c. 1735: Linnaeus
(Rise of Evolution) (Reconciliation)
Linnaeus's Systema Naturae charts life. Swedish botanist
Carl von Linne, writing under the Latin name Linnaeus, attempts to classify all life
on Earth. He publishes the first edition of Systema Naturae while in his late
twenties, and continues refining the details throughout his life. His system divides
life into kingdoms, classes, orders, genera, and species. It is a landmark in science
that will greatly influence future naturalists, including Charles Darwin. It also is
an act of religious devotion. Unlike Darwin's "tree of life," Linnaeus's system does
not imply that different species are related through evolution. Each species is a
distinct "archetype" and a reflection of God's intent.
c. 1749: Comte de Buffon
(Rise of Evolution)
Comte de Buffon proposes radical ideas. Georges Louis Leclerc,
Comte de Buffon is one of the most respected naturalists of his era. Yet, in his
Natural History, he makes a speculation that raises eyebrows; he writes
that living creatures evolve according to natural laws. Buffon even dares suggest
that humans and apes are related, and that all life has descended from a single
ancestor. His heretical ideas are later recanted under pressure: "I abandon
everything in my book ... contrary to the narrative of Moses."
(Rise of Evolution)
Erasmus Darwin's Zoonomia heralds evolution. Charles
Darwin's grandfather, a flamboyant physician, botanist, and poet, may be the
first figure in history to merit the title "evolutionist." In Zoonomia,
written almost entirely in rhymed couplets, he asks, "Would it be too bold to
imagine ... that all warm-blooded animals have arisen from one-living fillament?"
Unlike his grandson Charles, though, Erasmus Darwin never works out a coherent
and convincing theory for how evolution works. Evolution (then called
"transmutation") is not widely accepted by British intellectuals in the late
18th century, but it is widely discussed.
-> Go to 1800