Galapagos finches in biology education: historical myths and possibilities for understanding the nature of science
mitos históricos e possibilidades para a compreensão da natureza da ciência
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.11606/issn.2178-6224v20i2p131-154Keywords:
Tentilhões de Galápagos. , História da Evolução, Charles Robert Darwin., Natureza da Ciência.Abstract
No other group of living creatures is as commonly associated with Charles Darwin (1809–1882) as the Galápagos finches. Popularly known as “Darwin’s finches,” it was long believed that these birds were the primary stimulus that led the naturalist to consider evolution by natural selection. This narrative, although popular especially in biology textbooks, rests on a number of historical inaccuracies. At least four closely integrated myths make up the “Darwin-Galápagos episode”: that Darwin’s conversion to the transmutation of species occurred on the Galápagos and that the iconic finches played a key role in this conversion; that Darwin discovered the relationship between beaks and the ecological environment on the different islands; that finches were the primary inspiration for Darwin’s theory of natural selection; and, finally, that the Galápagos finches were essential to Darwin's argument for evolution in On the Origin of Species (1859). In this article, we aim to discuss the different historical inaccuracies surrounding the Galápagos finches episode, as well as the potential of this historical episode for understanding explicit aspects of the nature of science in biology teaching.
References
ABD-EL-KHALICK, Fouad; LEDERMAN, Norman G. Research on teaching, learning, and assessment of nature of science. Pp. 850-898, in: LEDERMAN, Norman G.; ZEIDLER, Dana L; LEDERMAN, Judith S. (eds.). Handbook of research on science education, Volume III. New York: Routledge, 2023
ALLCHIN, Douglas. Scientific myth‐conceptions. Science Education, 87 (3): 329-351, 2003. DOI: 10.1002/sce.10055
BURKHARDT, Frederick; SMITH, Sydney (eds). The correspondence of Charles Darwin. Vol. 2. 1837–1843. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1987.
CARVALHO, Ítalo Nascimento; EL-HANI, Charbel N; NUNES-NETO, Nei. How should we select conceptual content for biology high school curricula? Science & Education, 29 (3): 513-547, 2020. DOI: 10.1007/s11191-020-00115-9
DARWIN, Charles R. Journal of researches into the natural history and geology of the countries visited during the voyage of H.M.S. Beagle round the world, under the Command of Capt. Fitz Roy. 2nd ed. London: John Murray, 1845.
DARWIN, Charles R. [1836]. Darwin’s ornithological notes [1836]. British Museum (Natural History), 1963.
DONOHUE, Kathleen (ed.). Darwin’s finches: readings in the evolution of a scientific paradigm. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2011.
ELDREDGE, Niles. Experimenting with transmutation: Darwin, the Beagle, and evolution. Evolution: Education and Outreach, 2: 35-54, 2009. DOI: 10.1007/s12052-008-0103-2
GIL-PÉREZ, Daniel; MONTORO, Isabel F; ALÍS, Jaime C; CACHAPUZ, Antonio; PRAIA, João. Para uma imagem não-deformada do trabalho científico. Ciência & Educação, 7 (2): 125-153, 2001. DOI: 10.1590/S1516-73132001000200001
GOULD, John. Remarks on a group of ground finches from Mr Darwin’s collection, with characters of the new species. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 5: 4-7, 1837.
GRANT, Peter. Ecology and evolution of Darwin’s finches. Princeton University Press, 1986.
GRANT, Peter R.; GRANT, Rosemary B. How and why species multiply: the radiation of Darwin’s finches. Princeton University Press, 2007.
GRANTSAU, Rolf. Guia completo para identificação das aves do Brasil. Vol 2. São Carlos: Vento Verde, 2010.
HEILBRON, John L. Myth 1 - That myths are simple falsehoods. Pp. 14-23, in: KAMPOURAKIS, Kostas (ed.). Darwin mythology. Debunking myths, correcting falsehoods. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2024.
HODGE, Jonathan. Darwin, the Galapagos and his changing thoughts about species origins: 1835-1837. Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences, 61 (2): 89-106, 2010. Disponível em: https://darwin-online.org.uk/converted/pdf/2010_Hodge_A623.pdf Acesso em 10 Dez. 2025.
HORENSTEIN, Sidney. Darwin’s busts and public evolutionary outreach and education. Evolution: Education and Outreach, 4: 478-488, 2011.
KAMPOURAKIS, Kostas (ed.). Darwin mythology: debunking myths, correcting falsehoods. Cambridge University Press, 2024a.
KAMPOURAKIS, Kostas. Introduction: myths and Darwin. Pp. 1-13, in: KAMPOURAKIS, Kostas (ed.). Darwin mythology: debunking myths, correcting Falsehoods. Cambridge University Press, 2024 (b).
KOHN, David; MURRELL, Gina; PARKER, John; WHITEHORN, Mark. What Henslow taught Darwin. Nature, 436 (7051): 643-645, 2005. DOI: 10.1038/npg.els.0001791
LACK, David Darwin’s finches: An essay on the general biological theory of evolution. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1947.
LEDERMAN, Norman G. Students’ and teachers’ conceptions of the nature of science: A review of the research. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 29 (4): 331-359, 1992.https://doi.org/10.1002/TEA.3660290404
LEDERMAN, Norman G; LEDERMAN, Judith S. Research on Teaching and learning of nature of science. Pp. 600-620, in: LEDERMAN, Norman G; ABELL, Sandra K. (eds.). Handbook of Research on Science Education. Vol. 2. New York: Routledge, 2014
MARTINS, Roberto de A. Introdução: A história das ciências e seus usos na educação. Pp. 17-30, in: SILVA, Cibelle C. (ed.). Estudos de História e Filosofia das Ciências: subsídios para aplicação no ensino. São Paulo: Livraria da Física, 2006.
MATTHEWS, Michael. R. História, filosofia e ensino de ciências: a tendência atual de reaproximação. Caderno Catarinense de Ensino de Física, 12 (3): 164-214, 1995. Disponível em: https://www.scirp.org/reference/referencespapers?referenceid=2703550. Acesso em: 10 Dez. 2025.
OLDROYD, David R. How did Darwin arrive at his theory? The secondary literature to 1982. History of Science, 22 (4): 325-374, 1984. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/00732753840220040
QUESADO, Mirna. O papel dos aspectos da natureza da ciência em livros didáticos de ciências: uma análise textual. Pp. 91-104, in: MARTINS, Isabel; GOUVÊA, Guaracira; VILANOVA, Rita (eds.). O livro didático de ciências: contextos de exigência, critérios de seleção, práticas de leitura e uso em sala de aula. Rio de Janeiro: [s.n.], 2012.
REES, Paul A. The evolution of textbook misconceptions about Darwin. Journal of Biological Education, 41 (2): 53-55, 2007. Disponível em: https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ939210. Acesso em: 10 Dez. 2025.
SNODGRASS, Robert E. The Relation of the Food to the Size and Shape of the Bill in the Galapagos Genus Geospiza. Auk 19: 367-381, 1902. https://doi.org/10.2307/4069598
SULLOWAY, Frank J. Darwin and his finches: The evolution of a legend. Journal of the History of Biology, 15: 1-53, 1982 (a). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00132004
SULLOWAY, Frank J. Darwin’s conversion: The Beagle voyage and its aftermath. Journal of the History of Biology, 15: 325-396, 1982 (b). DOI: 10.1007/BF00133143
SULLOWAY, Frank J. The Beagle collections of Darwin’s finches (geospizinae). Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) 43: 49-94, 1982 (c). Disponível em: https://darwin-online.org.uk/converted/pdf/1982_SullowayFinches_A86.pdf Acesso em: 10 Dez. 2025.
SULLOWAY, Frank J. The legend of Darwin’s finches. Nature 303: 372, 1983. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_1011-1
SULLOWAY, Frank J. Darwin and the Galapagos. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 21: 29-59, 1984. DOI:10.1111/j.1095-8312.1984.tb02052.x
SULLOWAY, Frank J. Myth 5 - That Darwin converted to evolutionary theory during his historic Galápagos Islands visit. Pp. 56-67, in: KAMPOURAKIS, Kostas (ed.). Darwin mythology. Debunking myths, correcting Falsehoods. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2024.
WALLACE, Alfred R. The debt of science to Darwin. Century Magazine, 25: 430-432, 1883. Disponível em: https://darwin-online.org.uk/converted/pdf/1883_Wallace_A106.pdf Acesso em: 10 Dez. 2025.
WYHE, John van. Where do Darwin’s finches come from? The Evolutionary Review 3 (1): 185-195, 2012.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Filosofia e História da Biologia
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
The published manuscripts become the property of the journal Philosophy and History of Biology, and the authors accept the terms of this license and agree to assign the copyright for publication, in addition to agreeing with the publication's commitment to offering open access to all of its content. The information and concepts issued in signed papers are the sole responsibility of their authors.
cademia.edu
