Lamarck's theory: acquired traits passed on
Jean-Baptiste Lamarck's 1809 theory proposed that organisms inherit traits acquired during their lifetime, a groundbreaking idea that shaped early evolutionary thought before Darwin.
In 1809, Jean-Baptiste Lamarck proposed a revolutionary idea: organisms could pass on traits acquired during their lifetime. He suggested that if an animal frequently used a body part, like a giraffe stretching its neck for leaves, that trait would strengthen and be inherited by its offspring. This groundbreaking concept, though later disproven by modern genetics, was the first comprehensive theory of evolution. It challenged the belief that species were fixed and paved the way for Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection decades later. While DNA mutations drive inheritance, recent epigenetic research hints at subtle environmental influences on gene expression across generations.