Early Ideas (Evolution) Flashcards
Origin of concepts of evolution
ancient Greek philosophers
Orphics
ancient Greek religious sect
envisioned time as comic serpent around universe
time was seen as circular/cyclical
Thales
c. 624-547 BCE
first known Greek philosopher to discuss evolution
proposed organisms don’t originate from the gods
life started in water
organisms spontaneously generated from mud
Spontaneous generation concept
Lasted for ~2300 years
Anaximander
611-546 BCE
pupil of Thales
first to propose theory of evolution
spontaneous generation from mud with help of sun
Empedocles
c. 495-435 BCE "Father of Evolution" believed in spontaneous generation plants came before animals believed that life on earth changed because some organisms are more fit to survive than others
Renaissance
2,000 years after concept of evolution was proposed
people were still divided on where life came from
Preformation
believed that each generation of an organism already existed inside the other
2 groups based on whether men or women carried preformed humans:
1. ovists
2. animalcultists
Invention of the microscope
made it difficult for people who believed in biological evolution
ex. preformists
Bonnet and Swammerdam
leaders of group of biologists who came up with the theory of preformation
Ovists
believed God placed 200mil preformed humans inside Eve’s ovary
sex triggers development of each mini human
Animalcultists
preformed humans formed at the beginning of the human race
women provided a place for them to grow
Nicolas Hartsoeker
~1690
first to observe the nucleus of sperm and determined it to be the head of a preformed human
Jean-Baptiste Pierre Antoine de Monet, Chevalier de la Marck
1744-1829
second rise of discussion about evolution 100 years before Darwin
1800- proposed what is considered to be the first modern theory of evolution
natural arrangements of organisms range from simple to complex
Jean-Baptiste Lamarck theory
origin of life is simple organisms that came through spontaneous generation and evolved into more complex organisms
as organisms become more complex more different groups form
published in philosophie zoologique 1809 (year Darwin was born)
Misconception in Lamarck’s theory
organisms evolve based on use and disuse
Thomas Malthus
1798- published “an essay on the principle of population as it affects future improvement of society”
discussed the effect of birth and death rate on population
believed most organisms must die without producing offspring to keep balance
Dangers of birth rate being too high
overpopulation
Erasmus Darwin
Charles Darwin’s grandfather
major impact of Charles
main interests: study of nature and poetry
2 main works: “the love of plants” (alluded to evolution) and “the temple of nature” (microorganisms to civilized society)
Charles Lyell
main influence on Darwin
lawyer
many important ideas about geology
uniformitarianism
his ideas suggested that recorded history isn’t very long
how things work in the present can help figure out the past and predict the future
wrote “principles of geology”
Uniformitarianism
earth has been shaped over millions or billions of years by geological forces
earth is not static
most people believe earth was a few thousand years old before this theory was proposed
Alfred Russel Wallace
had similar ideas about evolution as Darwin
forced Darwin to publish his work early for fear of being beat by Wallace- work was too similar
ideas caused Darwin to think a little broader about applications of natural selection
Critique of Darwin’s work
Darwin published his work in a hurry and didn’t have enough specific evidence to support all of his theories
went against the belief that humans are created by a god
