Untitled Essay, Research Paper

Lamarck’s Influence on the Development

of Darwin’s Theory

of Evolution

Serebryany, Rostislav

Marc Weinstein

Lamarck’s Influence on The Development of Darwin’s Theory of EvolutionThere have been many ideas on the theory of evolution. Some simply take our existence for

granted, others prefer to explain all evolution in terms of the bible and the presence of

a God. However, there are those who have researched the topic of evolution and have

offered an explanation as to where a species comes from and how they evolved in the manner

that they did. This type of science has been studied for a very, very long time, and one

of the most famous minds in the field of evolution was a man named Charles Darwin. Darwin

was not the first one to offer theories on evolution. There have been many scientists who

preceded him. These earlier evolutionists came up with models of evolution that were

unfortunately unworkable. One of these early pioneers was Jean-Baptiste Lamarck. Lamarck

believed in deism and advocated natural religion based on human reason. He believed in the

harmony and rationality of the world. And although flawed, the work of Lamarck did not go

unnoticed, however. Darwin also believed in the harmony of the world, and it was Darwin

himself who said that Lamarck was the first man whose conclusions on evolution brought

about excitement and attention. He was the one who showed law in organic and inorganic

species evolution. As it turned out, the work of Lamarck was quite influential on Darwin.

Lamarck’s views on inheritance of characteristics can be seen in Darwin’s

accounts of natural selection. When Lamarck wrote of transmutation, Darwin followed with

his beliefs of the mutability of species. As well, Darwin had used Lamarck’s ideas on

use and disuse of organs. Lamarck was not the greatest of influences on Darwin, but he was

an important one.

One of the most important arguments in Darwin’s theories was the idea of natural

selection. It is generally thought that the world first heard of this idea in the form of

Lamarck’s inheritance of acquired traits theory. Lamarck’s work showed that

organisms improve themselves on their own. Then these new advantages for the environment

would be passed on to the species offspring on the genetic level. This idea of self

improvement detailed how, through hard work of the organism, the path of evolution was

continuous, always improving to the point of perfection. Lamarck had said that organisms

must first be faced with a different mode of environment that would trigger some sort of

pressure for an altered gene, to be inherited in the next generation. This process has

come to be known as Lamarckism. (Gould, 1980) Darwin did not deny any of this. He regarded

it as support for natural selection as an evolutionary mechanism. Darwin’s theory was

more complex then Lamarck’s, but the basic structure was there. Darwin had rooted his

theory on the concept of adaptation, just as Lamarck had previously done. Adaptation is

the notion of organisms responding to a changing environments by evolving either a form or

function of the body that would better suite it in the environment. Lamarck had explained

that the method of transfer of information was directly to the organism, the animal would

perceive the change and simply respond in the necessary way so that their offspring can be

better adapted. Darwin’s answer to what the mechanism is was much different. Darwin

spoke of there being two components, variation and direction.(Gould, 1980) Darwin had

taken into account that the species did indeed create offspring that were better suited

for the environment, just as Lamarck had said. Darwin proposed that instead of direct

transfer of environmental change, those that vary by good fortune are better suited for

the environment and leave more surviving offspring. A species would have this beneficial

trait through random variation. Then, the characteristic would help the animal survive,

while the others died off. This ensured that the beneficial trait would get passed on.

This explanation is similar to Lamarkism, with obvious adjustments. Darwin simply showed

that natural selection is, above all, a theory about the struggle of individual survival

and reproduction. Lamarck’s theory on inheritance of acquired characteristics is not

that much different, infact, Lamarckism has occasionally been mistaken for Darwinism.

Darwin did indeed take Lamarck’s inheritance of characteristics theory and modify it

so that he improved upon it. This shows how Lamarck influenced Darwin to create the

natural selection theory. It did not stop there, though. Lamarck also influenced Darwin

with the idea of transmutation, and prompted Darwin to theorize on that aspect of

evolution as well.

Transmutation was an idea resulting in the problem that Lamarck faced when dealing with

the apparent extinction of a species. To Lamarck, extinction was not a possibility.

Lamarck believed that extinction could not occur because then it would mean that God

created an imperfect being, which was not a possibility for Lamarck. One purpose for the

theory of transmutation was to offer an explanation for the apparent

‘disappearance’ of a species. The theory was that out of inherited

characteristics, a species would undergo change. Each generation would continue to change

because inheritance of traits would always occur. Eventually, over a very gradual amount

of time, the species would evolve so dramatically, that the new adaptations would bear

little or no resemblance to the original species.(Ospovat, 1981) Darwin, who incorporated

this idea, modified it slightly. To Darwin, extinction was very much a reality. He had

stated in his "Origin of Species"

that only few species in a particular genus would ever undergo a change. The other species

of the same genus would go extinct and leave no modified offspring, only the ones that

have apparently gone through some sort of mutation would produce offspring. This theory

shows a direct link to Lamarck’s because Darwin believed in transmutation also. On

his voyage to the Galapagos Islands, Darwin found birds that seemed to be similar, but

were each distinct. These birds came to be known as Darwin’s finches, and Darwin

discovered that each variety shared a common ancestry that grew out of the mainland.

Although his method for scientific analysis was poor, Darwin concluded that when the same

species of birds had migrated to the different islands of the Galapagos, they found that

their competition for survival had decimated. The finches would then evolve to fit the new

feeding environment, and take over the roles of the previous birds. (Gould, 1980) This

idea was influenced by Lamarck’s principal that each newly established evolutionary

line would gradually move up the ladder. In Lamarckism, transmutation and inherited

characteristics went hand in hand. Transmutation occurred out of the willingness of the

organism to adapt to the environment. Although Darwin’s theory of mutated animals is

a bit different, again the influence of Lamarck is apparent. To Darwin, transmutation was

not the achievement of higher levels of organization, but rather the production of new

forms better suited for life in the external environment. Although this seems the opposite

to Lamarck, Darwin merely tried to show the scientific fact behind transmutation, he

needed to involve extinction, Lamarck did not, it was necessary to prove the notion of

mutation and transmutation because it was not regarded at the time due to the fact that

the steps in-between were not visible. Darwin saw the difficulty in Lamarck’s view,

and was influenced by the evolutionist to come up with an idea that supported the topic as

a whole, not necessarily Lamarck’s view. Darwin proceeded to try and improve upon

Lamarck’s theory when the idea of use and disuse became of interest to him.

The idea that an organism would have parts of their body disappear due to the fact that

the particular part was of no function over many generations and had no use, was presented

to Darwin by Lamarck. It was Lamarck who had said that if he were to put a patch over the

left eye of two children, one male and one female, and the patch be kept there throughout

their lifetime, and then in turn, their children would also be given a patch to wear, that

gradually over many generations, the right eye would adapt so that the left eye would no

longer be needed. Lamarck was confident that distant generations would not even have a

left eye, and that further down the road, the right eye would start to move towards the

center.(Corsi, 1988) Obviously there would be no proof on this particular hypothesis.

Lamarck did not stop there, though. He also stated that the giraffe’s long neck was

the result of continuous stretching for food atop the highest trees. The will power of the

giraffe changed the structure of it’s neck so that future offspring would be able to

reach for the best leaves. (Corsi, 1988) The idea of use and disuse is connected with the

idea of inherited characteristics as well. To Darwin, this idea showed him the correlation

between the environment and natural selection. He had stated that through the natural

selection of beneficial traits, the inheritance of use and disuse would help in evolving a

species to adapt to the surrounding conditions. Lamarck’s theory on use and disuse of

structures within the organism is clearly shown here in Darwin’s work of the same

manner, once again showing influence of Lamarck’s inheritance of traits on

Darwin’s theory of natural selection. The idea of use and disuse is directly the

result of natural conditions in the environment. If an organism is better suited for the

environment and has no use for a particular appendage, for instance, that appendage would

eventually get weaker and weaker. Over time, that appendage would most likely start to

become less and less apparent, maybe to the point that it may start to shrink. This idea,

which Darwin advocated, was a theory of Lamarck.

When people talk of evolution, Darwin is usually a name that is mentioned most often. He

was arguably the most popular mind in the field of evolution. However, he was not the only

one, not by any stretch. Many scientists who specialized in evolution preceded him.

Darwin’s work was influenced by theses earlier evolutionists, and one of the most

important person who directly influenced Darwin was Lamarck. Lamarck however, was not

always entirely correct when it came to his theories on where a species came from, and how

it got there. Using the work of Lamarck, Darwin was able to improve upon theories that had

the right idea, but was curved by biblical belief or information unknown at the time, such

as the possibility of a species going extinct. Lamarck’s theories on inheritance of

characteristics, transmutation and the use and disuse of internal structures can be seen

in the preliminary ground work of Darwin’s theory of natural selection, mutation of

species and use and disuse of an organisms body parts. Darwin had revolutionized the

belief in evolution, and in doing so, he had brought back some theories that were not all

that popular when they were first introduced. Great minds like Lamarck had influenced

Darwin to show the world where it originated, and how it progressed through the ages.

BIBLIOGRAPHY1. Corsi, P., "The age of Lamarck", University of California Press LTD,

Berkeley and California, 1988

2. Gould, S.J., "The Panda’s Thumb", W.W. Norton and Company Inc.

New York, 1980

3. Gould, S.J., "The Flamingo’s Smile", W.W. Norton and Company Inc.

New York, 1985

4. Mayr, E., "One Long Argument:Charles Darwin and the Genesis of

Modern Evolutionary Thought", Harvard University Press,

Cambridge Massachusetts, 1991

5. Ospovat, D., "The Development of Darwin’s Theory", Cambridge

University Press, New York, 1981

6. "Index of the Origin of Species" Internet,

http//www.cs.brandeis.edu/~rllc/texttract1.html

YORK UNIVERSITYDEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SCIENCE

NATURE AND HUMAN NATURE

SOSC 1040.06

Lamarck’s Influence on the Development

of Darwin’s Theory

of Evolution

Dec. 4 1996Serebryany, Rostislav

Marc Weinstein

202065571

N705R

Lamarck’s Influence on The Development of Darwin’s Theory of EvolutionThere have been many ideas on the theory of evolution. Some simply take our existence for

granted, others prefer to explain all evolution in terms of the bible and the presence of

a God. However, there are those who have researched the topic of evolution and have

offered an explanation as to where a species comes from and how they evolved in the manner

that they did. This type of science has been studied for a very, very long time, and one

of the most famous minds in the field of evolution was a man named Charles Darwin. Darwin

was not the first one to offer theories on evolution. There have been many scientists who

preceded him. These earlier evolutionists came up with models of evolution that were

unfortunately unworkable. One of these early pioneers was Jean-Baptiste Lamarck. Lamarck

believed in deism and advocated natural religion based on human reason. He believed in the

harmony and rationality of the world. And although flawed, the work of Lamarck did not go

unnoticed, however. Darwin also believed in the harmony of the world, and it was Darwin

himself who said that Lamarck was the first man whose conclusions on evolution brought

about excitement and attention. He was the one who showed law in organic and inorganic

species evolution. As it turned out, the work of Lamarck was quite influential on Darwin.

Lamarck’s views on inheritance of characteristics can be seen in Darwin’s

accounts of natural selection. When Lamarck wrote of transmutation, Darwin followed with

his beliefs of the mutability of species. As well, Darwin had used Lamarck’s ideas on

use and disuse of organs. Lamarck was not the greatest of influences on Darwin, but he was

an important one.

One of the most important arguments in Darwin’s theories was the idea of natural

selection. It is generally thought that the world first heard of this idea in the form of

Lamarck’s inheritance of acquired traits theory. Lamarck’s work showed that

organisms improve themselves on their own. Then these new advantages for the environment

would be passed on to the species offspring on the genetic level. This idea of self

improvement detailed how, through hard work of the organism, the path of evolution was

continuous, always improving to the point of perfection. Lamarck had said that organisms

must first be faced with a different mode of environment that would trigger some sort of

pressure for an altered gene, to be inherited in the next generation. This process has

come to be known as Lamarckism. (Gould, 1980) Darwin did not deny any of this. He regarded

it as support for natural selection as an evolutionary mechanism. Darwin’s theory was

more complex then Lamarck’s, but the basic structure was there. Darwin had rooted his

theory on the concept of adaptation, just as Lamarck had previously done. Adaptation is

the notion of organisms responding to a changing environments by evolving either a form or

function of the body that would better suite it in the environment. Lamarck had explained

that the method of transfer of information was directly to the organism, the animal would

perceive the change and simply respond in the necessary way so that their offspring can be

better adapted. Darwin’s answer to what the mechanism is was much different. Darwin

spoke of there being two components, variation and direction.(Gould, 1980) Darwin had

taken into account that the species did indeed create offspring that were better suited

for the environment, just as Lamarck had said. Darwin proposed that instead of direct

transfer of environmental change, those that vary by good fortune are better suited for

the environment and leave more surviving offspring. A species would have this beneficial

trait through random variation. Then, the characteristic would help the animal survive,

while the others died off. This ensured that the beneficial trait would get passed on.

This explanation is similar to Lamarkism, with obvious adjustments. Darwin simply showed

that natural selection is, above all, a theory about the struggle of individual survival

and reproduction. Lamarck’s theory on inheritance of acquired characteristics is not

that much different, infact, Lamarckism has occasionally been mistaken for Darwinism.

Darwin did indeed take Lamarck’s inheritance of characteristics theory and modify it

so that he improved upon it. This shows how Lamarck influenced Darwin to create the

natural selection theory. It did not stop there, though. Lamarck also influenced Darwin

with the idea of transmutation, and prompted Darwin to theorize on that aspect of

evolution as well.

Transmutation was an idea resulting in the problem that Lamarck faced when dealing with

the apparent extinction of a species. To Lamarck, extinction was not a possibility.

Lamarck believed that extinction could not occur because then it would mean that God

created an imperfect being, which was not a possibility for Lamarck. One purpose for the

theory of transmutation was to offer an explanation for the apparent

‘disappearance’ of a species. The theory was that out of inherited

characteristics, a species would undergo change. Each generation would continue to change

because inheritance of traits would always occur. Eventually, over a very gradual amount

of time, the species would evolve so dramatically, that the new adaptations would bear

little or no resemblance to the original species.(Ospovat, 1981) Darwin, who incorporated

this idea, modified it slightly. To Darwin, extinction was very much a reality. He had

stated in his "Origin of Species"

that only few species in a particular genus would ever undergo a change. The other species

of the same genus would go extinct and leave no modified offspring, only the ones that

have apparently gone through some sort of mutation would produce offspring. This theory

shows a direct link to Lamarck’s because Darwin believed in transmutation also. On

his voyage to the Galapagos Islands, Darwin found birds that seemed to be similar, but

were each distinct. These birds came to be known as Darwin’s finches, and Darwin

discovered that each variety shared a common ancestry that grew out of the mainland.

Although his method for scientific analysis was poor, Darwin concluded that when the same

species of birds had migrated to the different islands of the Galapagos, they found that

their competition for survival had decimated. The finches would then evolve to fit the new

feeding environment, and take over the roles of the previous birds. (Gould, 1980) This

idea was influenced by Lamarck’s principal that each newly established evolutionary

line would gradually move up the ladder. In Lamarckism, transmutation and inherited

characteristics went hand in hand. Transmutation occurred out of the willingness of the

organism to adapt to the environment. Although Darwin’s theory of mutated animals is

a bit different, again the influence of Lamarck is apparent. To Darwin, transmutation was

not the achievement of higher levels of organization, but rather the production of new

forms better suited for life in the external environment. Although this seems the opposite

to Lamarck, Darwin merely tried to show the scientific fact behind transmutation, he

needed to involve extinction, Lamarck did not, it was necessary to prove the notion of

mutation and transmutation because it was not regarded at the time due to the fact that

the steps in-between were not visible. Darwin saw the difficulty in Lamarck’s view,

and was influenced by the evolutionist to come up with an idea that supported the topic as

a whole, not necessarily Lamarck’s view. Darwin proceeded to try and improve upon

Lamarck’s theory when the idea of use and disuse became of interest to him.

The idea that an organism would have parts of their body disappear due to the fact that

the particular part was of no function over many generations and had no use, was presented

to Darwin by Lamarck. It was Lamarck who had said that if he were to put a patch over the

left eye of two children, one male and one female, and the patch be kept there throughout

their lifetime, and then in turn, their children would also be given a patch to wear, that

gradually over many generations, the right eye would adapt so that the left eye would no

longer be needed. Lamarck was confident that distant generations would not even have a

left eye, and that further down the road, the right eye would start to move towards the

center.(Corsi, 1988) Obviously there would be no proof on this particular hypothesis.

Lamarck did not stop there, though. He also stated that the giraffe’s long neck was

the result of continuous stretching for food atop the highest trees. The will power of the

giraffe changed the structure of it’s neck so that future offspring would be able to

reach for the best leaves. (Corsi, 1988) The idea of use and disuse is connected with the

idea of inherited characteristics as well. To Darwin, this idea showed him the correlation

between the environment and natural selection. He had stated that through the natural

selection of beneficial traits, the inheritance of use and disuse would help in evolving a

species to adapt to the surrounding conditions. Lamarck’s theory on use and disuse of

structures within the organism is clearly shown here in Darwin’s work of the same

manner, once again showing influence of Lamarck’s inheritance of traits on

Darwin’s theory of natural selection. The idea of use and disuse is directly the

result of natural conditions in the environment. If an organism is better suited for the

environment and has no use for a particular appendage, for instance, that appendage would

eventually get weaker and weaker. Over time, that appendage would most likely start to

become less and less apparent, maybe to the point that it may start to shrink. This idea,

which Darwin advocated, was a theory of Lamarck.

When people talk of evolution, Darwin is usually a name that is mentioned most often. He

was arguably the most popular mind in the field of evolution. However, he was not the only

one, not by any stretch. Many scientists who specialized in evolution preceded him.

Darwin’s work was influenced by theses earlier evolutionists, and one of the most

important person who directly influenced Darwin was Lamarck. Lamarck however, was not

always entirely correct when it came to his theories on where a species came from, and how

it got there. Using the work of Lamarck, Darwin was able to improve upon theories that had

the right idea, but was curved by biblical belief or information unknown at the time, such

as the possibility of a species going extinct. Lamarck’s theories on inheritance of

characteristics, transmutation and the use and disuse of internal structures can be seen

in the preliminary ground work of Darwin’s theory of natural selection, mutation of

species and use and disuse of an organisms body parts. Darwin had revolutionized the

belief in evolution, and in doing so, he had brought back some theories that were not all

that popular when they were first introduced. Great minds like Lamarck had influenced

Darwin to show the world where it originated, and how it progressed through the ages.

BIBLIOGRAPHY1. Corsi, P., "The age of Lamarck", University of California Press LTD,

Berkeley and California, 1988

2. Gould, S.J., "The Panda’s Thumb", W.W. Norton and Company Inc.

New York, 1980

3. Gould, S.J., "The Flamingo’s Smile", W.W. Norton and Company Inc.

New York, 1985

4. Mayr, E., "One Long Argument:Charles Darwin and the Genesis of

Modern Evolutionary Thought", Harvard University Press,

Cambridge Massachusetts, 1991

5. Ospovat, D., "The Development of Darwin’s Theory", Cambridge

University Press, New York, 1981

6. "Index of the Origin of Species" Internet,

http//www.cs.brandeis.edu/~rllc/texttract1.html