The term "evolution" is usually associated with the name of Charles Darwin. However, the question of the origin and development of life on Earth worried thinkers even in antiquity. One of the first scientists to attempt to formulate evolutionary theory was Lamarck. The biography of the scientist contains many other interesting facts. We will talk more about this in the article.
Jean Lamarck: biography
In 1744, Jean Lamarck was born in the town of Bazant. His family, although descended from a noble aristocratic family, was poor. For lack of funds, the parents sent their son to study at a Jesuit college. He was supposed to become a priest. No one suspected who would later become Lamarck.
The biography of the future scientist turned in a different direction after the death of his father. He dropped out of college and went to the army. At the age of 23 he became an officer. In 1772, leaving the service, Jean Baptiste Lamarck enters the Paris medical school. In Paris, he discovers botany, and eventually zoology.
Thanks to perseverance and talent, he was able to declare himself in the scientific community. The fame is brought to him by a three-volume collection on the classification of plants in France. After that, he works on a collection of plants for the Royal Botanic Garden. In 1783, he became a member of the Paris Academy of Sciences.
Achievements in Biology
After the publication of the collection “French Flora” in 1778, Jean Baptiste became one of the most outstanding botanists of his time. The book contained special dichotomous definitions for convenient search for plants that are used in our time.
Already at a fairly mature age, a scientist changes the profile of the scientific field. He becomes a professor at the Museum of Natural History, where he begins to teach zoology. At this time, Lamarck pays special attention to microorganisms, insects and worms.
Carefully studying their nature, he introduces the term “invertebrates” and divides them into ten classes, although before that only two were distinguished. In 1822, the seventh volume of his book, The Natural History of Invertebrates, was published, in which he made all his observations.
Of course, this is not all the merits that distinguished Lamarck. The biography of this naturalist, botanist and zoologist has a few other noteworthy points. Along with the German researcher Gottfried Treviranus, he introduces the modern meaning of the term "biology". Lamarck also creates books on atmospheric and physical phenomena, hydrogeology and human conscious activity.
Philosophy of Zoology
Jean Baptiste Lamarck published his main work, The Philosophy of Zoology, in 1809. In it, the scientist presents a holistic and structured theory about the evolution of living beings. In his opinion, primitive life emerged from inorganic matter, and then began a rapid development.
He rejected the constancy of species, believing that each of them tend to change. In his opinion, each organism develops from simple to complex, moving along the "steps" of evolution from ciliates to mammals. In turn, within each step differences and branches are formed, which manifest themselves as genera and species.
In his theory, he identified two basic laws:
- The law of exercise and non-exercise.
- The law of inheritance of acquired characters.
Lamarck believed that plants and animals change under the influence of the environment. In order to adapt to the climate, the soil, the method of obtaining food, etc., living organisms exercise or do not exercise (use or do not use) certain organs. During this process, organs can change the appearance and functions, and these changes are transmitted to descendants. He cited the lengthening of the neck of a giraffe and the acquisition of blindness by moles as examples.
Errors in theory
The views of Lamarck caused a lot of controversy and ambiguous statements. His assumption about the variability of biological species and their gradual complication is supported by science now. He was also partially right in formulating a law on organ exercise.
However, there are erroneous provisions of the theory of evolution of Lamarck. Modern science has denied his claim that life continues to spawn from an inorganic environment. He also made a mistake in establishing the causes and principles of inheritance. So, Lamarck believed that all living things change due to his innate craving for excellence, and acquired qualities are certainly inherited by posterity.
The experiments of August Weisman refuted this. The scientist cut off the tails of mice and watched them for 20 generations. The changes did not affect the offspring. It was later concluded that a new quality is inherited only when it is the result of a genetic mutation.