Question

What do you think about the differences with regard to Lamarck's views of evolution and Darwin/Wallace's views?

Answer 1

• According to lamarck theory, changes occurred over the time by the theory of use and disuse. It is basically the theory that more the organism learn that is needed due to changes in the environmental pressure, the more that it will increase in number.
• He also stated that the organisms are driven to become more and more complex that the new life forms can be completed such as microorganisms and ultimately this happens throughout the time. Everything will be driven by greater complexity.
• He did not mention about extinction, rather organs that disuse will shrink.
• He stated that any newly acquired trait, such as monkey's tail, if they acquired it throughout the life time to use and greater stretching of the tails, this can be passed on to their Offsprings (Heritability). Giraffes will stretch their necks to eat the higher up leaves on the trees, their legs will be elongated to get the need.

Darwin on the other hand recognize the some aspects of lamarck's theory as significant in that he was proposing really controversial ideas of the time.

• Darwin's theory of natural selection, his theory of evolution invites four principles.

1. variations
2. extinction or species creation
3. heritability or inheritance
4. selective pressure

• He stated that there is inherent variation in the population in every species. For example in shape of bird's beaks. Explain that evolution in a population would be more likely to be produced had the traits that best suited their environment. It is called 'survival of fittest'. Organisms have best suited to their environment happened to have traits that are suited to the environment would pass on to the next generation. Over many many generations it will create a new species. And the the precursor organisms will be going to extinct and that trait will not be reproductively successful.

In summary, both Darwin and lamarck oppose any e theory that organisms were fixed throughout their lifetime so that there is no change. Both of them agreed that they must have changed. But the difference is that how the organisms have changed.