Darwin's Precursors and Influences

Conclusions

by John Wilkins

Copyright © 1996-2003

[Last Update: 21 February 2003]

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Darwin is not the first for many of the elements of his theories, but Darwin and Darwin alone can be seen to be responsible for the theory of sexual selection. He was the first person to scientifically posit common descent for all life. He and Wallace independently uncovered the causes of biogeographical distribution, though not of the phenomenon itself, and of adaptation by natural selection in a time of limited resources and change, despite prior sketches by many on how selection could keep organisms fit. The idea of the transmutation of species was not original to any 19th century scientist, although Darwin and Wallace, along with Huxley, Haeckel, Gray, Hooker, Lyell and others, were chiefly responsible for its acceptance by the scientific and general community and the success of the view of differentiating and branching evolution.

And all biologists until Weismann accepted some version of the use and disuse theory of heredity that is known today as "Lamarckism". Even then, the views known as Mendelian genetics were not widely accepted until the turn of the century and the marriage not effected with evolutionary theory until the 1930-45 "synthesis". Darwin's pangenesis was a heroic but doomed effort.

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