L1: Concept, Evidences, and Theories of Evolution Flashcards
Coined the term evolution
Herbert Spencer
The word evolution was derived from the Latin word […], meaning […] and […]
- evolvere
- e means out
- volvere means to roll or unfold
When did Herbert Spencer’s first writings on evolution come about?
1851, eight years before Darwin’s On the Origin of Species
Described as changes through time in the physical or biological world
Evolution
Evolution at the molecular level
Chemical Evolution
Evolution at the level of physical objects
Physical Evolution
Evolution at the level of stars and planets
Stellar Evolution
or
Cosmic Evolution
Evolution at the level of living objects
Biological Evolution
Defined as the process of gradual changes in organisms to form more and more complex forms over a long period of time
Evolutionary Biology
Darwin defined as evolution as […]
descent with modification
[…] defined evolutionary biology as the study of history of evolution of newer and more complex forms of life on the Earth from pre-existing simpler ones over a period of time.
Theodor Dobzhansky
Introduced the term bioevolution or evolutionary biology or biological evolution or organic evolution
Ernst Mayr
(1970)
The central idea of biological evolution
All life on Earth share a common ancestor
Defined as the process of continuity of life with constant modifications
Biological Evolution
An organism’s inherent tendency to change in response to changing environmental conditions
Adaptability
or
Adaptation
The formation of several new species as a result of migration and adaptation
Divergent Evolution
The development of common features among distantly related groups as a result of a common habitat
Convergent Evolution
An evolutionary process by which different species of organisms tend to merge through a series of intermediate stages or grades
Intergradation
The concept of evolution first appeared in the writings of […]
Ancient Greeks
- Empedocles
- Anaximander
Proposed the theory of aquatic or marine origin of life
Thales
(624 - 548 BC)
Proposed that all living beings have arisen from a primordial fluid or slime to which they ultimately return
Anaximander
(611 - 547 BC)
Was called “the earliest evolutionist” by Osborn in 1894
Anaximander
(611 - 547 BC)
Proposed that simple life forms preceded more complex life forms
Anaximander
(611 - 547 BC)
Recognized that fossils are the remains or organisms from the past
Xenophanes
(576 - 480 BC)
Said that the existence of fossils of marine animals on dry land indicated that it was once under the sea and that life originated in the sea
Xenophanes
(576 - 480 BC)
Hailed as the “father of evolutionary idea” by Osborn
Empedocles
(504 - 433 BC)
Proposed that evolution of animals was a series of attempts by nature to produce more perfect forms
Empedocles
(504 - 433 BC)
The 4 mains points of Empedocles’s proposition
- Higher forms of life evolved gradually
- Imperfect forms were gradually replaced by perfect forms
- Plant life came first, and animal life developed later
- Perfect forms were produced by the extinction of imperfect forms
Called “the greatest investigator of antiquity” by Locy in 1923
Aristotle
(384 - 322 BC)
Proposed that living things were animated by a vital force or guiding intelligence which operates constantly and improves and perfects the living world
Aristotle
(384 - 322 BC)
Suggested that the various organisms constitute a series, the so-called ladder of life
Aristotle
(384 - 322 BC)
A series in which organisms can be arranged in a sequence of increasing complexity from non-living matter through plants to plant-like animals or lower animals and then to high animals, with man at the top of it
Aristotle’s Ladder of Life
The 4 levels in Aristotle’s Ladder of Life (in ascending order)
- Non-living beings
- Plants
- Animals
- Humans
Introduced the concept of teleology
Aristotle
(384 - 322 BC)
A concept that states that the natural processes such as development or evolution are guided by their final stage or final goal
Teleology
The […] indicates guidance of a process towards some specified end decided by an external mystical source
external teleology
The […] indicates the end point of a process that has an understandable materialistic basis that develops from the process itself
internal teleology