<history of philosophy, biography> French biologist (1744-1829); author of Flore franc,ais (French Flora) (1773) and Philosophie zoologique (Zoology) (1809). Lamarck's study of invertebrates in Histoire des animaux sans vertèbres (Natural History of Invertebrate Animals) (1822) led to the conviction that species evolve through the hereditary transmission of acquired traits, by means of which species perfect their adaptationto their environmentin an optimal fashion. Recommended Reading: Alpheus Packard, Lamarck: The Founder of Evolution (Ayer, 1980); L.J. Jordanova, Lamarck (Oxford, 1984); and Richard W. Burkhardt, The Spirit of System: Lamarck and Evolutionary Biology (Belknap, 1995).
[A Dictionary of Philosophical Terms and Names]
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