Evolutionary Theory Pre-Darwinian Evolutionary Ideas
Origins of
Darwinian
Evolutionary Theory Pre-Darwinian Evolutionary Ideas
Before the eighteenth century, speculation on the origin of species rested on mythology and superstition, not on anything resembling a testable scientific theory. Creation myths viewed the world remaining constant after its creation. Nevertheless, some people approached the idea that nature has a long history of perpetual and irreversible change.
Early Greek philosophers, notably Xenophanes, Empedocles, and Aristotle, developed an early idea of evolutionary change. They recognized fossils as evidence for former life that they believed had been destroyed by natural catastrophe. Despite their intellectual inquiry, the Greeks failed to establish an evolutionary concept, and the issue declined well before the rise of Christianity. The opportunity for evolutionary thinking became even more restricted as the biblical account of the earth’s creation became accepted as a tenet of faith. The year 4004 B.C. was fixed by Archbishop James Ussher (mid-seventeenth century) as the date of life’s creation. Evolutionary views were considered rebellious and heretical. Still, some speculation continued. The French naturalist Georges Louis Buffon (1707 to 1788) stressed the influence of environment on the modifications of animal type. He also extended the age of the earth to 70,000 years.
Evolutionary Theory Pre-Darwinian Evolutionary Ideas
Before the eighteenth century, speculation on the origin of species rested on mythology and superstition, not on anything resembling a testable scientific theory. Creation myths viewed the world remaining constant after its creation. Nevertheless, some people approached the idea that nature has a long history of perpetual and irreversible change.
Early Greek philosophers, notably Xenophanes, Empedocles, and Aristotle, developed an early idea of evolutionary change. They recognized fossils as evidence for former life that they believed had been destroyed by natural catastrophe. Despite their intellectual inquiry, the Greeks failed to establish an evolutionary concept, and the issue declined well before the rise of Christianity. The opportunity for evolutionary thinking became even more restricted as the biblical account of the earth’s creation became accepted as a tenet of faith. The year 4004 B.C. was fixed by Archbishop James Ussher (mid-seventeenth century) as the date of life’s creation. Evolutionary views were considered rebellious and heretical. Still, some speculation continued. The French naturalist Georges Louis Buffon (1707 to 1788) stressed the influence of environment on the modifications of animal type. He also extended the age of the earth to 70,000 years.
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