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Lamarckism: Lamarckism is an early theory of evolution proposed by Jean-Baptiste Lamarck in 1809. It is based on the idea that acquired characteristics can be inherited by offspring. For example, Lamarck believed that if a giraffe stretched its neck to reach leaves on high branches, its offspring would be born with longer necks. See also Evolution, Darwinism, Adaption._____________Annotation: The above characterizations of concepts are neither definitions nor exhausting presentations of problems related to them. Instead, they are intended to give a short introduction to the contributions below. – Lexicon of Arguments. | |||
Author | Concept | Summary/Quotes | Sources |
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Arthur Koestler on Lamarckism - Dictionary of Arguments
Gould I 83 Lamarckism/Koestler/Gould: Lamarckism lives on at least in widespread fantasies. Especially Koestler strongly defends it: "The Case of the Midwife Toad"(1): here he undertakes an honor rescue of the Austrian supporter of Lamarck, Paul Kammerer. I 84 Koestler's favorite example is Kammerer's midwife toad. Kammerer forced them to mate in the water, and after several generations they got them with wedding calluses, even after they had been taken back to their old environment. GouldVsKammerer/GouldVsKoestler: In reality, Kammerer had conducted a Darwinian experiment. Only a few eggs survived in the water and Kammerer had thus exerted strong selection pressure towards a genetic variation for reproduction in the water. The genes that favoured life in the water were grouped together. >Selection, >J.-B. de Lamarck. 1. Koestler, A., The Case of the Midwife Toad, London, NY 1971._____________Explanation of symbols: Roman numerals indicate the source, arabic numerals indicate the page number. The corresponding books are indicated on the right hand side. ((s)…): Comment by the sender of the contribution. Translations: Dictionary of Arguments The note [Concept/Author], [Author1]Vs[Author2] or [Author]Vs[term] resp. "problem:"/"solution:", "old:"/"new:" and "thesis:" is an addition from the Dictionary of Arguments. If a German edition is specified, the page numbers refer to this edition. |
Koestler I Arthur Koestler The Case of the Midwife Toad Plano, TX 2016 Gould I Stephen Jay Gould The Panda’s Thumb. More Reflections in Natural History, New York 1980 German Edition: Der Daumen des Panda Frankfurt 2009 Gould II Stephen Jay Gould Hen’s Teeth and Horse’s Toes. Further Reflections in Natural History, New York 1983 German Edition: Wie das Zebra zu seinen Streifen kommt Frankfurt 1991 Gould III Stephen Jay Gould Full House. The Spread of Excellence from Plato to Darwin, New York 1996 German Edition: Illusion Fortschritt Frankfurt 2004 Gould IV Stephen Jay Gould The Flamingo’s Smile. Reflections in Natural History, New York 1985 German Edition: Das Lächeln des Flamingos Basel 1989 |