![]() In this paper he distinctly recognises the principle of natural selection, and this is the first recognition which has been indicated but he applies it only to the races of man, and to certain characters alone. Wells read before the Royal Society ‘An Account of a White female, part of whose skin resembles that of a Negro’ but his paper was not published until his famous ‘Two Essays upon Dew and Single Vision’ appeared in 1818. He was cautious in drawing conclusions, and did not believe that existing species are now undergoing modification and, as his son adds, “C’est donc un problème à réserver entièrement à l’avenir, supposé même que l’avenir doive avoir prise sur lui.” Geoffroy seems to have relied chiefly on the conditions of life, or the “ monde ambiant” as the cause of change. It was not until 1828 that he published his conviction that the same forms have not been perpetuated since the origin of all things. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, as is stated in his ‘Life,’ written by his son, suspected, as early as 1795, that what we call species are various degenerations of the same type. But he likewise believed in a law of progressive development and as all the forms of life thus tend to progress, in order to account for the existence at the present day of simple productions, he maintains that such forms are now spontaneously generated. To this latter agency he seems to attribute all the beautiful adaptations in nature -such as the long neck of the giraffe for browsing on the branches of trees. With respect to the means of modification, he attributed something to the direct action of the physical conditions of life, something to the crossing of already existing forms, and much to use and disuse, that is, to the effects of habit. Lamarck seems to have been chiefly led to his conclusion on the gradual change of species, by the difficulty of distinguishing species and varieties, by the almost perfect gradation of forms in certain groups, and by the analogy of domestic productions. He first did the eminent service of arousing attention to the probability of all change in the organic, as well as in the inorganic world, being the result of law, and not of miraculous interposition. des Animaux sans Vertébres.’ In these works he upholds the doctrine that all species, including man, are descended from other species. This justly-celebrated naturalist first published his views in 1801 he much enlarged them in 1809 in his ‘Philosophie Zoologique,’ and subsequently, in 1815, in the Introduction to his ‘Hist. Lamarck was the first man whose conclusions on the subject excited much attention. But as his opinions fluctuated greatly at different periods, and as he does not enter on the causes or means of the transformation of species, I need not here enter on details. Passing over allusions to the subject in the classical writers, * the first author who in modern times has treated it in a scientific spirit was Buffon. Some few naturalists, on the other hand, have believed that species undergo modification, and that the existing forms of life are the descendants by true generation of pre-existing forms. This view has been ably maintained by many authors. ![]() Until recently the great majority of naturalists believed that species were immutable productions, and had been separately created. ![]() I will here give a brief sketch of the progress of opinion on the Origin of Species. PREVIOUSLY TO THE PUBLICATION OF THE FIRST EDITION OF THIS WORK. OF THE PROGRESS OF OPINION ON THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES. ![]() It may not be used in any way for profit. Unless otherwise stated in the Copyright Information section above, this material may be used freely for educational and academic purposes. Chapter: AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE PROGRESS OF OPINION ON THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES.: PREVIOUSLY TO THE PUBLICATION OF THE FIRST EDITION OF THIS WORK.Ĭopyright: The text is in the public domain.įair Use: This material is put online to further the educational goals of Liberty Fund, Inc. Source: Charles Darwin, The Origin of Species by means of natural selection or the preservation of favored races in the struggle for life, with additions and corrections from the sixth and last English edition, in two volumes (New York: D. ![]()
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