How did Lamarkian Evolution work?

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SUMMARY

Lamarckian evolution posited that individual changes in organisms were inherited by their offspring, a theory that was ultimately disproven by Darwinian evolution. The discussion highlights the historical context in which both theories co-existed, emphasizing that neither Darwin nor Lamarck had a clear understanding of heredity mechanisms. It wasn't until the early 20th century that chromosomes were identified as hereditary units, followed by the discovery of DNA as genetic material in 1944 by Avery, McLeod, and McCarty. This lack of understanding contributed to the prolonged acceptance of both theories.

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  • Understanding of Lamarckian evolution theory
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  • Awareness of the historical timeline of genetic discoveries
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Students of biology, historians of science, and anyone interested in the evolution of genetic theories will benefit from this discussion.

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Before Darwin's theory, the common view was (AFAIK) Lamarkian evolution. This theory required (again, AFAIK) that changes in the individual being were passed on to its offspring, and thus the great variety of species that exist today. Now this was proven wrong, by the Darwinians. However, what I don't get is how the Lamarkians ever explained the passing of individual changes to offspring, in the first place.

Does anyone have a link or something, that explains the Lamarkian reasoning?
 
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At first, no one - including Darwin - had any idea as to how heredetary traits were passed onto the next generation. When Mendel condcuted his research, he too could only regard the mechanism as a black box.

In 1903, chromosomes where shown to be heredetary units, and not until 1944 was DNA identified as the genetic material (Avery, McLeod and McCarty).

Basically, Both Darwin and Lamarck had to confine themselves to speculation; that's part of the reason why both theories co-existed for decades.
 
Thanks, Adrian. That makes sense. I hadn't realized that they co-existed before.
 

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