History of evolutionary thought #3

Question 1

What were the Western ideas of evolution before Darwin?

Answer 1

The Western ideas of evolution before Darwin were that species’ properties were fixed and immutable.

Question 2

Who were some of the early Greek philosophers that had ideas about the origins of life?

Answer 2

Empedocles and Plato were some of the early Greek philosophers that had ideas about the origins of life.

Question 3

Who believed that living beings were created by an intelligent craftsman?

Answer 3

Plato believed that living beings were created by an intelligent craftsman.

Question 4

Who believed that living beings were created by an internal cause or soul?

Answer 4

Aristotle believed that living beings were created by an internal cause or soul.

Question 5

Who proposed the gradual origin of living beings from an initial chaos?

Answer 5

Lucretius proposed the gradual origin of living beings from an initial chaos.

Question 6

Who proposed the transmutation of species?

Answer 6

Zhuang proposed the transmutation of species.

Question 7

Who foreshadowed microevolution by talking about the struggle for existence?

Answer 7

Al-jaahiz foreshadowed microevolution by talking about the struggle for existence.

Question 8

Who believed that humans developed from the “world of monkeys”?

Answer 8

Ibn Khaldun believed that humans developed from the “world of monkeys”.

Question 9

What did the Christian faith believe about the origin of living beings?

Answer 9

The Christian faith believed that living beings were created by God in order from disorder and that there was graduation from lower to higher life forms.

Question 10

What is the ladder of ascent and descent of the mind?

Answer 10

The ladder of ascent and descent of the mind is an idea proposed by Llull in 1305 that suggests the mind can ascend to God or descend to the devil.

Question 11

Who proposed the Great Chain of Being?

Answer 11

Bonnet proposed the Great Chain of Being.

Question 12

What is the Great Chain of Being?

Answer 12

The Great Chain of Being is a hierarchical order of life in which all beings have a specific place and purpose.

Question 13

Who recognised sexual reproduction in plants and created an early classification of plants?

Answer 13

John Ray recognised sexual reproduction in plants and created an early classification of plants.

Question 14

Who recognised that natural modifications occur during reproduction and accumulate over many generations to produce new species?

Answer 14

Pierre Louis Moreau de Maupertuis recognised that natural modifications occur during reproduction and accumulate over many generations to produce new species.

Question 15

What did Georges Cuvier believe about species?

Answer 15

Georges Cuvier believed that all species were fixed.

Question 16

What is catastrophism?

Answer 16

Catastrophism is the idea that successive local faunas were terminated by catastrophe.

Question 17

Who developed Ray’s ideas into the modern taxonomic hierarchy?

Answer 17

Carl Linnaeus developed Ray’s ideas into the modern taxonomic hierarchy.

Question 18

Who proposed warm-blooded animals could have descended from a single microorganism or filament?

Answer 18

Erasmus Darwin proposed warm-blooded animals could have descended from a single microorganism or filament.

Question 19

Who proposed the inheritance of acquired characters?

Answer 19

Lamarck proposed the inheritance of acquired characters.

Question 20

What is Lamarckism?

Answer 20

Lamarckism is the idea that an individual can pass on characteristics developed during its own lifetime to offspring.

Question 21

Who wrote an essay on the “Principle of Population”?

Answer 21

Thomas Malthus wrote an essay on the “Principle of Population”.

Question 22

What is the “Principle of Population”?

Answer 22

The “Principle of Population” is the idea that there are more individuals than resources can provide for, leading to a struggle for survival.

Question 23

What is the principle of uniformitarianism?

Answer 23

The principle of uniformitarianism is the idea that the same natural processes that operate today have always operated in the past, and at the same rate. This principle is important in the study of geology, as it suggests that geological formations and processes that we observe today can be used to understand the geological history of the Earth.