Lamarck, Jean Baptiste Pierre Antoine de Monet, Chevalier de

Lamarck, Jean Baptiste Pierre Antoine de Monet, Chevalier de (1744–1829) A French naturalist who, in 1809, proposed the first formal theory of evolution. He advanced the theory that evolutionary change may occur by the inheritance of characteristics acquired during the lifetime of the individual. For example, fossil evidence suggests that the ancestors of the giraffe had short necks: Lamarck proposed that competition for food encouraged them to stretch upward in order to browse among higher vegetation, causing their necks to lengthen, and that this lengthening was passed on to their descendants. Over millions of years the minute increases from each generation to the next culminated in the long-necked form. It is interesting to note that the theory of the inheritance of acquired characteristics did not hold a central position in Lamarck's own writings. His cardinal point was that evolution is a directional, creative process in which life climbs a ladder from simple to complex organisms. He believed the inheritance of acquired characteristics provided a mechanism for this evolution. Lamarck explained that this progress of life up the ladder of complexity is complicated by organisms being diverted by the requirements of local environments; thus cacti have reduced leaves (and giraffes have long necks). Compare DARWIN, CHARLES ROBERT.