1802: Natural Theology
(Evolution Challenged)
Natural Theology views God through nature. Archdeacon
William Paley's Natural Theology holds that not only God's existence but
also his attributes are manifest in the intricate forms of nature. Paley singles
out the eye as an organ of such complexity that, like a pocket watch, it must have
been designed by an intelligent designer. Charles Darwin, as a young clerical student,
will study the ideas of Natural Theology.
1809: Lamarck
(Rise of Evolution)
Lamarck champions evolution. French naturalist Jean-Baptiste de
Lamarck proposes that living things evolve to become more complex through time. In
his Philosophie zoologique, Lamarck claims that "vital forces" within creatures
help them adapt to their environments. Acquired traits -- developed through use or
disuse -- are then passed on to future generations. Lamarck thinks that wading birds,
for instance, evolved long legs as they stretched to keep high and dry. Lamarck is
the most renowned -- but by no means the only -- proponent of evolution in this era.
1809: Darwin Born
(Rise of Evolution)
Darwin born in a conservative era. While born to a family of
"freethinkers," Charles Darwin's birth comes at a time of social conservatism in
Britain. Britain is at war with France, and evolution is an idea linked to French
radicals and revolutionaries. Darwin is one of six children in an affluent English
family. In the early 19th century there is no such thing as a professional scientist;
the teenaged Darwin, a passionate hunter and beetle collector, plans to become a
country parson and quietly pursue his interest in nature.
1817: Cuvier
(Rise of Evolution) (Evolution Challenged)
Cuvier sees catastrophes in fossil record. The construction of
canals and mines in the early 19th century unearths fossils of bizarre and extinct
creatures. French naturalist Georges Cuvier attempts to explain them. He argues
that a series of catastrophes -- great floods and earthquakes -- wiped out certain
life in the distant past. But Cuvier rails against the notion that past life evolved
into present forms. He argues that modern creatures are far too complex to have
evolved naturally, and insists that life "stood still" between catastrophes. While
Cuvier loathes the idea of evolution, his work on the fossil record helps fuel the
rise of evolutionary science.
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