Publication of Origin of Species by Darwin

Darwin had his theory of natural selection ready by the year 1838 but for personal reasons, he did not publish the book for about thirty years. Many have tried to give their views on the reasons as to why he never revealed the information immediately it was ready. Research that has been done shows that the reasons that could have led to the delay are mostly personal. Some have argued that publishing the theory could have brought social and familial upheaval on Darwin (Wyhe n. d). The theory could have brought disturbance to many believers. One such person who would have been disturbed includes his wife as well as other close friends. He also had a good relationship with his father who had been widowed and publishing the work at this time could have affected him. He, therefore, found it important to keep the information private until such time as when he felt it was safe and efficient. Some other commentators argue that he needed more time to test his ideas with other evidence that he would later on come across. This would help him have many references to support his work before it was released. The more the evidence that he provided, the more the people were likely to see some sense in the work. Darwin could also have feared religious persecution, bearing in mind that most of the individuals are against the theory. Individuals who believed in creation saw Darwin as a sinner who was opposing God. They saw the theory as a cause of the problem, especially for the politicians. Revealing his ideas would have led to religious prosecution. He also feared social disgrace by individuals in society. During his adult life, Darwin fell ill frequently, meaning that he would frequently be bedridden. These illnesses distracted his normal life and they could also have caused the delay in publishing the theory. Previously, Darwin had done a paper on Glen Roy. This paper was embarrassingly wrong. Maybe he did not want to make such a mistake of producing a wrong paper and therefore needed much time to prove his idea right. The time that he took to produce the theory could also have made him doubt the efficiency of the theory. Darwin’s theory of natural selection was not published for a long period of time mainly for personal reasons.