"On the ordinary view of each species having been independently created, we gain no scientific explanation"

Charles Darwin challenges the notion that each species has been independently created, emphasizing the lack of scientific explanation such a concept provides. When one assumes that each form of life appeared on Earth as a unique act of creation, there is no pressing need to investigate the relationships or patterns among species, nor is there motivation to explore the underlying causes that account for both the similarities and the differences in living organisms. The idea of independent creation reduces the study of biodiversity and the tapestry of life to an act of mere observation rather than explanation. Science, at its core, seeks to understand not just what is, but how and why things are as they are. Without an explanatory framework, facts remain disconnected and superficial.

Darwin’s insight calls attention to the power of evolutionary theory to provide a coherent, unifying account of both the diversity and unity of life. Evolution by natural selection offers a mechanism whereby species do not exist in isolation; they are related through common descent, shaped by environmental pressures, and modified over generations. This approach allows scientists to make sense of morphological, anatomical, and genetic similarities among organisms, to understand patterns in the fossil record, to predict the existence of transitional forms, and to explain adaptations to diverse environments.

Assuming independent creation, there is no context for the appearance of vestigial organs, embryological similarities, or the nested hierarchy of classification seen in taxonomy. These become arbitrary coincidences rather than results of shared ancestry and evolutionary processes. Darwin argues that only a natural, scientific account, one rooted in testable, explanatory laws, permits biology to mature as a science. Evolutionary theory transforms natural history from a catalogue of wonders into a dynamic, interconnected tapestry whose complexities and regularities can be systematically explained and understood. In this way, Darwin highlights that explanation, not just description, is fundamental to the scientific enterprise.