1) An individual who has had a significant impact and influence over Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection has to be Jean-Baptiste Lamarck. He has been a positive influence towards the theory.
2) Jean-Baptiste Lamarck's contribution to the theory of evolution and natural selection was his proposition of the use-disuse theory. He suggested that over time, organisms adapted to their surroundings by the growing and shrinking of body parts to better suit their environment, with parts that were not used as often becoming non-existent. An example would be the giraffe, which was suggested to have elongated its neck as leaves became higher and higher off the ground. It was also suggested in his theory that animals over time were driven to more complex forms. "As organisms adapted to their surroundings, nature also drove them inexorably upward from simple forms to increasingly complex ones. Like Buffon, Lamarck believed that life had begun through spontaneous generation. But he claimed that new primitive life forms sprang up throughout the history of life; today's microbes were simply 'the new kids on the block.'" (1).
3) Points that were most likely influenced by Lamarck's theory are as follows;
a) If the environment changes, the traits that are helpful or adaptive to that environment will be different.
b) In order for natural selection to occur, reproduction MUST occur!
c) In order for traits to evolve and change, they MUST be heritable.
In regards to environmental changes, traits that occur between generations are suggested to change based on what is useful to the animal. Darwin probably noted Lamarck's theory of use-disuse and proposed this thought process. Lamarck suggested "that complexity evolved simply as a result of life adapting to its local conditions from one generation to the next, much as modern biologists see this process." (2). Traits that happen over time that can be passed down to better the animal's wellbeing in changing environments are what helps to keep a species alive. Again using the giraffe example, the longer neck genetic being passed down meant over time the neck could grow longer and longer to adapt to the trees getting taller.
Darwin however did have some disagreements with Lamarck's theories.
(3)4) I do not think Darwin would have developed his theory of natural selection without the influence of Lamarck because of their contrasting ideas as naturalists. Darwin and Lamarck while they had similar ideas still had dire differences in key points of theories. Darwin's points essentially challenged Lamarck's points, and I do not think that without the people who came before Darwin to propose their first ideas, would Darwin have challenged them with his own findings and theories.
5) "Darwin had delayed [publicizing] his ideas due to worries of a backlash from Britain's religious or scientific establishment. As he anticipated, it unleashed controversy, yet the scale of the uproar has often been exaggerated." (5). During this time period, the church was widely feared for heresy, but fortunately he was not the first to propose the theory of evolution (6).
Works used:
1-3) "Early Concepts of Evolution: Jean Baptiste Lamarck" Understanding Evolution. N.p., n.d. Web. <http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/history_09>.
4) "5.13: Influences on Darwin" Biology Concepts. N.p., n.d. Web. <http://www.ck12.org/book/CK-12-Biology-Concepts/section/5.13/.
5-6) "Darwin and the Church" Charles Darwin N.p., n.d. Web. <http://qi.com/infocloud/charles-darwin>.
Hi Emily,
ReplyDeleteWow! Your post went about and beyond and i can tell you put a lot of time and effort into this. I also felt Jean-Baptiste Lamarck had a great impact and influence on Darwin's theory of natural selection. You put so many great details in your post that i wish i put in mine. All your quotes were right on and went with the flow of each question. The chart you put into your post was a great idea. Overall, your post went above and beyond. Thank you for your hard work, I really enjoyed reading your post.
Good points about why Lamarck's influence was most important for his development of his theory of Natural Selection. By seeing what other people proposed to be true, Darwin saw flaws and looked to perfect the ideas that went against the church.
ReplyDeleteI like the layout of your blog and how you added a diagram! Good work.
Very good discussion on Lamarck's work and well done on the choice of bullet points. I would also have included the point that "individuals don't evolve. Populations do", not because this was Lamarck's point but because he argued the opposite. Darwin recognized the problem with Lamarck's logic and countered it, so this could be viewed as a negative, oppositional influence by Lamarck.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate the table you've included. I would only argue that "transmission of acquired characteristics" is also inheritance, just different terminology. Both Lamarck and Darwin recognized that traits must be heritable, regardless of whether they were "acquired" or "selected".
Yes, all scientists build upon those who come before, but I suggest that in this instance, you might be giving Lamarck too much credit over Darwin's work. By the time Darwin was in school as a naturalist, Lamarck was already old news and his theory falsified. Lamarck should be credited as the first to propose an actual mechanism for evolution. This was a huge step forward, regardless of its inaccuracies, but there were many others discussing and debating evolution during Darwin's time. Lamarck was important but not necessarily indispensable.
Okay in your last section, but the majority of a paragraph should be your own writing. Quotes should support, not replace, your own work. Darwin delayed publishing for more than 20 years. The question is, what specific concerns led Darwin to delay that long? And was he only worried about himself or was he also worried about how his family might be impacted by publishing? What repercussions might they have experienced (keeping in mind that the church was no longer burning anyone at the stake).
Hello Emily,
ReplyDeleteI found your analysis of Lamarck's work well thought out. The contrast between their ideas is clear, and the diagram is very helpful in clearly illustrating their differences. And I definitely agree that without Lamarck's ideas to contrast against, Darwin may not have gotten to where he did. Lamarck's ideas gave Darwin a basis and almost a starting point to begin with and to challenge. Lamarck started the thought processes that lead to the Darwin's discovery, however Lamarck did not really do much else for him, as Lamarck was basically incorrect in his assertions as to how evolution works.
Hi Emily,
ReplyDeleteI found your post very detailed and neat with a bunch of information that makes sense and is easy to follow. I agree that Lamarck had a positive affect on Darwin's theory and the articles you used were really clear and helpful as well as all you said made that statement clear. I really like your blog post because of how much effort you put into it. I also like the title and url.