Evolution by Natural Selection: Historical Context

Which of the following figures contributed to the early understandings of evolutionary processes by suggesting that the Earth's geology was a product of gradual change over long periods?

Which of the following figures proposed that the environment could cause modifications in an individual, and these modifications could be passed down to offspring? This idea eventually came to be known as the inheritance of acquired characteristics.

Which of the following figures emphasized the notion that species were static and unchanging?

Which of the following figures popularized the view that the Earth's geology had changed gradually over long periods?

Which of the following figures observed that various geographic regions have different plant and animal populations, even when the environments are similar?

Evolution by Natural Selection

Georges-Louis Leclerc Comte de Buffon

Jean-Baptiste Lamarck

Evolution by Natural Selection: Historical Context

Evolution by natural selection describes how species change over time.
The concept of static species was proposed by Plato, though other ancient Greek thinkers had ideas about evolution.
Buffon, in the 18th century, noted geographic variation in species and accepted the idea of extinct species.
Hutton proposed gradual geological change over immense periods, contrasting with the then-dominant idea of catastrophic events.
Lyell popularized Hutton's ideas, emphasizing Earth's age, impacting Darwin's thinking.
Lyell was a friend to Darwin.
Lyell's concept of gradual geological change served as an analogy for gradual changes in species.

Lamarck's Theory of Evolution

Lamarck, in the early 19th century, proposed a mechanism for evolutionary change, now known as the inheritance of acquired characteristics.
Lamarck's mechanism suggested that environmental changes influenced individual characteristics. Offspring could inherit these changes from their parents.
Use or disuse of a structure during an organism's life could also drive evolutionary changes.
Although Lamarck's mechanism is now largely discredited, his ideas were influential on evolutionary thought.