1. Paul Gauguin
Where Do We Come From What Are We Where Are We Going 1897

4. “Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution.”
Theodosius Dobzhansky

5. Theories of Evolution Origin Myths/Cosmologies Greek – Prometheus
Genesis
Western examples
Left: Prometheus and Athena
Top: God and Adam

6. Creation as Calculated from The Bible
Bishop James Ussher
(as painted between )
Bishop John Lightfoot
(b d. 1675)

7. Ancient Greek philosopher Anaxiamander (611-547 B. C
Ancient Greek philosopher Anaxiamander ( B.C.) and the Roman philosopher Lucretius (99-55 B.C.) conceived of the idea that all living things were related and that they had changed over time.
Lucretius

8. Aristotle’s Great Chain of Being
(Scala Naturae)

9. Early Ideas about Evolution
Comte de Buffon
(Georges Louis Leclerc)
Baron Cuvier
Jean-Baptiste Lamarck
Erasmus Darwin

10. Other Theories
Creationism accounts for biological diversity by referring to the divine act of Creation as described in Genesis.
Catastrophism is a modified version of Creationism, which accounts for the fossil record by positing divinely authored worldwide disasters that wiped out the creatures represented in the fossil record, who were then supplanted by newer, created species.
Intelligent Design states that modern physics and cosmology have uncovered evidence for intelligence in the structure of the universe and this intelligence seems to act with us in mind and that the universe as a whole shows evidence of design.

11. Jean Baptiste Lamarck, 1744-1829
French geologist and naturalist
published Philosophie Zoologique in 1809
speculated about mechanisms of biological evolution, offered no evidence
Lyell discussed Lamarck’s ideas in his Principles of Geology

12. Ideas of Lamarck that were rejected by Darwin
evolution is a process in which living things gradually become more perfect (more human-like)
because species that evolve and improve leave a gap, new species must be continually created by spontaneous creation
the inheritance of acquired characteristics is the mechanism of evolution
(but inheritance of acquired characteristics was not entirely rejected by Darwin)

13. Charles Darwin: failed medical student, failed divinity student, ardent beetle collector, naturalist on HMS Beagle

14. Voyage of H.M.S. Beagle,
90 feet of ship, 74 people living together for 5 years...

15. Darwin’s voyage on HMS Beagle took five years and went east to west, staying largely within the SE trade winds in the southern hemisphere. This is a favorite route for cruisers today, but not racers, who prefer to go west to east and stay in the roaring forties around Antartica.

16. Understanding the Depth of Time
James Hutton
Charles Lyell

17. Understanding Populations
Thomas Malthus
Thomas Malthus

18. Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace (1823-1913)
Darwin developed ideas on natural selection in early 1840s (1844 essay), but did not publish
He received a letter from Wallace in 1858 outlining natural selection
His friends organized an 1858 presentation in London of Wallace’s and Darwin’s work
1859 publication of Origin of Species

19. Darwin and Wallace Volumes

20. Darwin’s Theories of Evolution
Natural Selection
Individuals within species vary
Some variations are passed to offspring
More offspring are produced than can survive (Malthus’ influence)
Survival and reproduction is not random. Individuals that have favorable variations more often survive to reproduce, or reproduce more.

21. The Darwinian view of life has two main features
the diverse forms of life have arisen by descent with modification from ancestral species
the primary mechanism of modification has been natural selection working over enormous tracts of time
The Beagle in Sydney Harbor

22. Darwin’s Theories of Evolution
Common descent
every group of organisms descended from a common ancestor

23. Carl Sagan’s Universe Calendar
24 days = 1 billion years
1 second = 475 years
“Big Bang” January 1
Milky Way May 1
Solar System September 9
Life on Earth September 25
Humanlike Primates December 31, 10:30pm
Milky Way