Title: ANTHROPOLOGY

Paper: PAPER No. II

B.A / B.Sc 2nd Semester

Course name: PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY

Module: ORGANIC EVOLUTION: Lamarckism and Darwinism

(11/15)

INTRODUCTION:

The gradual change and development of simple and lower categories of

life forms to more complex and higher categories of life forms in
consequence of the geo environmental change and change of other
surrounding situation are known as organic evolution. The theory of
organic evolution initiated the scientific discussions on origin and
development of life.

We will now discuss various theories of evolution.

LAMARCKISM

The first persuasive theory of evolution was presented by the French naturalists, Jean Babtiste de
Lamarck (1744 -1829). He was the first naturalist to put forward the fact that the animals could modify
themselves to adapt to the environmental situations. According to him, the evolution of species was based
on the response to need and to use or disuse of organs. In his classic book entitled Philosophic Zoologique
(1809), Lamarck presented a complete theory of evolution. He believed that the animals were not
specially created to fit a particular pattern of life; but they have been shaped by the circumstances.
Lamarck devised four laws according to which the evolution was affected through the ages.

1st Law: Theory of ‘elan vital’ or growth: The internal forces of life tend to increase the size of an
organism by growth in organs and systems. The internal forces of life are capable of forming organs and
systems.

2nd Law: Theory of environmental pressure and spontaneous formation of organs: New organs and
systems are formed because of need or want which has arisen due to environmental pressure and continue
to be felt by the organism.

3rd Law: Theory of use and disuse: The development of organ is directly proportional to its use. ontinuous
use strengthens the organ while disuse has reverse effect and he cites examples to prove this. For example
there is

a. development of strong biceps muscles in blacksmith

b. elongated body and loss of limbs in snakes due to continuous creeping
through the holes and crevices
c. migration of both the eyes towards the upper side in flat fishes living on
the bottom of sea
d. development of strong leg bones, muscles and tendons for fast running
and thickened enamel in teeth for chewing in horses during a shift from
forest life to Savannah life
e. lengthening of neck in the giraffe due to its continuous use in reaching
to the leaves and fruits of high rise tree
f. occurrence of vestigial organs such as Pinna, Simi lunar membrane,
vermiform appendix etc in man due to its constant disuse
g. development of web in between the digits in water birds to facilitate
swimming.

            

4th Law: Theory of inheritance of acquired characters: All changes that organism acquire during the
lifetime are transmitted to the next generation.
Lamarck’s theory of evolution, though was the pioneering attempt in the formulation of biological
explanation of evolutionary process, in the present period it has been severely criticized because of the
fact that it has not been possible to establish that characters acquired during the lifetime of any organism
are transmitted to the succeeding generation.

CRITICISM OF LAMARCKISM

1. The theory put much emphasis on inner urge and forces and considers it competent enough to
device ways to form organs needed for adaptation.

2. The theory considers environment as a docile force while modern theory of evolution considers
environment as a dynamic force that selects the adaptive types from a range of variation. In
Lamarckism, variation theory is the end product of evolution while in modern theory variation
provides raw material for evolution on which natural selection and other forces act.

3. Development and atrophy of organs can be explained on the grounds of accepted modern theory
of evolution. Thus lengthening of neck of giraffe occurred not because of its constant use but
because of presence of individuals of variable length of neck in giraffe’s population out of which
those of longest necks were selected for. Thus snake with more slender form of body, aquatic
birds with webs in feet, flat fishes with both eyes on one side, horses with capacity to run fast and
browse, birds with perching ability would be favoured by natural selection in their respective
habitat. All these arose as differing variations and perpetuated by differential reproduction
because those with favourable variations had greater chances of survival and reproduction, thus
leaving more offspring in the next generation i.e. contributing significantly to the gene pool of
next generation.

4. Most of the experiments devised in support of Lamarckism were either biased or lacked
confirmation, and a few were even forged.

DARWINISM

Charles Darwin, a British Naturalist, in the year 1859 published his book on the Origin of Species.
Darwin’s theory of ‘Natural Selection’ has exercised the greatest impact on evolutionary thoughts. It was
with the publication of Darwinism that Organic Evolution came to be accepted by the world.

Darwin attributed several factors to the cause of evolutionary changes. These factors are as follows:
 i) Overproduction: All living organisms tend to increase their number in a geometric ratio in
nature. Potentially, each organism is capable of reproducing at a very high rate. Thus, any
given population is usually able to reproduce many more young individuals that can
adequately be raised in the region it occupies.
ii) Variation: Darwin pointed out that all living organisms vary. There are always some
variations, however minute they may be. While some variations are suited to the conditions
of the environment, others are not. Further, since environment varies from region to region,
the innumerable variations that living organisms show also differ from region to region.
According to Darwin, these variations are preserved and transmitted to the offspring. In
nature, favourable variations are more prone to be inherited than the unfavourable ones.
iii) Struggle for Existence: Overproduction and consequently overcrowding of a population
requires elimination of large numbers of individuals in each generation. Since the amount of
space, food, residential areas and other requirements of life are limited; there is a severe
competition between the individuals for these essentials of life. There is a struggle for
existence.

The struggle for existence can exist at intraspecific or interspecific level and also against
environment.

a. Intraspecific struggle: It is the struggle between the members of the same species. As the
food material and area of living are limited, the individual who grows in right direction
survive while the other will perished.

b. Interspecific: It is the struggle between the unrelated species.

c. Environmental struggle: It is the struggle against the forces of nature. Natural calamities
like earthquake, flood and epidemics are all faced by the organisms in common.

iv) Natural Selection and the Survival of the Fittest: In the face of the struggle for existence, only those
organisms that are most well adapted to the environment for ‘fit’ in life can survive. Thus, natural
selection of organisms takes place in which nature eliminates those that are not fit by way of several
natural calamities and preserves those that are fit. Thus natural selection maintains a more or less
constant number of every species. These selected organisms serve to perpetuate their well suited
variations and thus gradually a well adapted, better species evolve.
DRAWBACKS OF DARWINISM

Although Darwin’s theory paved the way for the better understanding of the process of evolution, it failed
to answer certain problems like-

i) It does not account for presence or origins of variations among living organisms.
ii) Natural selection cannot carry a species beyond its natural range of variability. This is
because variation is a progressive course in evolution which causes modification, but heredity
acts as a conservative force that tends to preserve the variations as such.

In spite of these drawbacks, Darwinism is widely accepted, though with few modifications.