1.
1. I think that Jean- Baptiste Lamark had great
influence over Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection. Thanks to Lamark’s
idea that the environment altered the individuals and through that changes were
inherited. This only help solidify and validate Darwin’s theory that the
variation of species already existed and that nature decided who and what was
best suitable to carry on. This led him to the theory of “the survival of the
fittest.”
2. 2. One major contribution Lamark made to evolution
is Biology. He realized the importance in the way organisms and the external environment
interacted with one another. Biology lead him to study the way species change.
He believed that when the environment went through changes that organisms also
had to change with it to survive. All of this led him to be best known for the
theory of inheriting acquired characteristics. (http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/history_09)
3. 3. The bullet point that stating if the environment
changes, the traits that are helpful or adaptive to that environment will be
different is most directly affect by Lamark’s work. For example; he believed that
after Giraffes had finished eating from the bottom of the tree that they would
have to stretch their necks to get to the leaves on the top. Over time their
necks would become gradually longer to be able to keep up with their needs. He
believed as the environment changed that an animal’s activity patterns had to
change as well to keep up with their circumstances. This theory was later
proven to be incorrect only helping move Darwins theory that nature selected
the most fit to survive.
4. 4. I think ultimately he could have proven his
theory of natural selection without the help of Lamark. However, having other
theories be falsified around him only helped in supporting his theory further.
I think that it didn’t hurt to have another theory differ from his own, rather
helped challenge his own theory that the environment decided which traits were
best fit to survive and which were to die off.
5. 5. There was
such a fear that evolution would eventually cause the church to crash by
leading people away from the original beliefs that revolved around God being
the creator of everything. However Darwin was indifferent to religion and it
wasn’t until he felt that Wallace would get credit for the theory or natural
process that he went forward and decided to publish the Origin of Species.
lala land,
ReplyDeleteI absolutely see the connections you have made in your post. I hadn't thought of the major relevance that Lamark's emphasis on environment had. Because of the thought of a species changing and adapting to the environmental factors around them had a direct effect on Darwin. If the species didn't adapt, there would be less survival rate.
I chose Wallace almost for the same reason that you chose Lamark. They both agreed that the environment causes change for a species to adapt to. This adds onto the theory of evolution and how natural selection aids in the progression of a species. You definitely did awesome research in finding his theory on how giraffes necks grew. How funny! I found the same information that Wallace encouraged Darwin to publish his findings, and we're so glad he did, can you imagine how the world and our educations would differ if we never found out about the theory and if we never got to learn about it?
ReplyDeleteI too think Lamark had a used biology as a huge contribution to evolution. He realized how important the environment is to the life of organisms that live in it. We must adapt to our environment and only the strongest will survive. His theory is common sense. That organisms must do anything and everything to survive. Which is why organisms adapt as much as they do. I think is was big that Wallace published his book when he did. It was a huge risk to take but the right thing to do.
ReplyDeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteI have to agree that Lamark had a great influence on Darwin. Lamark was able to open his mind to ideas beyond the average thoughts of his time. By studying biology, he was able to see that even little things like organisms also had to change to survive. I agree, there was definitely a fear of evolution but the good thing was that Darwin was able to keep his mind focused and changed the way of science forever .
You have the right idea on your background and explanation for Lamarck's work, but let's make some clarifications:
ReplyDeleteLamarck was the first to propose an actual mechanism explaining "how" evolution occurred, not just "if" it occurred. This is a big deal and, although Lamarck's ideas turned out to be incorrect, this first step in evolutionary theory laid the path for those like Darwin to follow. Lamarck argued that organisms changed during their lifetimes in response to changes in their environment through the use or disuse of physical structures. Those physical changes were then passed onto their offspring. The classic example is the lengthening of the giraffe's neck in response to taller trees.
I agree that the bullet point on the environment directly applies to Lamarck as his theory relied upon the changing environment to produce changes in behaviors which produced physical changes. There are two other points that could be attributed to Lamarck as well. One is that the traits must be heritable. Both Darwin and Lamarck recognized this crucial point, otherwise, traits couldn't get passed on reliably. Finally, both recognized the importance of reproduction in the process.
A point that is important because Lamarck and Darwin argued in direct opposition to each other is the idea that "Individuals don't evolve, populations do". Lamarck actually argued that individuals DO evolve. Darwin's mechanism didn't predict individual evolution as it acted on existing variation in the population. You can only see evolutionary change at the level of the population across generations, not within generations in an individual.
Lamarck's theory was actually proposed well before Darwin's. It was generally considered invalid by the time Darwin was developing his own theory, but ideas of use and disuse persisted. While Lamarck certainly helped Darwin by being the first to propose such a mechanism, I wouldn't argue that Darwin wouldn't have developed his theory without Lamarck. He wasn't that indispensable.
"However Darwin was indifferent to religion..."
That wasn't the case. Darwin wrestled with his faith his entire life. He started college in the seminary studying to be a priest, before discovering he preferred the natural sciences. He was a religious man his whole life, though he did have his doubts, particularly when his beloved daughter Anne died. He became angry at the idea of a God who would let a child suffer like that, but there isn't evidence that he ever lost his faith completely. In fact, one of the reasons he may have delayed is hesitancy over the idea of causing damage to the church. He was hardly indifferent. Beyond that, he was well aware of the repercussions he and his family might experience if he published such a controversial topic in that social and religious environment.
I chose Wallace but I see where you made your points about Lamark. His use of biology was definitely needed when it came to Darwin and his studies. Your post was very well detailed and I learned a lot by reading it, making me think deeper within subjects. Good Job!
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