What are Darwin's 5 postulates?

Question

What are Darwin's 5 postulates?

Answer 1

Darwin postulates a creator which seeds the universe with few simple forms and some laws, and then, like a cellular automaton, 'endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being evolved.'

Answer 2

   1.   Evolution as such. This is the theory that the world is not constant or recently created nor perpetually cycling, but rather is steadily changing, and that organisms are transformed in time.

   2. Common descent. This is the theory that every group of organisms descended from a common ancestor, and that all groups of organisms, including animals, plants, and microorganisms, ultimately go back to a single origin of life on earth.

   3. Multiplication of species. This theory explains the origin of the enormous organic diversity. It postulates that species multiply, either by splitting into daughter species or by "budding", that is, by the establishment of geographically isloated founder populations that evolve into new species.

   4. Gradualism. According to this theory, evolutionary change takes place through the gradual change of populations and not by the sudden (saltational) production of new individuals that represent a new type.

   5. Natural selection. According to this theory, evolutionary change comes about throught the abundant production of genetic variation in every generation. The relatively few individuals who survive, owing to a particularly well-adapted combination of inheritable characters, give rise to the next generation.  

Answer 3

1st ... all organisms can reproduce more offspring than can possibly survive.

  

2nd ... What stops all from surviving?  Darwin observed that there is a constant struggle for food, water, and space amongst members of the same species (birds compete with birds for food birds eat, birds don't compete with fish for food).  Those who win the struggle live to reproduce, those who lose die.

3rd ... Why do some win or lose?  Darwin observed that members of a species are not the same.  He noticed that there is variation for every trait.  The pattern of variation is represented by a bell shaped curve.  That curve tells us that there are some that are "less" than their parents and some that are "more", but most are in the middle and are just like their parents."  As a result of that variation, some of the organisms at an extreme might be born slightly different and that difference might give them an advantage in the struggle.

4th ... The environment determines what the advantage is.  Thus, it is nature that selects what is an advantage and the selection of 'who' lives and dies occurs naturally.  Thus, it is natural selection.

5th ... Those that survive the environment will produce offspring that are more similar to the parents   causing minuscule changes (be sure to refer back to #3) that accumulate over time.