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Jean-Baptiste Lamarck (view source)
Revision as of 19:32, October 11, 2008
, 19:32, October 11, 2008no edit summary
Lamarck's theory was fundamentally flawed in that it could not explain the contradictions in observations, for instance a dog with a lobbed tail would not give birth to puppies without tails. The advent of biochemistry and genetics and discovery of DNA demonstrated the mechanisms by which characteristics were passed on, invariably disproving the theory.
Lamarck's theory was fundamentally flawed in that it could not explain the contradictions in observations, for instance a dog with a lobbed tail would not give birth to puppies without tails. The advent of biochemistry and genetics and discovery of DNA demonstrated the mechanisms by which characteristics were passed on, invariably disproving the theory.
== Atheism ==
Lamarck was an avowed [[atheist]], and an active contributor to the atheist policies of the [[French Academy of Sciences]] during the [[French Revolution]], a fact which evolution-friendly theologians and historians, and wikipedia have attempted to hide.
He famously quipped "We have now moved beyond the cradle of such absurdities as god; nature produces life and life continues unheeded. Just as the species of the earth improve, so too we improve, moving from religion to natural philosophy."<ref>Richard W. Burkhardt, Jr, "The spirit of system : Lamarck and evolutionary biology", Harvard University Press, 1977, p. 128.</ref>
== Influence ==
== Influence ==
Lamarckian evolution was upheld for decades in the 1900s by Trofim Lysenko, head of genetic and biological study within the Soviet Union, until he was discredited along with his pseudoscience in the 1960s.
Lamarckian evolution was upheld for decades in the 1900s by [[Trofim Lysenko]], head of genetic and biological study within the Soviet Union, until he was discredited along with his pseudoscience in the 1960s.
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[[Category:Biologists]]
[[Category:Biologists]]