lawyer and geologist whose work greatly influenced darwins ideas

by Dr. Ashton Lindgren Jr. 4 min read

Full Answer

How did other scientists influence Darwin's theory?

Some were personal collaborators, some were influential geologists or economists, and one was even his very own grandfather. Together, their influence helped Darwin develop his theory of evolution and his ideas about natural selection.

Who was the most influential person on Darwin's ideas?

Thomas Malthus was arguably the most influential person on Darwin's ideas. Even though Malthus was not a scientist, he was an economist and understood populations and their growth or decline.

How did geologist Charles Lyell influence Charles Darwin?

His theory of uniformitarianism was a great influence on Charles Darwin. Lyell theorized that geologic processes that were around at the beginning of time were the same ones that were happening in the present as well and that they worked the same way.

How did John Maynard Keynes influence Charles Darwin?

While most of his works focused on statistics and probability, he did influence Charles Darwin with his thoughts on how life on Earth originated and changed over time. He was also the first to assert that biogeography was evidence for evolution.

How was the work of Hutton and Lyell important to Darwin?

James Hutton These "ancient" processes changed the Earth, but the mechanism never changed. Even though Darwin saw these ideas for the first time while reading Lyell's book, it was Hutton's ideas that indirectly influenced Charles Darwin as he came up with the idea of natural selection.

How did the geologist Charles Lyell influence Darwin quizlet?

How did the geologist Charles Lyell influence Darwin? He suggested that slow, gradual changes shaped the features of Earth. What is the role of fossils in supporting the theory of common descent? There have been many fossils of intermediate types discovered that provide strong support for the theory of common descent.

What contribution did Charles Lyell make?

He is best known as the author of Principles of Geology (1830–33), which presented to a wide public audience the idea that the earth was shaped by the same natural processes still in operation today, operating at similar intensities.

How did Charles Lyell and geological gradualism and uniformitarianism influence Darwin?

The principles of gradualism and uniformitarianism influenced Darwin's ideas because it geological change results from slow continuous processes, then the Earth must be far older than the 6000 years based on biblical inference.

How did Wallace influence Darwin?

After a variety of zoological discoveries, Wallace proposed a theory of evolution which matched the unpublished ideas Darwin had kept secret for nearly 20 years. This encouraged Darwin to collect his scientific ideas and collaborate with Wallace. They published their scientific ideas jointly in 1858.

How did James Hutton influence Darwin?

It was Lyell's book, but Hutton's ideas, that inspired Darwin to incorporate the concept of an "ancient" mechanism that had been at work since the beginning of the Earth in his own world-changing book, "The Origin of the Species." Thus, Hutton's concepts indirectly sparked the idea of natural selection for Darwin.

Who most influenced Darwins idea?

Alfred Russel Wallace was the scientist who assisted Darwin the most with his theory of natural selection. 3. How did Thomas Malthus influence Darwin? Thomas Malthus influenced Darwin to refine Natural selection by establishing a valid basis for significant competition among organisms that belong to the same species.

Who influenced Darwin's theory of evolution?

Summary. Darwin was influenced by other early thinkers, including Lamarck, Lyell, and Malthus. Darwin was also influenced by his knowledge of artificial selection. Wallace's paper on evolution confirmed Darwin's ideas.

Who contributed to Darwin's theory of evolution?

The theory of evolution is a shortened form of the term “theory of evolution by natural selection,” which was proposed by Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace in the nineteenth century.

How did Georges Cuvier influence Darwin?

Explanation: Cuvier established proof that many species like dinosaurs had become extinct in ages past. Cuvier proposed that after each series of catastrophes new species had been created. Cuvier's work on extinctions was incorporated into Darwin's theory of natural selection and survival of the fittest.

What inspired Charles Darwin?

Darwin was influenced by other early thinkers, including Lamarck, Lyell, and Malthus. He was also influenced by his knowledge of artificial selection. Wallace's paper on evolution confirmed Darwin's ideas. It also pushed him to publish his book, On the Origin of Species.

Who did Charles Darwin work with?

biologist Alfred Russel WallaceBut in the mid-1800s, Darwin and the British biologist Alfred Russel Wallace independently conceived of a natural, even observable, way for life to change: a process Darwin called natural selection.

What is uniformitarianism based on?

Uniformitarianism is the theory that: a. the earth is very old, based on geologic evidence from stratigraphic layers in Scotland. b. the natural processes operating today are the same as the natural processes that operated in the past. c. the uniformity of species is derived from the common ancestor of all species.

What are the five scientific disciplines that Darwin drew on?

Darwin drew on information from the following five scientific disciplines: a. geology, physical anthropology, taxonomy and systematics, demography, and evolutionary biology. b. geology, paleontology, taxonomy and systematics, geography, and evolutionary biology.

What is the theory of the old age?

c. observation that an abundance of food would allow a population to increase geometrically and indefinitely, but there simply is not enough food, so populations are limited by food supply.

Why is Darwin's book on the origin of species important?

Charles Darwin's book On the Origin of Species (1859) was considered an important contribution to modern science because it: a. coined the concept of evolution. b. synthesized information from diverse scientific fields in order to document evolutionary change.