Lecture 2
History of Evolution


Beginnings of Modern thought on human origins
	View in Europe Biblically based- Adam & Eve about 6000 yrs ago
	James Ussher, Archbishop of Armagh (Church of Ireland) figures 4004 BC; 1650
		Counted begats in Genesis & tied into other histories (Roman, Greek)
		Used logic, not faith
		This then included in Bibles, gains weight of authority
	Notion of "Great Chain of Being"
	Natural Theology- study of God's plan by studying nature
Hurdles to any theory of Evolution
	Age of Earth- Evolution needs time
	Fixity of species- Evolution postulates change
	All Scripture sacrosanct- Evolution contradicts literal interpretation of Bible
	Imprecise knowledge of nature & organisms- Evolution needed data to support it
The first hurdlers
	Carolus Linnaeus (1707-1778)
		Natural Philosophy
		Systemae Naturae, 1735 1st Ed., 1758 10th
		Binomial Classification System
			Nested hierarchies- ranks relationships
			Each species given unique name
			Type specimen (Holotype)
			Describe "killing features"- features unique to species
	Georges Leclerc, Comte de Buffon (1707-1788)
		Systematic description of nature
		Histoire Naturelle (Natural History)
		Early- Time depth & Common descent
		Later- Retraction & Religion
	James Hutton (1728-1799)
		Deep Time
		Uniformitarianism vs. Catastrophism
		Popularized by Charles Lyell- Principles of Geology 1830
	Jean Lamarck (1744-1829)
		Orthogenesis- Internal striving
		Great Chain of Being becomes an escalator- Spontaneous Generation
		Inheritance of Acquired Characteristics
		Evolution takes place at individual level
	Georges Cuvier (1769-1832)
		Comparative Anatomy- way animal behaved governed its shape
		Species fixed- how change when shaped for specific way of life?
		Reality of Fossils & extinctions
		Catastrophism & Special Creations
	Thomas Malthus (1766-1832)
		Struggle for existence
			Populations increase geometrically
			Resources increase arithmetically
		Survival of the fittest
		Essay on the Principles of Population 1837
Charles Darwin (1809-1882)
	Voyage of the Beagle
	The Origin of Species
		5 Observations & 2 Inferences
		First set from Malthus
			O#1- Species over-produce
			O#2- Populations stable
			O#3- Food supply limited
			I#1- Struggle for existence
		Second set Darwin's
			O#4- Individuals not identical; variation w/in species
			O#5- Differences passed on; variation heritable
			I#2- The most favorable variations survive better
		Putting it together
			There will be Differential Reproductive Success- what counts is not 
			   survival but reproduction.
			Theory of Natural Selection
			Over time will lead to new Species
			Gradualism- nature doesn't make leaps
	Delay in publication
		Only Joseph Hooker & Charles Lyell know about theory
		Then comes Alfred Wallace, 1858, came up with same theory!
		Hooker & Lyell present both papers to Linnean Society
		Origin published 1859
	Reactions
		France- no big deal; already heard Cuvier & Lamarck
		England- Big debates; clergy vs. scientists & scientists vs. scientists
			Thomas Huxley biggest supporter "Darwin's Bulldog"
			Wallace not at forefront; more interested in collecting
			Darwin continues work- The Descent of Man in 1871
		Two soft spots
			How does inheritance work & where do variations come from?
			Where is "missing link"- human fossils?