsprings are produced, mostly more than those who will survive are produced, because species are often sure that not all of them will live off healthy. Just like in dogs, dogs often have about 12 or 10 puppies, and only around 5 end up living, This doesn't always happen, but it often does because of natural selection.
4. Those with favorable characteristics survive and go on to reproduce
There is no such thing as random survival. Only the individuals for each species that have favorable characteristics are those who survive and go off to keep reproducing. This way, the species begins to evolve and grow stronger.
Read More
Buffalo State University (n.d.). Chapter 3: Darwinian Natural Selection. Buffalo State Education. Retrieved Apr 4.
http://faculty.buffalostate.edu/penaloj/bio405/outline3.html
Dictionary LLC (2016). Postulate. Dictionary.com. Houghton Mifflin Company. Retrieved Apr 4.
http://www.dictionary.com/browse/postulate
Evansville Institute (2003). Natural Selection. Evansville Education. Retrieved Apr 4.
http://faculty.evansville.edu/de3/b32003/lecture%20summaries/selection.pdfLê Nguyên Hoang (2016). Darwin's Theory of Evolution. Science4All. Wordpress. Retrieved Apr 4.
http://www.science4all.org/article/darwins-theory-of-evolution/
WWNorton College (n.d.). Chapter 1: Adaptation by Natural Selection. WWNorton College. Retrieved Apr 4.
http://www.wwnorton.com/college/anthro/bioanth/ch1/chap1.htm