Week 7 — Pre-Darwin Natural History¶
Natural History¶
Scientists began systematically studying and classifying living organisms.
Major questions included:
- the structure of organisms
- adaptation
- fossil evidence
Cuvier¶
View¶
Species are fixed and do not evolve.
Method¶
Comparative anatomy.
Cuvier believed that the structure of an organism's body parts must be coordinated.
Catastrophism¶
Extinctions occur due to catastrophic geological events.
Philosophical Significance¶
Cuvier emphasized empirical anatomical evidence over speculative evolutionary theories.
Lamarck¶
Theory¶
Species evolve over time.
Mechanism¶
Use and disuse of organs.
Traits acquired during life are inherited by offspring.
Philosophical Significance¶
Lamarck introduced one of the first systematic evolutionary theories.
He proposed that life gradually adapts to environmental conditions.
Although incorrect in mechanism, Lamarck's theory introduced the radical idea that species are not fixed.