The Tax Cheapo

Lamarck made a significant contribution to the theory of evolution in the first decade of the nineteenth century, in which he proposed a general system of evolution of the whole animal world. Hence Lamarck may be termed the first systematic evolutionist. Lamarck’s system has been rather fully described by Lyell, who, in his Principles of Geology, devotes a whole chapter to a summary of his doctrines. Mr. Butler cites many quotations in his book, Evolution Old and New; and any one who is not acquainted with the original work of Lamarck should read these two authors in order to understand how broad Lamarks understanding was, and in how many ways he anticipated the views both of Lyell and Darwin.

But Lamarck was half a century in advance of his age, and his only alleged causes of modification wholly insufficient to account for the vast range of the phenomena presented by the innumerable small adaptations of living organisms to their conditions of life. Lamarck even considered all the modifications of domestic animals to the changed conditions of food and habits to which they have been subjected by man, making no reference to the use of selection by breeders, in this respect falling short of his great predecessor, Comte de Buffon.

“It may be said that the movement of nature turns upon two immovable pivots–one, the illimitable fecundity which she has given to all species; the other, the innumerable difficulties which reduce the results of that fecundity and leave throughout time nearly the same quantity of individuals in every species.” Here the term “difficulties” correlates to the “positive checks” of Malthus, and to the “struggle for existence” of Darwin. Lamarck continuously refers to variability–as in the following: “When by some chance, common enough with nature, a variation or special feature makes its appearance, man has tried to perpetuate it by uniting together the individuals in which it has appeared.” Larmarck seems to sit midway between Malthus & Darwin providing the foundation and underpinnings of their work.

To understand this in present day terms, it is interesting to consider the evolution creation debate.