Which scientist is commonly associated with the idea that inheritance of acquired characteristics could drive evolution?

Which scientist is commonly associated with the idea that inheritance of acquired characteristics could drive evolution?

• A. Darwin
• B. Hutton
• C. Lyell
• D. Lamarck

Answer: (D)

The idea being tested is whether traits gained during an organism’s life can be passed on to offspring and drive evolutionary change. The scientist most closely associated with this notion is Jean-Baptiste Lamarck. He proposed that characteristics an organism acquires through use or disuse could be inherited by its descendants, leading to gradual evolutionary change over generations. A classic example he gave is the neck of the giraffe: as generations stretched their necks to reach higher leaves, those acquired long-neck traits would be passed on, resulting in longer-necked descendants. This contrasts with Darwin’s view, which emphasizes natural selection acting on heritable variation, not on traits acquired during a single lifetime. The other two figures—Hutton and Lyell—are renowned for geology, particularly ideas about Earth’s deep time and uniformitarian processes, rather than mechanisms of inheritance or evolution. Thus Lamarck is the figure most associated with the idea that acquired characteristics could drive evolution.

The idea being tested is whether traits gained during an organism’s life can be passed on to offspring and drive evolutionary change. The scientist most closely associated with this notion is Jean-Baptiste Lamarck. He proposed that characteristics an organism acquires through use or disuse could be inherited by its descendants, leading to gradual evolutionary change over generations. A classic example he gave is the neck of the giraffe: as generations stretched their necks to reach higher leaves, those acquired long-neck traits would be passed on, resulting in longer-necked descendants.

This contrasts with Darwin’s view, which emphasizes natural selection acting on heritable variation, not on traits acquired during a single lifetime. The other two figures—Hutton and Lyell—are renowned for geology, particularly ideas about Earth’s deep time and uniformitarian processes, rather than mechanisms of inheritance or evolution. Thus Lamarck is the figure most associated with the idea that acquired characteristics could drive evolution.