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Linnaeus: Systema Naturae
Linneaus created the binomial nomenclature naming system which helped classify genus and species of organisms. However, Linneaus also believed that evolution did not exist. -
Cuvier: Palaeontology
Cuvier believed that extinction was only local. He also opposed evolution and Lamark. He studied comparative anatomy to disprove evolution. -
Hutton: Uniformitarianism
Hutton believed in uniformitarianism or that the world is undergoing unobservable processes which have massive effects on the planet. For example, valleys being formed by rivers. He believed that organisms might change in a similar way as well. -
Malthus: Principle of Populations
Malthus came up with the Principle of Populations which stated that populations growth depends on the amount of available resources. -
Lamark: Philosophie Zoologique
Lamark believed that organisms did change overtime, or transformationism. However, he came up with an incorrect method: inheritance of acquired characters. -
Von Baer: Embryology
He studied embryos of many different animals and noticed that many of the embryos had similar structure at first. He hypothesized that animals start with a general form and become specific and specialized as they grow. -
Lyell: Principles of Geology
Lyell fomalized Hutton's concept of Uniformitarianism. He also discussed Lamark's idea and related them to geology. -
Darwin
Darwin studied ideas that Linnaeus, Lamark, Lyell, Hutton, Cuvier, Von Baer, and Malthus came up with. He went on a voyage around the world and studied fossils and species. Came up with the theory of evolution. -
Aristotle: Scala Naturae
The thought that organisms remain consistent with fixed creation. In other words, they do not change.