RG chap 22
Name _______________________ Period _________
Chapter 22: Descent with Modification: A Darwinian View of Life
As you study this chapter, read several paragraphs at a time to catch the flow of ideas and understand the reasoning that is being described. In some places, the text describes a narrative or story of events that led to
Darwin’s theory of evolution. Therefore, first read the narrative to absorb the big picture and then return to answer the few questions that accompany this material.
Overview
1.
Define evolution broadly and then give a narrower definition, as discussed in the overview.
Evolution: Descent with modification; the idea that living species are descendants of ancestral species that were different from the present-day ones; also defined more narrowly as the change in the genetic composition of a population from generation to generation
Concept 22.1 The Darwinian revolution challenged the traditional view of a young Earth inhabited by unchanging species
This section takes a look at the historical setting and influences on Darwin, and it sets the stage for our formal study of evolution.
2.
How did each of the following sources view the origin of species?
Aristotle and Scala Naturae: Aristotle viewed species as fixed. Through his observations of nature,
Aristotle recognized “affinities” among organisms. He concluded that life-forms could be arranged on a ladder, or scale, of increasing complexity, called the scala naturae. Each form, perfect and permanent, had its allotted rung on this ladder.
The Old Testament: The Old Testament holds that species were individually designed by God and therefore perfect.
Carolus Linnaeus: Linnaeus adopted a nested classification system, grouping similar species into increasingly general categories. Linnaeus, adhering to the Old Testament belief that all species were designed by God, did not ascribe the resemblances among species to evolutionary kinship, but rather to the pattern of
Chapter 22: Descent with Modification: A Darwinian View of Life
As you study this chapter, read several paragraphs at a time to catch the flow of ideas and understand the reasoning that is being described. In some places, the text describes a narrative or story of events that led to
Darwin’s theory of evolution. Therefore, first read the narrative to absorb the big picture and then return to answer the few questions that accompany this material.
Overview
1.
Define evolution broadly and then give a narrower definition, as discussed in the overview.
Evolution: Descent with modification; the idea that living species are descendants of ancestral species that were different from the present-day ones; also defined more narrowly as the change in the genetic composition of a population from generation to generation
Concept 22.1 The Darwinian revolution challenged the traditional view of a young Earth inhabited by unchanging species
This section takes a look at the historical setting and influences on Darwin, and it sets the stage for our formal study of evolution.
2.
How did each of the following sources view the origin of species?
Aristotle and Scala Naturae: Aristotle viewed species as fixed. Through his observations of nature,
Aristotle recognized “affinities” among organisms. He concluded that life-forms could be arranged on a ladder, or scale, of increasing complexity, called the scala naturae. Each form, perfect and permanent, had its allotted rung on this ladder.
The Old Testament: The Old Testament holds that species were individually designed by God and therefore perfect.
Carolus Linnaeus: Linnaeus adopted a nested classification system, grouping similar species into increasingly general categories. Linnaeus, adhering to the Old Testament belief that all species were designed by God, did not ascribe the resemblances among species to evolutionary kinship, but rather to the pattern of