10. Charles Darwin’s Doubts, Part 1
Before being known as the father of the theory of evolution, Charles Darwin was on his way to becoming an Anglican parson, at the urging of his father. His father had initially wanted young Charles to become a doctor, but he neglected his studies and found medicine distressing. After graduating college in the course of study in natural history, Darwin was offered a space on the two-year expedition of the HMS Beagle as a captain’s companion and naturalist. Darwin’s father strongly objected to this plan and thought the two-year trip would be a waste of time that would damage Charles’ career path as a parson.
Being ever bright, Darwin wrote to his favorite uncle, and his father’s brother, laying out the numerous negative points about the journey that his father had raised, many of them quite unkind towards the young Charles. His father’s chief complaint, taking first place on the list, was that such an undertaking would be “disreputable” to his position as a clergyman after the fact. At the time, ideas of evolution were extraordinarily controversial and viewed as contrary to the teachings of Christianity. Working as a naturalist, in his father’s view, would connect him to that movement and weaken his chances at rising within the Anglican church.