How Did Darwin Contribute To Lamarck's Theory Of Evolution?

Evolution is a change in the characteristic of living organism through time. Modern synthesis, one of the greatest intellectual achievements of biology, could explain how mutations and natural selection could produced large-scale evolutionary change. There are 4 mechanisms for evolution to occur; mutation, gene flow, genetic drift and natural selection.
Although, there are a number of misconceptions about evolution; it does not explain the origins of life, it is not progressive, natural selection is not about the survival of the fittest individuals in a population, humans are not currently evolving, it does not make organism better designed nor does it gives organism what they need to survive. This essay will describe further, 3 common misconceptions

A more simplistic way of thinking of evolution is “descent with modification” which is essentially stating, over many generations, organisms change. Charles Darwin and Jean Baptiste Lamarck are often referred to as the fore founders of evolution. Of course, many, many other scientists had differing theories regarding evolution, but Darwin and Lamarck receive the most modern attention- both deserving credit for their concepts. They’re famous not for the propositions of evolution- that had already been theorised. They’re famous for providing a reasonable explanation for how evolution occurs- natural selection. In which we will delve into later.

At the beginning of the 1800s, scientists knew of some kinds of fossils, and were very aware of homologous and vestigial structures. Many scientists suspected that some kind of evolution had given rise to living things around them. However, they had no theory to explain how evolution might have occurred. Two scientists led the way in the search for a mechanism of evolution. The first was Jean Lamarck. The second was one of the greatest figures in biology, Charles Darwin.

comes from and how they evolved in the manner that they did. This type of

"Much has been written on whether or not the Darwinian theory was original. Inevitably, historians have concluded that there was little novelty in what Darwin and Wallace were saying. Down through the centuries, from ancient Greek times on, various writers have suggested that new species can arise through the modification of old and that among all the possible organic types, the world contains only those that can survive the struggle for life." (8)

Evolution is the idea of a living organism adapting or mutating to gain beneficial physiological, psychological and structural features. The genetic makeup of all living things is constantly changing, due to DNA replication errors or outside factors, some of these changes impact drastically on the organism changing it for the better or worse. Typically when an organisms genetic code is changed for the better and it reproduces and outlives its unchanged counterparts this process is called evolution.

Charles Darwin discovered and developed this evolutionary mechanism called natural selection. It basically stated that if there existed variation in population there would be a struggle of survival. Darwin meant that those traits that were the most fit would be passed on to the next generation more often.

As pointed out in a lecture, the concept of evolution or the transformation of species was already formulated before Charles Darwin’s time. Herbert Spencer, Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, and notably Charles Darwin’s own grandfather, Erasmus Darwin, all had both publicly and prominently discussed the concept of transformation of species for some time prior, while many other scientists of the period proposed theories that suggested a struggle for survival as the driving force towards evolution . Thus, Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection and environmental pressures was not thought of in a vacuum. Instead, Darwin’s theory of evolution was a product of his time, as Darwin was heavily influenced by thinkers of both the Romantic and Enlightenment

Throughout history, there has been a major debate on the theory of evolution. Is it true? The term evolution has been defined many ways, and for the purpose of this paper, I will use the fourth definition from the Merriam-Webster dictionary. “Evolution is the descent with modification from preexisting species: cumulative inherited change in a population of organisms through time leading to the appearance of new forms: the process by which new species or populations of living things develop from preexisting forms through successive generations.” (Merriam-Webster, 2017) What does this mean and how could it possibly be true? In this paper, I will explain the different ideas

comes from and how they evolved in the manner that they did. This type of

This paper discusses the theory of evolution in detail. Topics this paper will address include defining the theory of evolution and explaining how the theory has evolved over time, as well as highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of the theory and examining how effective the theory is in today’s world.

Plato, a man who believed by just thinking about it, you could understand and achieve fully, trained Aristotle in philosophy. Aristotle did not agree on Plato’s belief, and soon came up with his own. He believed that in order to understand, you must observe what is being studied by looking, listening or touching it. Aristotle’s method of studying is now the base of contemporary science. Modern scientists are now engineering more efficient and precise ways of observing. In conclusion, Aristotle awoke the world with the study of live, which grew to the study of modern science of phycology.

Jean-Baptiste Lamarck (1755-1829) is one of the best-known early evolutionists, holding a belief that evolution was a continuous development and strived toward greater complexity and perfection. Through which, his theory of evolution was that living organisms evolved in a unceasingly up ward direction, from dead matter, through simple to more complex forms and towards human “perfection” (Nesci.edu, 2015). From his theories of Inheritance of Acquired Characteristics; where organisms adapt to their environments and those changes were passed onto their off springs (Corbis, 2001), to his theories of Use and Disuse, where organisms that are not used progressively disappear (Evolution.berkeley.edu, 2015). Lamarck was the first biologist to publish

Starting over 500 years ago with Nicolaus Copernicus, Galileo Galilei, Francis Bacon, and Isaac Newton paving the way for the possibility of new scientific exploration into studies such as “stratigraphy, the study of the rock and soil layers of the earth” by Robert Hooke and Carolus Linnaeus’ study of taxonomy, “the system of naming and classifying organisms” based on morphological similarities and differences, humanity would begin to uncrack the code of where life came from in a nonbiblical sense. (Fuentes, 26) Further studies by George-Louis Leclerc – Comte du Buffon, Erasmus Darwin (Charles’ grandfather), Georges Cuvier, James Hutton and Charles Lyell as well as Jean Baptiste Pierre Antoine de Monet – Chevalier de Lamarck’s studies in which he “correctly identified the environment as a challenge to organisms and adaptation as the result of changing to meet environmental challenges” helped prompt the formulation of the current understanding of evolution by Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace each in their own special way.

Many knowledge claims in human and natural science are based on theories. Jean Lamarck proposed the theory of evolution in 1801. The theory of evolution proposed by Lamarck was based on the idea that organisms had to change their behavior to survive. For instance, if a giraffe stretched it neck for a long period of time to reach the leaves as the top of the tree, then a “nervous fluid” would flow in the neck and make it longer. Thus, its