Jean Baptiste Lamarck, whose brief biography we will consider, is the first scientist to create a holistic theory of the evolution of organisms. However, he also owns a number of other discoveries that are less well known. Do you know what important concept was introduced into science by Jean Baptiste Lamarck? Biology is a term that was proposed by this scientist in 1802. In addition, he was the first to divide the animal kingdom into invertebrates and vertebrates. We invite you to get acquainted with the life and achievements of such a famous scientist as Jean Baptiste Lamarck. A brief biography of him will give you a general idea of ​​this scientist.

Origin, childhood

J. B. Lamarck (years of life - 1744-1829) was born in the family castle located in Picardy (France). His parents were middle-class nobles. They wanted to see their son as a priest, so they sent Lamarck to a Jesuit school. His fate changed after the death of his father. At the age of 16, Jean Baptiste Lamarck left school and volunteered for the army. A brief biography of his next few years of life is connected with his military career.

Military service and medical studies

Over the years he showed great courage in the battle with the Prussians. The marshal himself promoted the former student of the Jesuit college to an officer. However, a military career, which started brilliantly, as well as a spiritual one, did not attract Lamarck. The future scientist decided to retire. After some time, Jean Baptiste Lamarck began to study medicine in the capital of France. His short biography continues in Paris, where Lamarck was especially attracted to the natural sciences, mainly botany.

"Flora of France"

A talented and hardworking young scientist, after several years of study, created a large work in 3 volumes. The work was called "Flora of France". This work describes many plants and also provides guidance on how to identify them. This work brought fame to the novice scientist, who at that time was Jean Baptiste Lamarck. The biography of Jean Baptiste is marked by membership in the Paris Academy of Sciences. It was given to him for his achievements. At the academy, Jean Baptiste Lamarck continued to successfully study botany. His biography, however, is not limited to studying it.

Jean Baptiste becomes a zoologist

When Jean Baptiste was about 50 years old, in 1793, his scientific activity changed radically. Lamarck worked at the Royal Botanic Gardens, which was transformed at this time into the Natural History Museum. There were no free botany departments in the museum, so the scientist was offered to study zoology. Ten years later, Lamarck became as expert in this area as he was in the study of flora.

New works of Baptiste

At the end of the 18th century, the development of science reached a stage when botany, physiology and chemistry reached great development. In their entirety, these disciplines have become available only to specialists. Lamarck, trying to prevent the disintegration into separate branches that threatened science and to preserve the connection that exists between them, created a number of works. In them he gave a generalized view of geology, biology, chemistry, physics, etc.

The first of the works appeared in 1794. It is devoted to discussions about the nature of energy and matter. This work is called "Investigation of the Causes of Fundamental Physical Phenomena, Particularly Concerning Combustion." It was followed by the 1796 work “Refutation of the Pneumatic Theory...”. In these works, based more on philosophical reasoning than on empirical data, Jean Baptiste did not put forward any new ideas, except for a few erroneous positions.

In 1802, another work appeared, “Hydrogeology”. Lamarck in this work presents the history of our planet as a series of flooding of land by the ocean and its further retreats. The growth of continents and the deposition of organic sediments occurs, he believes, during flooding. Lamarck in this book anticipated the methods of facies analysis used by modern scientists. In addition, he expanded the time frame of the history of the earth, which in the 18th century was considered quite narrow and limited to several thousand years. However, this work by Jean Baptiste, like the two previous ones, did not receive much fame.

"Systematic biology of invertebrates"

Lamarck published a new book in 1800. It was called "Systematic biology of invertebrates". The scientist in it criticized the system of classification of invertebrates proposed by Linnaeus. He created his own. When writing this work, Lamarck used the rich collection that he collected over 30 years of his life. In this work, he relied not only on reasoning, as usual, but also on research and rich factual material. Lamarck made the main criterion for classification the homology of internal organs. This approach allowed the scientist to avoid many mistakes made by Linnaeus, who classified certain organisms into one group only on the basis of external similarity, so this scientist included worms, mollusks and others in the general systematic section.

"Philosophy of Zoology"

By the time Lamarck was 60 years old, he knew everything that had been studied before him in the field of animals and plants. Now the scientist has set himself a new goal - to write a book that would not just describe organisms, but explain the laws of living nature. In his new work, Jean Baptiste decided to show how plants and animals arose, how they developed and changed, and how they reached their current state. The scientist tried to prove that all of them were not created in their current state, but developed under the influence of the natural laws of nature. In other words, Lamarck became the creator of the first evolutionary theory. In this respect he was the predecessor of Darwin (pictured below). In 1809, the scientist published his work. The discoveries of Jean Baptiste Lamarck are presented in the book “Philosophy of Zoology”. Despite the name, it talks not only about animals, but about wildlife in general. This work thus sets forth the evolutionary theory of Jean Baptiste Lamarck, thanks to which he is known throughout the world today.

The fate of Lamarck's theory, the death of Jean Baptiste

It often happened in the history of science that contemporaries did not recognize great people and the theories they created. Only many years later did they receive the recognition they deserved. Jean Baptiste did not escape this fate either. The evolutionary theory of Jean Baptiste Lamarck was not understood by his contemporaries. Some scientists simply did not pay any attention to his work, while others even laughed at him. Lamarck, counting on support, decided to show this work to Napoleon. However, the emperor, who was considered the patron of science, publicly ridiculed Jean Baptiste. Lamarck went blind towards the end of his life. At the age of 85, forgotten by everyone, Jean Baptiste Lamarck died. The theory of evolution, which he left as a legacy, made his name immortal.

The essence of Lamarck's theory

What is the essence of Lamarck's theory? The scientist argued that life on our planet arose naturally. Simple organisms appeared first. Gradually, over thousands of years, they improved and changed until they reached their current state. Jean Baptiste argued that all living beings descend from ancestors that were different from them and more primitive in structure. In this, of course, Jean Baptiste Lamarck was right. The theory of evolution proposed by him, however, does not stand up to criticism in some respects.

Two reasons for the development of the organic world

Why did the species of plants and animals change, develop earlier and continue to improve now? The scientist tried to answer this question. However, despite all his undeniable genius, Lamarck was unable to correctly, materialistically explain this phenomenon. The scientist argued that the development of the organic world depends on two main reasons. The first is that animals and plants themselves strive to improve and change. Thus, the desire for progress is an integral internal property. The second reason is the impact on them of the environment in which the organisms live. This environment, otherwise called the living environment, is formed from the influence of air, soil, moisture, heat, light, food, etc. on plants and animals.

Influence of living environment

The scientist believed that plants, as well as lower animals, directly and directly change under the influence of the environment. They acquire certain properties and shape. For example, a plant grown in good soil takes on a completely different appearance than a plant of the same type that received poor soil. And what is grown in the shade is not at all similar to what is grown in the light. In turn, animals also change, but it happens a little differently. They form new habits under the influence of a changing environment. Constantly repeating themselves, they develop various organs and exercise them. For example, an animal that constantly lives in the forest and is forced to climb trees develops grasping limbs. And a representative of the fauna, forced to constantly move long distances, develops strong legs, grows hooves, etc. In this case, we are dealing not with a direct, but with an indirect influence of the environment, which occurs through habits. Jean Baptiste, in addition, believed that certain characteristics that organisms acquire under the influence of the environment can be inherited.

Recognized and unrecognized ideas of Lamarck

The achievements of science today allow us to assert that the theory of Jean Baptiste Lamarck was not correct in everything. Scientists do not recognize that in the organic world there is some inexplicable and mysterious desire for improvement. Half a century later, Darwin explained the purposeful structure of plants and animals, as well as how they adapt to their environment, somewhat differently. He considered natural selection to be the main cause of evolution. However, modern biology recognizes the influence of environmental conditions on organisms, which occupies a significant place in Lamarck’s theory. Nevertheless, the inheritance of characteristics acquired during the life of the organism is denied. Science believes that new characteristics appear under the influence of mutations - changes that occur in the germ cells of organisms.

Despite this, the merits of Jean Baptiste Lamarck are great. He became the first to create a theory of the natural development of the entire organic world. Jean Baptiste Lamarck, whose contribution to the development of biology is very impressive, today enjoys well-deserved recognition from his descendants.

Jean-Baptiste Lamarck proceeded from premises that later researchers recognized as erroneous: the creation of matter by God, the spontaneous origin of life, the denial of the extinction of species and the presence of a nervous system and sexual reproduction in lower animals...

Important, that Lamarck relied on two groups of observed facts: ... on the presence of transitional forms between species (like the transformists) and on the ability to arrange all living beings in a continuous ascending series based on the increasing complexity of their structure. Actually, such a series creature ladder, was built back in the 18th century. Swiss zoologist S. Bonnet(1730-1793), and ideas about the levels of complexity of organisms, essentially about the degree of similarity to humans, go back to ancient philosophy. However before Lamarck's ladder was motionless: each species existed on its own level, assigned to it by God, and the series was read from top to bottom, that is, from man to animals. Lamarck was the first to understand that this series is not descending, but ascending, read from lower forms of life to higher ones, and that the ladder of creatures reflects evolution, that is, the process of development along the path of increasing complexity of organization .

Therefore, Lamarck identified two independent directions of evolution: gradation, development from simple to complex, and change under the influence of environmental conditions, creating a diversity of species at each stage of gradation. The complication of organization occurs, according to Lamarck, under the influence of the internal desire for improvement inherent in all living beings, essentially a teleological principle. This desire was inherent in living nature at the creation of the world. Lamarck explained the coexistence of both lower and higher forms of life by its constant spontaneous generation: lower creatures (for example, single-celled creatures) arose recently and had not yet had time to advance along the path of gradation.

Severtsov A.S., Fundamentals of the theory of evolution, M., Moscow State University Publishing House, 1987, p. 3-4.

Changes in organisms under the influence of the environment J.-B. Lamarck explained using two laws:

First Law (the law later received the name of the principle of exercise and non-exercise of organs - Note by I.L. Vikentyev). In every animal that has not reached the limit of its development, more frequent and longer use of some organ gradually strengthens this organ, develops and enlarges it and gives it strength commensurate with the duration of use, while the constant disuse of this or that organ gradually weakens him, leads to decline, continuously reduces his abilities and finally causes his disappearance.

Second Law (often called the law of inheritance of acquired characteristics and is still discussed by its supporters and opponents - Note by I.L. Vikentyev). Everything that nature forced individuals to acquire or lose under the influence of the conditions in which the breed has been for a long time, and, consequently, under the influence of the predominance of the use or disuse of this or that part (of the body), - all this nature preserves through reproduction in new individuals, which originate from the first, provided that the acquired changes are common to both sexes or to those individuals from which the new individuals originated.

Improving and clarifying your theory, Lamarck in the Introduction to the Natural History of Invertebrates, he gave a new, somewhat expanded version of his laws of evolution.

1. Life, by its inherent forces, strives to continuously increase the volume of all its bodies and expand their dimensions to the limits established by it.

2. The formation of a new organ in the body of an animal occurs from a new need that has appeared and continues to be felt and from a new movement that this need generates and supports.

3. The development of organs and the strength of their action always depends on the use of these organs.

4. Whatever is acquired, marked, or changed in the organization of individuals during their lives is preserved by generation and transmitted to new species that descend from those who have experienced the change.

Lamarck illustrated his theoretical construction with examples.

A bird that is drawn to the water by the need to find the prey it needs to sustain life, spreads its toes when it wants to paddle and move along the surface of the water. Thanks to these continuously repeated movements of the fingers, the skin connecting the fingers at their bases acquires the habit of stretching. So, over time, those wide membranes between the toes that we now see in ducks, geese, etc., formed.

A shorebird that does not like to swim, but is still forced to look for food close to the shore, is constantly in danger of sinking into the mud. And so, trying to avoid the need to dip its body in water, the bird makes every effort to stretch and lengthen its legs. As a result of the long habit acquired by this bird and other individuals of its breed, constantly stretching and lengthening its legs, all individuals of this breed seem to stand on stilts, since little by little they developed long, bare legs...

As noted Nikolai Jordansky: Lamarck was the first to identify the two most general directions of evolution: ascending development from the simplest forms of life to increasingly complex and perfect ones and the formation of adaptations in organisms depending on changes in the external environment (vertical and horizontal development). Oddly enough, when discussing Lamarck’s views, modern biologists more often remember only the second part of his theory (the development of adaptations in organisms), which was very close to the views of transformists - Lamarck’s predecessors and contemporaries, and leave its first part in the shadows. However, it is the idea of ​​ascending, or progressive, evolution that is the most original part of Lamarck's theory.

The scientist believed that the historical development of organisms is not random, but natural in nature and occurs in the direction of gradual and steady improvement, increasing the general level of organization, which Lamarck named gradation.

Lamarck considered the driving force behind gradations to be nature’s desire for progress, which was initially inherent in all organisms and inherent in them by the Creator...

Lamarck believed that the changes that plants and animals acquire during life are hereditarily fixed and transmitted to their descendants; scientists call them modifications.

Samin D.K., 100 great scientific discoveries, M., Veche, 2008, p. 329-332.

Works and ideas Jean-Baptiste Lamarck formed the basis of such a trend in biology as Lamarckism, and later, in the 20th century, neo-Lamarckism.

The French scientist Jean Baptiste Lamarck became the first biologist who tried to create a coherent and holistic theory of the evolution of the living world. Not appreciated by his contemporaries, half a century later his theory became the subject of heated discussions that have not stopped in our time.

Jean Baptiste Pierre Antoine de Monet, Chevalier de Lamarck, was born on August 1, 1744 in the town of Bazantin, into a family of poor nobles. His parents wanted to make him a priest, but at the age of 16 Lamarck left the Jesuit college and volunteered for the army. In battles he showed extraordinary courage and rose to the rank of officer.

At the age of 24, Lamarck left military service and came to Paris to study medicine. During his studies, he became interested in natural sciences, especially botany. The young scientist had plenty of talent and effort, and in 1778 he published a three-volume work, “French Flora.” The book brought him fame, he became one of the largest French botanists. Five years later, Lamarck was elected a member of the Paris Academy of Sciences.

In 1789-1794. A great revolution broke out in France, which Lamarck greeted with approval. It radically changed the fate of most French people. The terrible year of 1793 dramatically changed the fate of Lamarck himself. Old institutions were closed or transformed. The Royal Botanical Garden, where Lamarck worked, was converted into a Natural History Museum. Lamarck was offered to leave his studies in botany and head the department of “natural history of insects and worms.” Now it would be called the Department of Invertebrate Zoology.

It was not easy for an almost 50-year-old man to change his specialty,” but the scientist’s perseverance helped him overcome all difficulties. Lamarck became as expert in the field of zoology as he was in the field of botany.

Lamarck enthusiastically took up the study of invertebrate animals (by the way, it was he who proposed calling them “invertebrates” in 1796). From 1815 to 1822, Lamarck’s major seven-volume work “Natural History of Invertebrates” was published. In it he described all the genera and species of invertebrates known at that time. Linnaeus divided them into only two classes (worms and insects), while Lamarck identified 10 classes among them. (Modern scientists, we note, distinguish more than 30 types among invertebrates.)

Lamarck introduced another term that became generally accepted - “biology” (in 1802).

But Lamarck’s most important work was the book “Philosophy of Zoology,” published in 1809. In it, he outlined his theory of the evolution of the living world.

Lamarck on the historical development of organic nature.

The basis of Lamarck’s views, as already mentioned, was the position that matter and the laws of its development were created by the creator. Lamarck analyzed the similarities and differences between living and nonliving matter and listed them. The most important of these differences is the ability to respond to external stimuli. Lamarck realized that living matter is much more complex than dead matter, but still did not recognize its ability to live. In his opinion, the reason for life lies not in the living body itself, but in something outside it.

Lamarck introduced the concept of gradation - the internal “striving for improvement” inherent in all living things; the action of this factor of evolution determines the development of living nature, the gradual but steady increase in the organization of living beings - from the simplest to the most perfect. The result of gradation is the simultaneous existence in nature of organisms of varying degrees of complexity, as if forming a hierarchical ladder of creatures. The gradation is easily visible when comparing representatives of large systematic categories of organisms (for example, classes) and on organs of primary importance. Considering gradation to be a reflection of the main trend in the development of nature, planted by the “supreme creator of all things,” Lamarck tried, however, to give this process a materialistic interpretation: in a number of cases, he associated the complication of organization with the action of fluids penetrating the body from the external environment.

Another factor of evolution, according to Lamarck, is the constant influence of the external environment, leading to a violation of the correct gradation and causing the formation of a whole variety of adaptations of organisms to environmental conditions. Environmental change is the main cause of speciation; as long as the environment is constant, species remain constant; if there is a shift in it, the species change.

Life, according to Lamarck, can spontaneously arise on Earth and continues to arise at the present time. In the 17th century, there were ideas that darkness and grain were needed for the spontaneous generation of mice, and rotten meat for the spontaneous generation of worms. However, the successes of science in the 18th century refuted such views. It was noticed that worms do not appear in meat if it has not previously been visited by flies, etc.

Nevertheless, Lamarck believes that worms and coelenterates can still generate spontaneously. In his opinion, single-celled organisms are absolutely capable of spontaneous generation. He believes that no one can prove that all single-celled organisms were formed only as a result of the division of other single-celled organisms, and did not arise themselves under the influence of heat, moisture and electricity. In his opinion, such spontaneous generation occurs in nature all the time.

All organisms were divided by Lamarck into 14 classes and placed on the “ladder of creatures” in the following order:

Stage 1: classes Ciliates and Polyps

Stage 2: Radiant and Worms

Stage 3: Insects and Arachnids

Stage 4: Crustaceans and Ringlets

Stage 5: Barnacles and Molluscs

Stage 6: Fish, Reptiles, Birds and Mammals

“The Ladder of Creatures” reflects the evolution of the animal world, and not a static picture of it, showing the complication of the organization of matter (as was the case before Lamarck). Each subsequent class arose from the previous one and has a more complex organization than that one. Sharp jumps in the complexity of an organization, that is, what is now called aramorphosis, were called gradations by Lamarck. In his opinion, they are caused by the internal desire of living matter to complicate the organization; such a desire for perfection is a property of matter inherent in it by the creator. These leaps do not happen overnight; they take a very long time to happen.

Lamarck's laws.

A. “The law of exercise and non-exercise of organs.”

“In every animal that has not reached the limit of its development, more frequent and longer use of any organ gradually strengthens this organ, develops and enlarges it and gives it strength commensurate with the duration of use, while the constant disuse of this or that organ gradually weakens him, leads to decline, continually reduces his abilities and finally causes his disappearance.”

This law can be called the law of variability, in which Lamarck focuses on the fact that the degree of development of a particular organ depends on its function, the intensity of exercise, and that young animals that are still developing are more capable of change. The scientist opposes the metaphysical explanation of the form of animals as unchangeable, created for a specific environment. At the same time, Lamarck overestimates the importance of function and believes that exercise or non-exercise of an organ is an important factor in changing species.

Exercise of the organs occurs as a result of the fact that, under the influence of the will of the animal, there is an increased influx of “fluids”. For example, the ancestor of a giraffe needs to get leaves from a tall tree, he tries to stretch his neck, “liquids” flow into it and the neck lengthens a little, this trait is inherited. If the need to lengthen the neck occurs in the descendants, then the neck of animals lengthens very much over a number of generations. Organs can appear as a result of such an influx of fluids under the influence of the will of animals, such as the antlers of deer. If the organs are not exercised, like the eyes of a mole, then the flow of fluids to them slows down and the organs gradually become atrophied.

This direction of the influx of “fluids” is possible only in highly organized animals. In lower animals and plants, changes in organs are possible only directly under the influence of external conditions, for example, as a change in the shape of the leaves of an aquatic buttercup under water and above water.

B. "Law of inheritance of acquired characteristics"

“Everything that nature forced individuals to acquire or lose under the influence of the conditions in which their breed has been for a long time, and, consequently, under the influence of the predominance of the use or disuse of this or that part (of the body) - all this nature preserves through reproduction in new individuals that descend from the first, provided that the acquired changes are common to both sexes or to those individuals from which the new individuals descended.”

The second law can be called the law of heredity; It should be noted that Lamarck associates the inheritance of individual changes with the duration of the influence of the conditions that determine these changes, and due to reproduction, their intensification in a number of generations. It is also necessary to emphasize the fact that Lamarck was one of the first to analyze heredity as an important factor in evolution. At the same time, it should be noted that Lamarck’s position on the inheritance of all characteristics acquired during life was erroneous: further research showed that only hereditary changes are decisive in evolution.

Lamarck extends the provisions of these two laws to the problem of the origin of breeds of domestic animals and varieties of cultivated plants, and also uses them to explain the animal origin of humans. Lacking sufficient factual material, and with the still low level of knowledge of these issues, Lamarck was unable to achieve a correct understanding of the phenomena of heredity and variability.

Human Origins.

Based on the provisions on the evolution of the organic world, Lamarck attempted to reveal the secret of the origin of man from the higher “four-armed monkeys” by their gradual transformation over a long time. The distant ancestors of man switched from life in trees to a terrestrial way of existence, the position of their body became vertical. In the new conditions, due to new needs and habits, a restructuring of organs and systems took place, including the skull and jaws. Thus, from the four-armed creatures, two-armed creatures were formed that led a herd lifestyle. They took over more convenient places to live, multiplied quickly and replaced other breeds. In numerous groups, a need arose for communication, which was first carried out with the help of facial expressions, gestures, and exclamations. Gradually, articulate language emerged, and then mental activity and the psyche. Lamarck emphasized the importance of the hand in the development of man.

Thus, Lamarck considers man as a part of nature, shows its anatomical and physiological similarity with animals and notes that the development of the human body is subject to the same laws according to which other living beings develop.” Lamarck presents his hypothesis of the natural origin of man in the form of assumptions in order, for censorship reasons, to cover up the materialistic essence of his bold thoughts.

Conclusions.

Lamarck was the first naturalist who did not limit himself to individual assumptions about the variability of species. He boldly rebelled against creationism, metaphysics and consistently developed the first holistic evolutionary theory about the historical development of the organic world from the simplest forms that formed from inorganic matter to modern highly organized species of animals and plants. From the standpoint of his theory, he also considered the origin of man.

Lamarck analyzes in detail the prerequisites for evolution (variability, heredity), considers the main directions of the evolutionary process (gradations of classes and diversity within a class as a consequence of variability), and tries to establish the causes of evolution.

Lamarck successfully for his time developed the problem of variability of species under the influence of natural causes, showed the importance of time and environmental conditions in evolution, which he considered as a manifestation of the general law of the development of nature.

Lamarck's merit is that he was the first to propose a genealogical classification of animals, based on the principles of relatedness of organisms, and not just their similarity.