Jean-Baptiste Lamarck

Jean-Baptiste Lamarck (1744-1829) never quite received acceptance for his ideas on evolution. Yet despite his theory of heredity being discredited, Charles Darwin himself was actually quoted as saying:

“Lamarck was the first man whose conclusions on the subject excited much attention. This justly celebrated naturalist first published his views in 1801. . . he first did the eminent service of arousing attention to the probability of all changes in the organic, as well as in the inorganic world, being the result of law, and not of miraculous interposition.”

As a professor at the Musée National d'Histoire Naturelle (National Museum of Natural History), Lamarck continued his studies regarding evolution and in 1809 published Philosophie Zoologique. His work focused on two specific laws; that the use or disuse of specific features and attributes on an organism would cause them to enlarge, shrink or even disappear (also known as the use-disuse theory), and that traits acquired during a single lifetime could be inherited, which we now know to be false.


Lamarck believed that throughout an organism’s lifetime, changes would be made to acclimate to its surrounding environment. In turn those adaptations would be passed on to each subsequent generation. He also felt that evolution was a “process of increasing complexity and perfection”. For Lamarck, species did not become extinct and disappear - they simply evolved into different species. 


Source: http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/history/lamarck.html

How Does Evolution Work?

·         Individuals do not evolve. Populations do.

The most striking difference between Darwin and Lamarck’s theory of evolution was the concept of inherited traits. Lamarck incorrectly believed that a species could alter its own attributes during its lifetime and pass that “new and improved” trait on to its offspring. Darwin realized this faulty way of thinking and was able to expand on this idea with his concept of Natural Selection.

4.  Darwin may have eventually come up with his theories of evolution and natural selection without the teachings of Lamarck. Especially with others such as Georges Cuvier, Charles Lyell, Thomas Malthus, and Alfred Russel Wallace all contributing to this field of science. However, Darwin himself, credits Lamark as being a great zoologist and forerunner in evolution. There is no doubt, that despite their different conclusions, Lamarck had great influence over Darwin’s work and eventual accomplishments.

5.  Naturally, On the Origin of Species was seen as an affront to the church and its beliefs. To go against everything the church stood for was not something to be taken lightly and was of great concern to not only Darwin, but to friends and colleagues, as well. Yet, the controversy surrounding the publication of such a radical book was not enough to keep Darwin from keeping his findings out of the public view.