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Lamarck, the Founder of Evolution: His Life and Work
This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it.
This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.
Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface.
We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.
Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface.
We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
478 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1901
About the author
Alpheus Spring Packard
289 books13 followersAlpheus Spring Packard Jr., LL.D. (February 19, 1839 – February 14, 1905) was an American entomologist and palaeontologist. He was the son of Alpheus Spring Packard, Sr. (1798–1884) and the brother of William Alfred Packard. He was born in Brunswick, Maine and was Professor of Zoology and Geology at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island from 1878 until his death. He was a vocal proponent of the Neo-Lamarckian theory of evolution.
His chief work was the classification and anatomy of arthropods, and contributions to economic entomology, zoogeography, and the phylogeny and metamorphoses of insects. Packard was appointed to the United States Entomological Commission in 1877 where he served with Charles Valentine Riley and Cyrus Thomas. He wrote school textbooks, such as Zoölogy for High Schools and Colleges (eleventh edition, 1904). His Monograph of the Bombycine Moths of North America was published in three parts (1895, 1905, 1915, edited by T. D. A. Cockerell).
His chief work was the classification and anatomy of arthropods, and contributions to economic entomology, zoogeography, and the phylogeny and metamorphoses of insects. Packard was appointed to the United States Entomological Commission in 1877 where he served with Charles Valentine Riley and Cyrus Thomas. He wrote school textbooks, such as Zoölogy for High Schools and Colleges (eleventh edition, 1904). His Monograph of the Bombycine Moths of North America was published in three parts (1895, 1905, 1915, edited by T. D. A. Cockerell).
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 26, 2018
Lo mas dificil de leer esta biografia fue leer las citas directas de los trabajos de Lamarck.
Me encanto su intensidad, a pesar de todas las desviaciones que tome para poder entender los milagros y obra de este filosofo frances.
Esta biografia de principios de siglo XX ofrece un vistazo a los eventos que fueron marcando la vida cotidiana y academica de Lamarck hasta su muerte y posterior olvido. Ademas ofrece un analisis critico de las obras mas importantes que produjo; exponiendo las ridiculas criticas que durante el siglo XIX se le hicieron a la teoria Lamarkiana. Criticas que incluso hoy en dia siguen siendo parte del rechazo visceral al Lamarckismo.
La biografia termina con un capitulo dedicado al entonces Neodarwinismo y Neolamarckismo; en el que expone como ambas teorias son complementarias para explicar el mecanismo con el cual las especies cambian. Idea que no consiguio desarrollarse del todo ya que el siglo XX fue la edad del Neodarwinismo.
Me encanto su intensidad, a pesar de todas las desviaciones que tome para poder entender los milagros y obra de este filosofo frances.
Esta biografia de principios de siglo XX ofrece un vistazo a los eventos que fueron marcando la vida cotidiana y academica de Lamarck hasta su muerte y posterior olvido. Ademas ofrece un analisis critico de las obras mas importantes que produjo; exponiendo las ridiculas criticas que durante el siglo XIX se le hicieron a la teoria Lamarkiana. Criticas que incluso hoy en dia siguen siendo parte del rechazo visceral al Lamarckismo.
La biografia termina con un capitulo dedicado al entonces Neodarwinismo y Neolamarckismo; en el que expone como ambas teorias son complementarias para explicar el mecanismo con el cual las especies cambian. Idea que no consiguio desarrollarse del todo ya que el siglo XX fue la edad del Neodarwinismo.
January 30, 2022
“Lamarck, the founder of evolution. his life and work” by Alpheus S. Packard, published in 1901, was the first serious biography of Jean-Baptiste de Lamarck, who developed 50 years before Charles Darwin a complete theory seeking to explain the evolution of living forms. The fact that it took 71 years for a biography to appear about the biggest French botanist and the founder of paleontology, and the fact that it was published in the USA, shows how effective where his enemies, Cuvier being first in line (who rejected evolution in favour of successive creations and total extinctions).
The book can be roughly separated in three parts, of decreasing interest. The first part is the biography per se. Packard undertook an extensive investigation to gather the rare informations about Lamarck and collect his writing. Being very familiar with the work of Lamarck myself, I nevertheless learnt much about his life and his extensive scientific production. The middle part is largely made up of translations of Lamarck’s works, to present them in English to the American public. The book closes by a presentation of neolamarckism by Packard. This part can largely be ignored, except perhaps for a mild historical interest. While Lamarck himself had no idea of biochemistry and cytology, and was doing his research before the advent of experimental biology, this was not the case of neolamarckians at the beginning of the XX century. Completing Darwin’s natural selection, Weissman had already ruled out inheritance of acquired characters, and Mendel’s laws were independently verified by several researchers the year before the publication of the current volume.
The book can be roughly separated in three parts, of decreasing interest. The first part is the biography per se. Packard undertook an extensive investigation to gather the rare informations about Lamarck and collect his writing. Being very familiar with the work of Lamarck myself, I nevertheless learnt much about his life and his extensive scientific production. The middle part is largely made up of translations of Lamarck’s works, to present them in English to the American public. The book closes by a presentation of neolamarckism by Packard. This part can largely be ignored, except perhaps for a mild historical interest. While Lamarck himself had no idea of biochemistry and cytology, and was doing his research before the advent of experimental biology, this was not the case of neolamarckians at the beginning of the XX century. Completing Darwin’s natural selection, Weissman had already ruled out inheritance of acquired characters, and Mendel’s laws were independently verified by several researchers the year before the publication of the current volume.
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January 5, 2016Interesting historical perspective on Lamarckian type evolution. And the title Lamarck, the founder of evolution is apt as Lamarck truly was the founder and his form of evolutionary change which has become synonymous with epigenetics today, is proving to be scientifically supported, whereas, the Neo-Darwinian version is not.
For more info visit: http://diggingupthefuture.com
For more info visit: http://diggingupthefuture.com
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews