Chapter 16.2 (Pgs 454-458):Ideas That Shaped Darwin’s Thinking

James Hutton

- Hypothesized that geological forces shaped the earth slowly over time

- Gradualism- Deep Time: Earth is much older than a thousand years

Charles Lyell

- Hypothesized that laws of nature are constant over time

- Forces that shape Earth today must be the same ones that have always done so

- Uniformitarianism

Jean-Baptiste Lamarck

- Proposed that all organisms have an inborn urge to become more complex and perfect

- Organisms could change during their lifetime by selectively using or not using different body parts

- Individuals could pass these acquired traits on to their offspring

Was Lamarck Correct?

- NO

- Organisms do not have an inner desire to become perfect

- Evolution does not progress in a pre-determined way

- Larmack was one of the first to suggest that species are not fixed and they are linked to their environment

Thomas Malthus’s View on Population Growth- Hypothesized that if human population

grew unchecked there wouldn’t be enough space and food for everyone

- Only those able to get food survive

- Darwin applied this idea to other organisms

- Some species produce millions of offspring every year

- Why do only some survive?

Artificial Selection

- Darwin noticed that farmers would breed animals and plants to get characteristics they wanted

- Nature provides variation in traits, and humans select those they find useful- This process is called

Artificial Selection