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New ideas, such as the principles of inheritance and the concept of natural selection, may have profoundly influenced Darwin by providing a framework for understanding the diversity of life. The work of contemporary scientists, including Thomas Malthus's essay on population growth and Jean-Baptiste Lamarck's theories on evolution, likely prompted Darwin to consider the mechanisms behind species adaptation and variation. These ideas encouraged him to explore the relationship between environmental pressures and survival, ultimately shaping his formulation of the theory of evolution by natural selection.

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How did the ideas of Thomas Malthus influence Darwin?

Thomas Malthus's ideas on population growth and resource limitation profoundly influenced Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection. Malthus argued that populations tend to grow exponentially while resources grow arithmetically, leading to competition and struggle for survival. This concept helped Darwin understand that in the natural world, individuals must compete for limited resources, resulting in variations in survival and reproduction. Consequently, those individuals best suited to their environments would pass on their advantageous traits, driving the process of evolution.


What did Malthuss work tell Darwin?

Thomas Malthus's work, particularly his essay on the principle of population, significantly influenced Charles Darwin's thinking about natural selection. Malthus argued that populations grow exponentially while resources grow arithmetically, leading to competition for limited resources. This concept of struggle for existence resonated with Darwin, as it provided a framework for understanding how only those individuals best adapted to their environment would survive and reproduce. Thus, Malthus's ideas helped shape Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection.


Who most influenced Darwin's idea that some offspring are better suited to survival than others?

Charles Darwin was significantly influenced by the work of Thomas Malthus, particularly Malthus's ideas on population growth and resource limitations. Malthus argued that populations tend to outgrow their resources, leading to competition and a struggle for existence. This concept helped Darwin formulate his theory of natural selection, where those offspring better adapted to their environment are more likely to survive and reproduce. Additionally, the work of naturalists like Jean-Baptiste Lamarck and George Cuvier also contributed to his understanding of variation and adaptation.


Why did scientists reject Lamark's idea of evolution?

Lamarck led the way for and had ideas that helped Darwin. However, his observations regarding the mechanisms of evolution were, with the exception of one, totally backwards. To summarize Lamarck, he hypothesized that organisms somehow had a choice in their traits and could change to fit the environment (he called these ideas his theories of need and his theory of use and disuse). The part he was correct on was that should an organism change, they would pass the traits on to their offspring. Darwin said, basically, the opposite. Darwin observed that organisms were born with slight differences (variations) and those variations might give some members of a species an advantage in the struggle to survive in the environment. The reward for survival was that the organism got to reproduce and pass those traits on to their offspring. Of course, the offspring might show some variation and the whole process would continue to repeat. However, the bottom line with Darwin (and contrary to Lamarck) was that an organism had no choice in its traits as an organism is born with or without the advantage. Darwin, without knowing its mechanisms, recognized that genetics played a part in evolution. Darwin died not knowing of Mendel's work on genetics which, of course, substantiates Darwin's theory.


What is the comparison between Lamarck's and Darwin's ideas about how evolution takes place?

Lamarck's theory of evolution proposed that organisms could acquire traits during their lifetime and pass those traits to their offspring, a process often summarized as "inheritance of acquired characteristics." In contrast, Darwin's natural selection posits that variations among individuals in a population arise randomly, and those with advantageous traits are more likely to survive and reproduce, thus passing those traits to the next generation. While Lamarck emphasized the role of individual effort in adaptation, Darwin highlighted the importance of environmental pressures and random genetic variation as driving forces in evolution. Ultimately, Darwin's theory is more widely accepted and supported by genetic evidence.

Related Questions

How Hutton's and lyell's ideas about the formation of the Earth influenced Darwin's ideas about evolution?

Hutton and Lyell studied the geological changes that shaped earth and recognized that the processes that shaped Earth in the past are the same processes that operate in the present. This influenced Darwin's theory of evolution because it shows, that things are constantly changing on earth (the enviorment) so why can't organisms?


How did the ideas of Thomas Malthus influence Darwin?

Thomas Malthus's ideas on population growth and resource limitation profoundly influenced Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection. Malthus argued that populations tend to grow exponentially while resources grow arithmetically, leading to competition and struggle for survival. This concept helped Darwin understand that in the natural world, individuals must compete for limited resources, resulting in variations in survival and reproduction. Consequently, those individuals best suited to their environments would pass on their advantageous traits, driving the process of evolution.


What did Malthuss work tell Darwin?

Thomas Malthus's work, particularly his essay on the principle of population, significantly influenced Charles Darwin's thinking about natural selection. Malthus argued that populations grow exponentially while resources grow arithmetically, leading to competition for limited resources. This concept of struggle for existence resonated with Darwin, as it provided a framework for understanding how only those individuals best adapted to their environment would survive and reproduce. Thus, Malthus's ideas helped shape Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection.


What ideas of Lyell's theory of uniformitarianism were important for evolution theory?

Lyell's theory of uniformitarianism, which proposed that geological processes occurring in the past are the same as those observed today, influenced Darwin's understanding of deep time and gradual change. This helped Darwin conceive of evolution as a slow, natural process that could explain the diversity of life. By accepting uniformitarianism, Darwin could propose that natural selection acted over vast periods of time to shape the development of species.


Who most influenced Darwin's idea that some offspring are better suited to survival than others?

Charles Darwin was significantly influenced by the work of Thomas Malthus, particularly Malthus's ideas on population growth and resource limitations. Malthus argued that populations tend to outgrow their resources, leading to competition and a struggle for existence. This concept helped Darwin formulate his theory of natural selection, where those offspring better adapted to their environment are more likely to survive and reproduce. Additionally, the work of naturalists like Jean-Baptiste Lamarck and George Cuvier also contributed to his understanding of variation and adaptation.


Why did scientists reject Lamark's idea of evolution?

Lamarck led the way for and had ideas that helped Darwin. However, his observations regarding the mechanisms of evolution were, with the exception of one, totally backwards. To summarize Lamarck, he hypothesized that organisms somehow had a choice in their traits and could change to fit the environment (he called these ideas his theories of need and his theory of use and disuse). The part he was correct on was that should an organism change, they would pass the traits on to their offspring. Darwin said, basically, the opposite. Darwin observed that organisms were born with slight differences (variations) and those variations might give some members of a species an advantage in the struggle to survive in the environment. The reward for survival was that the organism got to reproduce and pass those traits on to their offspring. Of course, the offspring might show some variation and the whole process would continue to repeat. However, the bottom line with Darwin (and contrary to Lamarck) was that an organism had no choice in its traits as an organism is born with or without the advantage. Darwin, without knowing its mechanisms, recognized that genetics played a part in evolution. Darwin died not knowing of Mendel's work on genetics which, of course, substantiates Darwin's theory.


How did the study of organisms on islands help support Darwin's ideas?

It Gave evidence and the fossil organisms on the bottom or older layers were more primitive than those in upper or newer layers.


Which two ideas did Darwin use to explain evoultion?

Darwin used the ideas of natural selection and descent with modification to explain evolution. Natural selection is the process by which individuals with favorable traits are more likely to survive and reproduce, passing those traits on to their offspring. Descent with modification refers to how species change over time through the accumulation of small changes in their inherited traits.


What resulted from Darwin's theory?

Darwin created a new branch of biology called evolutionary biology. His ideas angered those that believe in religion and not science. Some states in the United States banned the teaching of evolution. There was a famous Scopes Monkey Trial where John Scopes was accused of teaching evolution and he was defended by the famous William Jennings Byran.Some people took Darwin's ideas and used them to create social Darwinism. People, groups, and peoples were also subject to the "survival of the fittest." This concept has been rejected by most now.


Describe the ideas of Charles Darwin?

Charles Darwin invented evolution, he say on the Galapagos islands that there was the same bird on every island but with different beaks, so he thought that they just adapted to their surroundings. so there's his ideas...evolution is a highly debatable subject, currently there is more evidence against evolution however the scientists that believe in it keep the subject going with small tidbits of info.


How did Lamarck's ideas differ from Darwin's?

Lamarck believed an individual organism acquired traits during its lifetime and passed those traits on to its offspring. He lacked support for his ideas. Darwin documented how inherited traits could be passed on by natural selection, that adaptations that give an organism an advantage is passed on through subsequent generations and becomes more common. He had evidence for his ideas (finches, tortoises…).


How might those pressures have influenced Columbus's treatment of the taino?

they pressuered him so he wanted to get anger and stress out so he took it out on the Taino people.