Natural Philosophy to Darwin: Evolution Concepts

Flashcards covering key vocabulary from the lecture 'From Natural Philosophy to Darwin', focusing on early scientific concepts, classification systems, geological time, and foundational aspects of Darwin's theory of evolution.

Natural Philosophy

An older term for science, used to distinguish it from other fields in the past.

Great Chain of Being

An early concept influencing Darwin's ideas, but later found inconsistent with his theory of population changes through natural selection.

Natural Selection

Darwin's central idea explaining how populations change over time.

Survival of the Fittest

A concept associated with natural selection, describing how favorable variations lead to increased survival and reproduction.

Darwin's View on Evolution Time

Evolution, in Darwin's mind, takes place over a very long span of time.

Virus Evolution

A biological process where viruses evolve over a very short time, a concept discovered after Darwin's death.

Linnaeus

A gentleman who developed a system of classification based on similarities, moving away from the problematic 'chain of being'.

Linnaeus's Classification System

A system that organized organisms based on observable similarities, resolving issues with linear patterns and enabling finer-scale classification.

Linnaeus's Beliefs on Evolution

He did not believe in evolution, thinking the diversity of life he observed was the original state.

Tong Stones

The term used in earlier times to refer to fossils, particularly those resembling shark teeth found in mountains.

Nicholas Steno

A figure who proposed that 'tong stones' were fossilized shark teeth and explained how sediments built up in layers over time, with the oldest layers at the bottom.

Sediment Layers

Accumulations of geological material and dead organisms over time, forming distinct strata where the oldest layers are typically found at the bottom.

Stratigraphy

The study of rock layers and their formation, providing insights into Earth's history and how events (including evolution) unfolded over long periods.

Limestone Outcrop

Exposed bedrock, previously covered by soil, which often reveals visible layers formed over vast periods and can contain fossils.

Darwin's Theory and Stratigraphy

The long time required for the formation of layered rocks and fossils within them supported Darwin's consistent belief that evolution takes a very long time.

Environment's Role in Evolution (Darwin)

The environment does not change individual organisms, but rather selects for pre-existing variations, causing well-adapted individuals to increase in number within a population.

Variation Within Organisms

The pre-existing differences among individuals within a group, which the environment acts upon during natural selection, leading to population-level changes.

Bufan's Theory on Evolution

An alternative theory of evolution mentioned for comparison with Darwin's, suggesting a different mechanism of change than natural selection.