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Bio Anth, Topic 2: Historical Development of Evolutionary Theory

For this section, you should focus on contrasting the Darwinian worldview with that of the Natural Theologians. What are the historical roots of the ideas that are central for each school of thought?

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Darwin's worldview says "if lineages diverge to give rise to multiple daughter species that look slightly different":
then individuals with a population vary, and variation is heritable
Darwin's worldview says "if organisms adapt to their environment as a result of 'natural selection'... then
processes we observe today must have happened in the past, environmental change, competition for limited resources
Darwin's worldview says "if this branching pattern explains the diversity of life"...then
lots of time is required
Darwin's worldview:
the earth is old and in constant flux; the environment is constantly changing and populations adapt to the change.
Challenges to Darwin's theory:
special place of humans in nature, perfect fit of organisms to their environment, special creation, the fixity of species, age of earth
Aristotle (4th c. BC) came up with the Great Chain of Being or ____?
Scala Naturae
Ptolomeic cosmology (1st and 2nd C.) asserts that
Earth is the center of the universe
Teleology is defined as...
the apparent perfect "design" of organisms; making reference to purpose; goal-oriented
Paley came up with ____ that utilized the ___ metaphor.
natural theology, "watchmaker metaphor"- the world is in perfect harmony
What is another term for the "immutability" of species
fixity
Plato was what kind of philosopher
essentialist
What is essentialism
(plato) Belief that things have a set of unchanging characteristics that make them what they are; variation among things is unimportant as it deviation from "essence"....[think "essence" = essentialism]
Essentialism up to the 1830s believed:
1. species are composed of similar individuals sharing same essence 2. species are separated from one another by well defined discontinuities 3. species are constant through time (fixed) 4. there are stringent limitations to the possible variation of any one species
Archbishop Usher (1650) asserted that the Earth's genesis was in ____
4004 BC
Who published Systema Naturae in 1735
Carolus Linnaeus
Carolus Linnaeus was the father of _____ and ___
taxonomy, systematics
Linnean hierarchy is ____, ____, ____, ____, ____,____, _____.
Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species
In the Linnean hierarchy, which two classifications are italicized?
the bottom two: genus and species
What was carolus linnaeus belief (philosophy he ascribed to)
a strict essentialist, believed in fixity of species
Who developed the idea of a sun-centered solar system (1514)? And who later supported him (1600s)?
Copernicus, Galileo
Georges Cuvier (1769-1832) supported what idea?
extinction
Georges Cuvier recognized that different animals occur in different ____
strata-layers of rock
How did Georges Cuvier explain extinction
Catastrophism- different floods wiped out creation, followed by newer, better creations
Who coined the term "biology" (1744-1929)
Jean-Baptiste Lamark
Jean-Baptiste Lamark was one of the first to propose this hypothesis
evolutionary
Jean-Baptiste Lamark stated that "vital essences sense need through use, change the form and pass on to offsprings" in ___ _ ___ ___.
Inheritance of Acquired Characteristics
The first serious theoretical attempt to explain evolution (as proposed by Jean-Baptiste Lamark)
Inheritance of Acquired Characteristics
Lamark's theory that ____ can be passed to offspring is demonstrated by giraffe necks over time becoming longer and longer
acquired characteristics. giraffes use longer necks to reach food better
Erasmus Darwin (1731-1802) was the first to express ideas of ___ and ___ of species
transmutation, evolution
Who is the father of modern Geology
Charles Lyell (1797-1875)
Charles Lyell proposed ____ stating that geological processes at work today (erosion, volcanism, uplift) were also at work in the past.
Uniformitarianism- present today, so present in past
This concept accounts for all geological changes recorded in Earth's rocks:
Deep time
One explanation for the changes that nineteenth century naturalists saw in the fossil record was that periodic natural disasters caused many species in an area to go extinct. This idea is called:
Catastrophism
Which of the following philosophical perspectives suggested that the world is created perfectly and with a purpose: A) essentialism B) vitalism C) teleology D) Scala Naturae
Teleology
Which of the following types of inheritance did Lamark argue was a mechanism for producing evolutionary change in organisms: A) recessive inheritance B) blending inheritance C) Genetic Inheritance D) inheritance of acquired traits
D) inheritance of acquired traits
According to Archbishop Usher, the earth is how old? a) 6000 b) 60,000 c) 4000 d) 4004
D) 4004
Linneaus system of class structure was called the Systema Naturae or known as:
taxonomy (system of classification we use today)
difference between catastrophism and uniformitarianism.
uniformitarianism suggests that if its happening now it happened in past; catastrophism proposes that events in past led to better and newer creations.
individuals producing more offspring than one with hopes that more will survive is called:
superfecundity
How are Lyell's ideas of uniformity related to natural selection?
aspects of Earth surface (plants, animals, etc) vary throughout time, but the underlying processes that influence them are constant.

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