History of Evolutionary Thought Flashcards
common views before darwin
earth is young
species are divinely created
species are incapable of change
emerging scientific views before darwin (starting in the renaissance)
earth is old
earths surface has changed over time
plants and animals have changed
fields of study that contributed to evolutionary theory
geology paleontology taxonomy and systematics demography evolutionary biology
geology
study of earth
paleontology
study of fossils
taxonomy and systematics
study of classification and relationships of organisms
demography
study of populations
evolutionary biology
study of organisms and their changes over time
concept fo fixity of species
existed in medieval times
states that the way things are are the way they came into being and the way that they will always be
geology major players
James Hutton
Charles Lyell
Baron George Cuvier
james Hutton
Geological Strata- understood layers of rock in the earth, how they were created and how they changed
uniformitarianism- idea that the forces we can see today were also active in the past, contributes to understanding that earth is old
charles lyell
evidence for antiquity of earth- looked at massive geological formations and argued that rocks had been laid down gradually over long periods of time
charles lyell built on the work of
james hutton
Baron George Cuvier
catastrophism- argued the changed we see today came from catastrophes (anti uniformitarianism)
no fossils? catastrophe wiped them out
major players in paleontology
robert hooke
georges cuvier