Early Ideas (Evolution)

Question 1

Origin of concepts of evolution

Answer 1

ancient Greek philosophers

Question 2

Orphics

Answer 2

ancient Greek religious sect
envisioned time as comic serpent around universe
time was seen as circular/cyclical

Question 3

Thales

Answer 3

c. 624-547 BCE
first known Greek philosopher to discuss evolution
proposed organisms don’t originate from the gods
life started in water
organisms spontaneously generated from mud

Question 4

Spontaneous generation concept

Answer 4

Lasted for ~2300 years

Question 5

Anaximander

Answer 5

611-546 BCE
pupil of Thales
first to propose theory of evolution
spontaneous generation from mud with help of sun

Question 6

Empedocles

Answer 6

c. 495-435 BCE
"Father of Evolution"
believed in spontaneous generation
plants came before animals
believed that life on earth changed because some organisms are more fit to survive than others

Question 7

Renaissance

Answer 7

2,000 years after concept of evolution was proposed

people were still divided on where life came from

Question 8

Preformation

Answer 8

believed that each generation of an organism already existed inside the other
2 groups based on whether men or women carried preformed humans:
1. ovists
2. animalcultists

Question 9

Invention of the microscope

Answer 9

made it difficult for people who believed in biological evolution
ex. preformists

Question 10

Bonnet and Swammerdam

Answer 10

leaders of group of biologists who came up with the theory of preformation

Question 11

Ovists

Answer 11

believed God placed 200mil preformed humans inside Eve’s ovary
sex triggers development of each mini human

Question 12

Animalcultists

Answer 12

preformed humans formed at the beginning of the human race

women provided a place for them to grow

Question 13

Nicolas Hartsoeker

Answer 13

~1690

first to observe the nucleus of sperm and determined it to be the head of a preformed human

Question 14

Jean-Baptiste Pierre Antoine de Monet, Chevalier de la Marck

Answer 14

1744-1829
second rise of discussion about evolution 100 years before Darwin
1800- proposed what is considered to be the first modern theory of evolution
natural arrangements of organisms range from simple to complex

Question 15

Jean-Baptiste Lamarck theory

Answer 15

origin of life is simple organisms that came through spontaneous generation and evolved into more complex organisms
as organisms become more complex more different groups form
published in philosophie zoologique 1809 (year Darwin was born)

Question 16

Misconception in Lamarck’s theory

Answer 16

organisms evolve based on use and disuse

Question 17

Thomas Malthus

Answer 17

1798- published “an essay on the principle of population as it affects future improvement of society”
discussed the effect of birth and death rate on population
believed most organisms must die without producing offspring to keep balance

Question 18

Dangers of birth rate being too high

Answer 18

overpopulation

Question 19

Erasmus Darwin

Answer 19

Charles Darwin’s grandfather
major impact of Charles
main interests: study of nature and poetry
2 main works: “the love of plants” (alluded to evolution) and “the temple of nature” (microorganisms to civilized society)

Question 20

Charles Lyell

Answer 20

main influence on Darwin
lawyer
many important ideas about geology
uniformitarianism
his ideas suggested that recorded history isn’t very long
how things work in the present can help figure out the past and predict the future
wrote “principles of geology”

Question 21

Uniformitarianism

Answer 21

earth has been shaped over millions or billions of years by geological forces
earth is not static
most people believe earth was a few thousand years old before this theory was proposed

Question 22

Alfred Russel Wallace

Answer 22

had similar ideas about evolution as Darwin
forced Darwin to publish his work early for fear of being beat by Wallace- work was too similar
ideas caused Darwin to think a little broader about applications of natural selection

Question 23

Critique of Darwin’s work

Answer 23

Darwin published his work in a hurry and didn’t have enough specific evidence to support all of his theories
went against the belief that humans are created by a god