The great French zoologist Lamarck (1744-1829) was best known for his theory of evolution, called 'soft inheritance', whereby organisms pass down acquired characteristics to their offspring. Originally a soldier, Lamarck later studied medicine and biology, becoming particularly interested in botany. His distinguished career included admission to the French Academy of Sciences (1779), and appointments as Royal Botanist (1781) and as professor of zoology at the Musée Nationale d'Histoire Naturelle in 1793. Acknowledged as the premier authority on invertebrate zoology, he is credited with coining the term 'invertebrates'. In this two-volume work of 1809, he outlines his theory that under the pressure of different external circumstances, species can develop variations, and that new species and genera can eventually evolve as a result. Darwin paid tribute to Lamarck as the man who 'first did the eminent service of arousing attention to the probability of all change ... being the result of law'.
The great French zoologist Lamarck (1744-1829) was best known for his theory of evolution, called 'soft inheritance', whereby organisms pass down acquired characteristics to their offspring. Originally a soldier, Lamarck later studied medicine and biology, becoming particularly interested in botany. His distinguished career included admission to the French Academy of Sciences (1779), and appointments as Royal Botanist (1781) and as professor of zoology at the Musée Nationale d'Histoire Naturelle in 1793. Acknowledged as the premier authority on invertebrate zoology, he is credited with coining the term 'invertebrates'. In this two-volume work of 1809, he outlines his theory that under the pressure of different external circumstances, species can develop variations, and that new species and genera can eventually evolve as a result. Darwin paid tribute to Lamarck as the man who 'first did the eminent service of arousing attention to the probability of all change ... being the result of law'.
Inhaltsverzeichnis
Avertissement; Discours préliminaire; 1e Partie. Considérations sur l'Histoire Naturelle des Animaux, leurs Caractères, leurs Rapports, leur Organisation, leur Distribution, leur Classification et leurs Espèces: 1. Des parties de l'art dans les productions de la nature; 2. Importance de la considération des rapports; 3. De l'espèce parmi les corps vivans, et de l'idée que nous devons attacher à ce mot; 4. Généralités sur les animaux; 5. Sur l'état actuel de la distribution et de la classification des animaux; 6. Dégradation et simplification de l'organisation d'une extrémité à l'autre de la chaîne animale, en procédant du plus composé vers le plus simple; 7. De l'influence des circonstances sur les actions et les habitudes des animaux, et de celle des actions et des habitudes de ces corps vivans, comme causes qui modifient leur organisation et leurs parties; 8. De l'ordre naturel des animaux, et de la disposition qu'il faut donner à leur distribution générale pour la rendre conforme à l'ordre même de la nature; 2e Partie. Considération sur les Causes Physiques de la Vie, les Conditions qu'elle Exige pour Exister, la Force Excitatrice de ses Mouvemens, les Facultés qu'elle Donne aux Corps qui la Possèdent, et les Résultats de son Existence dans ces Corps: Introduction; 1. Comparaison des corps inorganiques avec les corps vivans, suivie d'un parallèle entre les animaux et le végétaux; 2. De la vie, de ce qui la constitue, et des conditions essentielles à son existence dans un corps.
