Evolution is what phenomenon? Factors of evolution. Evolution of man and society

Now, as to the place, and out of place, they talk about evolution. But this is a scientific term, and you need to apply it carefully. It is widely believed that evolution is progress. That is, this phenomenon is understood as the progressive development of something from the simple to the complex, from the worst to the best. In contrast to evolution, there is the notion of "degradation", which is a regression, a roll-over to the primitive. Initially, this term was used for the development of biological species. However, now the scope of its application has expanded. You can talk about the evolution of society, human rights, other concepts, bearing in mind the progressive, slow development and improvement. It would be erroneous to believe that this term was invented by Charles Darwin. In fact, in his book On the Origin of Species he simply used the word "evolution" several times, which embryologists used before him. What does the term "evolution" actually mean? Let's figure it out.

Origin of the term

Strictly speaking, the Latin word "evolutio" translates as "unfolding". It can be said that evolution is the movement of organic and energy in time. The philosophers of the Miletus school had already guessed at the time that all life was developing. For example, Anaksimandr rightly believed that the animals were first waterfowl and only then left on land. Empedocles also reasoned with certainty that only the most adapted to the conditions of the external environment survive in nature. Great world religions for a long time stopped every opportunity to even stammer that animals and plants can evolve. They believed and argued that God originally created everything visible as it is now. Since the Creator of the Universe is perfect, he did not need to create the kinds of plants and animals that need development. And man, Adam, He created already at the homo sapiens stage. The first modest voices that biological species can mutate and breed others were heard only at the end of the 16th century. In 1751, the French naturalist Maupertuis wrote that organisms can be modified as a result of mutations accumulated over many generations. And Erasmus Darwin (Charles's grandfather) put forward the theory that all warm-blooded animals originated from one microorganism.

Evolution and embryology

The first to speak about this phenomenon began talking doctors who study the fetal development of the fetus. It turned out that the embryo passes through several stages during its growth and formation. From a simple fertilized egg, it turns into an organism ready for an independent life. And in this development the embryo passes the stage of existence with gills. This term was first described and described in 1762 by S. Bonnet. In application to the embryo, evolution is a gradual and, most importantly, a logical transition from one phase of development to another.

Darwin's contribution

The great British scientist-naturalist reinterpreted the previously used term and applied it to all living things on Earth. And in fact: if the baby's embryo has gills at a certain stage of its development, then why not assume that it simply passes for nine months the path that all mankind has gone through for many millions of years? In his work The Origin of Species, Darwin pointed out that the mechanisms of the appearance of new traits, along with the hereditary properties and parameters of the organism, remain unknown. The scientist tried to explain them in the "Provisional Theory of Pangenesis." Natural conditions create a field for natural selection. Only those individuals who manage to adapt to the habitat survive. They, then, transmit their distinctive (new) traits to the descendants, while the unsuccessful individuals die out. It turns out that biological evolution is a natural process in which living organisms through natural selection and the desire for adaptation change, mutate. Thus, the scientist summed up the scientific community to the conclusion about the origin of man from the animal world. It should be said that this has given rise to heated arguments, which do not stop even now.

Contribution of Hugo de Vries

This Dutch scientist-botanist, who lived at the turn of the XIX and XX centuries, introduced the scientific term "mutations". He rethought Darwin 's theory of evolution and supplemented it with the workings of geneticists. He proved his hypothesis on the example of the wild-growing autumn larch of Lamarck. If Darwin's evolution is slow, progressive, accumulating from one generation to another, then Hugo de Vries changes suddenly, due to "useful" mutations. These transformations give either a push to the formation of a new breed (which explains the diversity of living nature), or to a change in the whole species. The revolutionary nature of such transformations in the organisms of the population gave rise to the theory of saltingism (from the Latin word salto - jump). In the 20-30s of the twentieth century, scientists overcame the gap between the Darwinian theory of progressive progress and the abrupt changes in Frieze and, supplementing their findings with Mendel's conclusions about heredity, created a new teaching. It can be characterized as a modern evolutionary synthesis.

The essence of the concept

Thus, we can say with confidence that evolution is development. Whatever we use this Latin word, it should point to improvement, improvement, progress. The reverse movement from complex to simple, "folding" in social relations is called degradation, decline. As for the biological species, this regress is deadly for him. It leads to its extinction. Paleontology knows thousands of examples of "dead-end branches" in the world evolution. And in relation to human societies? It is known that earlier on the territory of modern Yakutia there was a developed civilization Diring-Yuryakh. The same examples of regress can also be observed in relation to law or economic relations in a particular society. Restriction of freedom of speech or total trampling of human rights in the state speaks of its latent extinction.

What is needed for the biological population to evolve

And yet, what kind of driving force makes a living organism mutate and create a new kind of creatures? We know the breeds, for example, of some fish that have remained unchanged for millions of years. In order for the revolutionary perfection of the whole species to take place, it is necessary that evolution factors are present . This is primarily intraspecific competition, which leads to natural selection, and genetic drift. If the population exists in a favorable environment, so many individuals are born, how many can survive on a given food base, while animals are isolated from other similar ones, then the genotype is more or less the same. This kind does not need to adapt, mutate and evolve. But if the conditions of the environment change, or there is a surge in the birth rate, competition arises between individuals - one of the reasons for the change in the species. The strongest and the most adapted take their fodder from their weak colleagues and, on the background of their destruction, leave their genotype in the offspring. And heredity - another factor of evolution - fixes "useful" changes, a mutation, as a species trait.

Are people the pinnacle of development?

Anthropogenesis, or human evolution, is a long and mysterious process, as a result of which Homo sapiens emerged. He stood out from among other hominids about two million years ago. What happened at that time in Africa, that the great apes were forced to leave the jungle and move to savannahs, to master walking on the hindlimbs, to make tools, to subdue the fire? The evolution of man went in a completely different way than in animals. If the latter changed in order to adapt to the surrounding nature, then people invented ways to adapt the conditions of the world to their needs. On the path of the evolution of a reasonable man, there were also "dead-end branches" of development. For example, homo erectus or Neanderthal.

Is there an evolution in society?

This concept also worries the minds of scientists. Especially when it comes to progress and modernization. Can we say that evolution is a social process? As for scientific and technical progress, we can state with certainty that there is one. People know the laws of this world. They master new technologies and with their help create more and more perfect tools. But the example of civilizations is not all so smooth. After all, society is a kind of macro-organism. It can also mutate, mutate. If it is open to "new genetic infusions" - it will develop. If it chooses the path of self-isolation, it is doomed to degradation. Social evolution is manifested not only in the progress of technology, but also in the development of institutions and law.

Revolution and Evolution

This ratio of slow, progressive and abrupt changes in society has long been of interest to sociologists and political scientists. Speaking about the evolution in society, it should be noted that the most drastic changes occur as a result of radical upheavals. Sometimes these revolutions are bloodless. For such a development of events, the government's desire to go for reforms is necessary. If the ruling class wants only to remain in power by suppressing protest moods, a social explosion is inevitable.