Lecture 1 Flashcards
(79 cards)
Who is Linnaeus?
He was called Carl Von Linne but wrote under the Latin name Linnaeus and he was a Swedish botanist, physician and zoologist.
When was Linnaeus around?
Circa 1735
What was Linnaeus’s system called?
Linnaeus’s Systema Naturae
What did Systema Naturae do?
It charted life by dividing it into kingdoms, classes, orders, genera and species.
What did Linnaeus attempt to do?
He attempted to classify all life on Earth
When was Systema Naturae first published?
When Linnaeus was in his late twenties but he continued to refine the details throughout his life.
What is each specie in System Naturae?
Each species is a distinct archetype and a reflection of God’s intent.
What is Comte de Buffon’s full name?
Georges Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon
Was Comte de Buffon successful?
He was one of the most respected naturalists of his era.
What did Comte de Buffon publish?
Natural History
What speculation did Comte de Buffon make in Natural History?
That living creatures evolve according to natural laws.
What did Comte de Buffon dare to suggest?
That apes and apes and humans are related, and that all life has descended from a single ancestor.
Did De Buffon stand by what he said?
No, he recanted his findings under pressure saying ‘I abandon everything in my book…contrary to the narrative of Moses’.
When was Comte de Buffon around?
Circa 1749
What was Lamarck’s full name?
Jean-Baptiste de Lamarck and he was French
When was Lamarck around?
1809
What did Lamarck do with evolution?
He championed evolution
What did Lamarck propose?
That living things evolve to become more complex through time.
What was Lamarck’s philosophie called?
Zoologique
What did Lamarck claim in Zoologique?
That ‘vital forces’ within creatures help them to adapt to their environments.
How do acquired traits develop?
Through use or disuse
What happens to acquired traits?
They are passed on to future generations
What does Lamarck think happened to wading birds?
He thinks that they evolved long legs as they stretched to keep high and dry.
Was Lamarck successful?
He is the most renowned, but not the only, proponent of evolution of this era.