Wallace, Alfred Russell

Alfred Russel Wallace

The British natural historian Alfred Russell Wallace (1823-1913) is known for the idea that species emerged through natural selection. In a paper he wrote in 1855 titled "On the Law Which Has Regulated the Introduction of New Species," Wallace maintained that all species were extensions of other species to which they were closely related.

Despite developing his thesis at approximately the same time as Darwin, Wallace held different views on a number of points. As a believer in the human soul, Wallace believed that Allah had created by means of evolution, and maintained that human mental capacities could not be explained in terms of natural selection and similar naturalistic mechanisms. In contrast to Darwin, he believed that non-biological factors outside natural selection were responsible for the emergence of human physical traits and mental capabilities.274

274. "Darwin or Wallace?: Scientific and Religious Interpretations of the Human Being," H. James Birx,

http://www.theharbinger.org/articles/rel_sci/darwin.html