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Evolution of Evolutionary Thinking (17 th , 18 th , 19 th centuries)

Evolution of Evolutionary Thinking (17 th , 18 th , 19 th centuries). “Pre-Scientific” Ideas (4 th & 5 th C. BCE). From Greece & Rome (i.e. Aristotle) Essentialism = “Essential” form of every natural entity, organisms we see today are inexact copies of the ideal

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Evolution of Evolutionary Thinking (17 th , 18 th , 19 th centuries)

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  1. Evolution of Evolutionary Thinking(17th, 18th, 19th centuries)

  2. “Pre-Scientific” Ideas(4th & 5th C. BCE) • From Greece & Rome (i.e. Aristotle) • Essentialism = “Essential” form of every natural entity, organisms we see today are inexact copies of the ideal • Typological thinking = There are “ideal types” of each organism • Ideas support biblical creation

  3. Ideas from Medieval Europe(c. 500-c.1500) • Great Chain of Being = All living forms progress from imperfection to perfection, least to most complex • Literal Interpretations of Bible are True: * Earth and all its diversity created by God * Earth’s history is short (c. 6000 years) * World is static * Change initiated by divine intervention

  4. To Summarize:Western European World View(Up until the 1600s) The world is an unchanging domain of short duration that will end by divine intervention when the forces unleashed by creation play themselves out.

  5. Reverend John Ray (1628-1705)British Professor of Greek & Mathematics, Botanist • All Living Things Fixed in Present Form After 6th Day of Creation • Books on Botany = Primary Source for Methods Used in Later Classification Systems • Species = Indivisible Unit, All Individuals Who Share a Common Line of Descent • Fossils = Organic Origin (not from thunderclaps)

  6. Reverend John Ray (1628-1705)British Professor of Greek & Mathematics, Botanist Ray’s books: • most complete taxonomic survey of nature to that date • His categories were based on anatomicalcharacteristics (v. essences)

  7. Carolus Linnaeus (1707-1778)Swedish Botanist • Wrote: The System of Nature (1735)=initial standard for scientific names of species • Naming: System of Binomial Nomenclature, i.e. Homo (genus) sapiens (species) • Classification: based on anatomical attributes • Fixity of Species = members of different species can not produce fertile offspring

  8. Today’s Classification SystemExamples:

  9. HOW DID WE GET HERE?INTERPRETING THE WORLD AROUND US1. CatastrophismSeries of disastrous events explain today’s geology (often following Bible)

  10. 2. Uniformitarianism Geological processes of the past were the same as those seen today • James Hutton (1726-1797) Scottish Geologist • Geologic Time Spanned Great Antiquity (way more than 6000 yrs.!)

  11. Geologic Time Today • First 50 min: single-celled organisms (3.8 bya) • Last 10 min: Animals arrive (543 mya) • 1/100 second: First Hominids evolve (5-6 mya) • Moral = Humans came late to the party of life on Earth! Earth = 4.5 billion ya

  12. 3. Stratigraphytechnique of identifying and tracing geologic strata by their fossil contents Superposition: Fossils in any given stratum are older than those above them and younger than those below them

  13. Comte Georges-Louis Leclerc de Buffon (1707-1788)French Naturalist • Wrote Natural History = 1st major scientific synthesis of European Biology, 44 volumes! • Uniformitarian = Argued that tides and currents slowly shaped Earth (not a catastrophist) • Argued that living things existed 40,000 Years Ago! • Theological Faculty in Paris forced de Buffon to reject his ideas that contradicted Moses

  14. Jean Baptiste Pierre de Monet Lamarck (1744-1829)French Naturalist (Buffon’s Student) • Evolutionist • Books: Philosophie Zoologique (1809) & Natural History of the Invertebrates (1815) • Theory of Acquired Characteristics, mechanism for evolution • Lived near poverty last 20 yrs. of life

  15. Lamarck’s Theory of Acquired Characteristics • A body can produce new organs when a new want or need is present • Organs develop in proportion to their use • Changes that occur in the organs of an individual are passed on to its offspring

  16. Georges Leopold Cuvier (1769-1832) French Naturalist (Lamarck’s Student) • Brilliant Anatomist • Law of correlation = form of an organ depends on its purpose • Identified over 150 Fossil Species! (many no longer living) • Series of Creations, Series of Catastrophes = Extinction of Many Species • Disagreed with Lamarck that Humans Evolved from Higher Apes • Most Famous French Scientist of His Time

  17. Cuvier’s Reaction Against Lamarck • C and L = radically different conceptions of human history • C = idea that humans evolved from Apes was a personal offense, so purposefully destroyed L’s academic standing • Losing his sight, L was being led to his lectures by one of his children • Last 20 years of life, L lived near poverty, but dictated 11 vols. of his Natural History to daughter, from memory • French Science belonged to Cuvier through Napoleon’s reign & fall

  18. Charles Lyell (1797-1875)Scottish Geologist • Wrote: Principles of Geology (1830) = geologic time in terms of Millions of Years (mya), upsetting geologic ideology of the day! • Uniformitarian = (anti-catastrophist) Argued that long geologic time needed for slow processes of erosion (water, waves, wind) • Ideas gave Evolutionists the gift of time • Great Britain’s leading geologist, knighted in 1848

  19. Conclusions Evolutionary Thinking was REVOLUTIONARY (Rocking the Foundations) • Questioned the Bible, the Word of God • Humans were part of the Natural World (could we share a common ancestor with apes?) • Questioned idea that the world is “orderly” • Taught People HOW to ask questions through SCIENCE, instead of Theology • Questioned the ruling elite as rulers ordained by God

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