Outshining Darwin

Denise Carrington-Smith

• Publisher: Storixus Media and Publishing
• Year: 2020
• ISBN:
  9780648364085
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Sciences biologiques
• Subtopic: Évolution

Jean Baptiste Lamarck did not receive the respect, prestige or recognition for his contributions to science during his life long struggle with poverty, yet was still a brilliant mind in pursuit of the discovery of Evolution.

In the year 1809, the year that Darwin was born, Lamarck published his three-volume work, Phylosophie Zoologique, in which was explained his theory of the evolution of life on this planet from the simplest, single-celled infusoria, to Man. He discussed not only gradual physical evolution, over countless millennia, but the evolution of our minds and our emotions too.

Too far ahead of his time, Lamarck's ideas were ridiculed or forgotten.

Now we understand - or think we do! Time to take another look - we still have a lot to learn.

Section One

INTRODUCTION

THE year 2014 marked the one hundredth anniversary of the publication of an English translation of Lamarck’s great work, Philosophie Zoologique. Lamarck’s seminal work was the first published in the Western world devoted exclusively to the subject of zoological evolution. It was published in 1809, coincidentally the same year as that in which Charles Darwin was born. Lamarck’s revolutionary ideas evoked much opposition and his work was in danger of being lost to the English speaking world, which fact inspired Hugh Elliot to undertake the laborious work of its translation.

In his Introduction to his translation, Elliot explained that, although many writers ‘quoted’ Lamarck, it would seem few had, in fact, read his work. They merely repeated the opinion of other writers before them. Of those who had indeed read Lamarck’s work, some regarded him “as the greatest biological teacher that has ever lived”. Elliot claimed that the outstanding feature of Lamarck’s theory was its claim that species changed (evolved) over time, which ran counter to the prevalent theory of the stability of species.

The rapid expansion of building work following the industrial revolution, including larger roads and canals, which at times required the blasting away of massive amounts of material to allow their passage through, rather than over, a hill, had resulted in the exposure of many fossils, actual bones as well as impressions of both flora and fauna. Coal mining was another source of fossils, which were being collected and studied by ‘antiquarians’, rather than simply tossed aside, as had previously been the case. Later, the construction of railways would add greatly to the number and diversity of documented fossils. The great anatomist, George Cuvier (1769-1832), Lamarck’s nemesis, believed that the Earth, when created but a few thousand years previously, had then been inhabited by a far greater number of species than now populated the Earth. Many of these species, claimed Cuvier, had been lost as a result of catastrophes, such as the Biblical flood, of which Cuvier suggested there had been several, that recorded in Genesis being the last. Other theorists postulated a series of ‘creations’. Was there any reason to suppose that the Creator had exhausted his creative abilities with one act of Creation? Lamarck, alone, proposed a theory of gradual change, of evolution.

Both Buffon (see below) and Erasmus Darwin (Charles Darwin’s grandfather) had mentioned the possibility of evolution, but their writings covered a wide range of subjects and neither followed through with their musings sufficiently to formulate anything which could be regarded as a theory of evolution. However, the topic was ‘in the air’ – and in the ground, as mentioned above, with the continual unearthing of new fossils. The English work which established evolution as an acceptable theory was that of Robert Chambers (1802-1861), who, in 1844, published his work, Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation. This book provoked much discussion and by 1846 had already run to five editions. The twelfth edition was published posthumously.

Robert Chambers and his brother ran a publishing company in Edinburgh, an acknowledged seat of learning due to the presence of Edinburgh’s famous University. Their company specialized in books and pamphlets designed to inform the non-University class of reader about a wide variety of topics. They published the Edinburgh Journal, which was well respected and widely read. By 1842, Robert was suffering from exhaustion brought on by overwork and was forced to take two years off from work to recuperate. It was during this time that he wrote Vestiges.

In 1834, an English edition of Buffon’s Natural History, General and Particular containing the History and Theory of the Earth, and a General History of Man, was published in London by Thomas Kelly. This edition included A History of Fishes, Reptiles and Insects by Henry Augustus Chambers, LL.D., possibly a relation of Robert Chambers. Be that as it may, it seems certain that Robert Chambers would have been aware of this translation of Buffon’s work and it may well have ignited, if not merely fuelled, his interest in natural history in general and the possibility of evolution in particular. And so it happened that the year 1844, the centenary of Lamarck’s birth, saw the publication in England of the work which firmly cemented evolution into the consciousness of the British reading public.

Today, Lamarck’s name is associated with the discredited theory of the inheritance of acquired characteristics. This was not Lamarck’s theory – it was Darwin’s! Darwin called it pangenesis and, while it is ‘assumed’ in On the Origin of Species, published in 1859, Darwin fully outlined his theory in The Descent of Man, which was published in 1871. Quite how and why these theories became reversed, how Lamarck’s name came to be associated with the inheritance of acquired characteristics and Darwin’s with the theory of evolution, is a story for another day.

Quite why Elliot undertook his task of translation at the time that he did must forever remain a matter of speculation. I cannot but wonder whether he had been inspired by the fact that, five years previously in the year 1909, the Western world had celebrated the centenary of Darwin’s birth? Books had been written (for example Bateson 1909), articles had been published, but none mentioned the name of Lamarck! It was the same one hundred years later, when the bi-centenary of Darwin’s birth, and the 150th anniversary of the publication of Darwin’s work, On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, had similarly been celebrated, without mention of the fact that 2009 was also the bi-centenary of the publication of Lamarck’s ground-breaking work. There was sufficient interest in Lamarck’s work in the English speaking world for a second edition of Elliot’s translation to be published in 1963. Nevertheless, Lamarck’s work continued to be largely ignored, or, if mentioned, misrepresented. Part of the responsibility for that, I believe, must be laid at the feet of Hugh Elliot. Elliot did not merely translate Lamarck’s work, he provided a lengthy Introduction in which he outlined his understanding of Lamarck’s theory. I believe this interpretation to be seriously flawed. Before giving my understanding of Lamarck’s theory, it is time to answer the question: Who was Lamarck, anyway?

Jean-Baptiste-Pierre-Antoine de Monet Chevalier de Lamarck (1744-1829)

JEAN-BAPTISTE Lamarck was born in France, at a place called Bazantin in Picardy, on 1st August, 1744, the youngest of eleven children. He came from an old established family, his father, Philippe Jacques de Monet, being lord of a manor, but they were of limited means, not members of the wealthy French aristocracy. Lamarck married late. In 1777, at the age of 32 or 33, he formed a lasting relationship with Marie-Françoise de Fontaines de Chuignolles, who bore him six children. However, they were not married until 1792, the ceremony being performed when Marie-Françoise was on her deathbed. While it was not uncommon for peasant people to live in de facto relationships, for a person of Lamarck’s standing, the following of this path must have been a deliberate decision. Perhaps his antipathy towards the Church (see below) discouraged him from entering its portals and his principles prevented him from participating in a ceremony endorsed by a Church in which he did not believe. As will soon become apparent, Lamarck early showed an independent streak and all his life followed his own direction, popular or not.

Having taken the plunge once, Lamarck must have found the experience not as traumatic as he had anticipated, for he married a further three times, fathering two more children, although the legitimacy of his final relationship is not certain.

His three older brothers having made careers in the Army, it was his father’s decision that Jean-Baptiste should enter the Church and he was placed in the Jesuit College at Amiens in 1755, while still only 11 years old. He was to spend four years there. His father died in 1759 and Jean-Baptiste took the opportunity to make a career change. He ran away to join the Army! At that time, the French were fighting in Germany, it being close to the end of the Seven Years’ War. He purchased a horse, acquired a letter of introduction from a friend and, thus equipped, joined the French Grenadiers on the eve of the Battle of Fissinghausen. He was then 16 years of age. The French were soundly defeated, the officers of Lamarck’s company being killed. It is reported that he took charge and showed courage under fire, which resulted in his immediate appointment as an officer. In a footnote, Elliot questioned the accuracy of this account, which was based upon a letter written to Cuvier in 1830, shortly after Lamarck’s death, by one of his sons. Elliot felt that the letter magnified Lamarck’s achievements. However, I find nothing untoward in the account of this part of his life. Teenage boys are notoriously hot-headed and feel themselves to be invincible. Lamarck’s family had a long history of military involvement and his three older brothers had been allowed to follow this path. That a boy of his age should prefer a military, rather than a Church, career is quite understandable. The officers being killed, it would have been imperative that a substitute to be appointed with all speed. In those days, officers did not work their way up through the ranks; they were appointed from among the ruling classes, not merely because of an assumed ability to lead, but because they were educated. An ability to read and write far greater than that acquired by most peasant children at the local village school, was essential. The arrival of a young man thus qualified must have been seen as very fortuitous by the Field Marshall who commissioned him. Today, we think of 16 year-olds as school children. Such was not the case then when children entered the work force, took apprenticeships or entered their vocational training at a College or University, away from home, by approximately twelve years of age. Lamarck had spent four years at College before his ‘escape’ and would have been considered a man.

Lamarck was discharged from military service on medical grounds at the still young age of 22. He suffered an enlargement of the cervical glands which condition, it was suggested, had resulted from ‘horseplay’ in the barracks, during which Lamarck had been severely pulled by his hair, stretching his neck. By way of footnote, Elliot gave a caveat, explaining that this was the account given by Cuvier, which differed from that given by his son in the above cited letter. Although Elliot had seen the letter, he gave no further details. While such ‘horseplay’ may have aggravated a pre-existing condition, it is unlikely that it was the primary cause of an enlargement sufficiently severe to require an operation and subsequent discharge from the army. Whatever the condition from which Lamarck suffered, it either resolved itself, or the operation performed was successful, because no mention is made of any further related problem during the remaining sixty-three years of his life.

Lamarck’s life’s work

LAMARCK had now to decide upon a further career. The Church, the Army, Medicine or Law were the acceptable paths open to younger siblings of the aristocracy. Lamarck had already made an ‘escape’ from the Church and his chosen career in the Military was now closed to him. With his capacity for detailed and logical thought, it may be supposed that Lamarck would have been well suited to the Law, but he chose Medicine instead. He moved to Paris, where he lived in a top floor apartment (garret) for a short while, before moving in with his brother. For a year, he supported himself by working as a bank clerk; then he took up his medical studies, which lasted four years (1767-1771). At this time, medical treatment was largely based on the prescription of herbal remedies, although the use of chemicals, such as arsenic and mercury, was becoming increasingly popular. Botany formed a major part of Lamarck’s study and it was in this discipline he was to specialize, never practicing as a doctor. The Jardin du Roi (later known as Le Jardin des Plantes) was not merely a botanical garden where one could view plants from around the world, as were the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew in England. Because of the close connection between herbs and medicine, the botanical gardens in Paris were also the centre for medical education and biological research.

It was during this time that Lamarck made the acquaintance of George Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon (1707-1788), usually referred to simply as ‘Buffon’. Buffon was an eminent natural philosopher, who had regularly published a series of papers on subjects ranging from the stars and galaxies to the structure of the Earth, its plants and its animals. These came together as Natural History, General and Particular, containing the History and Theory of the Earth (Buffon 1781), forming a sizable volume of work for which Buffon was rightly held in high esteem. Buffon became a patron of Lamarck. After ten years’ study and work, Lamarck, with the assistance of Buffon, published Flora Française (1781), a comprehensive account of the flowering plants of France. This resulted in Lamarck being admitted to the French Academy of Science.

Buffon assisted Lamarck in other ways. On his recommendation, Lamarck was appointed ‘Botanist to the King’. The education of both Lamarck and of Buffon’s son was extended when Lamarck was chosen by Buffon to accompany his son on a two year tour of Germany, Hungary and Holland (1781-1782), where they studied rare plants and had the opportunity of meeting other eminent botanists. On his return, Lamarck was appointed keeper of the Herbarium at the Jardin, writing his Dictionaire de Botanique and Illustrations de Genres. After Buffon’s death in 1788, Lamarck continued his work at the Jardin. He recommended its re-organization, submitting a proposal to the Assemblée Nationale which was accepted, in large part, when, in 1793, the Jardin became the Museum d’histoire Naturelle. The new complex was extended to cover twelve different scientific fields, each overseen by its own professor. No longer was it merely a ‘Garden’. It now encompassed...