Abstract
In his book On the Origin of the Species, Charles Darwin provides a great deal of material evidence to support his theory of evolution. Over time, evolution has become accepted as a fact, even though several elements of his work remain controversial to this day. When evolutionary thought is narrated in textbooks and often in scientific publications on evolution, emphasis is placed on the continuities of explanatory mechanisms and principles by passing their ruptures. In his work Evolution: The Modern Synthesis, Julian Huxley proposed a Darwinian research program by tackling the problems of evolution, unifying data and theories of genetics with natural selection. From this publication began the development of what is known as the Modern Synthesis, which was carried out with the contribution of researchers from different fields of biology. Its main exponents were Ernest Mayr, Theodosius Dobzhansky, George G. Simpson, and George Ledyard Stebbins. This chapter examines the principles of Darwin’s and Modern Synthesis, outlining theoretical continuities and discontinuities and their consequences for modern explanations of biological evolution. It will also consider the effects of these continuities and ruptures on evolutionary biology.
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Notes
- 1.
According to Lilian Martins (2002), Lamarck at first supported fixist theorists, but later changed his ideas.
- 2.
According to Mayr (1982), Darwin also proposed, although not explicitly, geographical isolation as another mechanism of speciation.
- 3.
August Weismann admitted that these experiments did not allow him to oppose Lamarckism, because it is not a functional adaptation but a sudden and accidental mutilation (see Gould, 2002, p. 2001). However, both Weismann and authors of Modern Synthesis had cited these experiments as proof that refute the laws of Lamarck.
- 4.
Gould and Lewontin (1979) criticize the Adaptationist Program and its atomization of organisms.
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Lamas, S.G. (2023). Continuities and Ruptures: Comparing Darwin’s “On the Origin of Species” and the Modern Synthesis. In: Elice Brzezinski Prestes, M. (eds) Understanding Evolution in Darwin's "Origin". History, Philosophy and Theory of the Life Sciences, vol 34. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-40165-7_24
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