As you may know the idea of evolution did not begin with Charles Darwin, However, he was its greatest defender. After his work “On the Origin of Species”, published in 1859, evolution became widely acknowledged, even by many theologians, who found ways to balance the theories of evolutionary science with that of religion. This was a major advancement in the world of science.
Pre-Darwinian
“The acceptance of biological evolution is an essential part of the modern scientific explanation of the natural world.” (O’Neil, 2012) Prior to Darwin’s theory there were quite a few other scientists who had there on theories on just “how” living things came to be about as they were. During the early 19th century, science revolved around religion, the two were not separate in the Western World. During
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Another leading biologist, Carolus Linnaeus, described plants and animals on the basis of physical appearance and method of reproduction in his book Systema Naturae, first published in 1735. Linnaeus was the first to classify organisms in to genus, and species. Each genus could have many related species, and was also part of larger categories of living things. The Linnaean system of classification is still used today for naming and describing organisms in all fields of biology. (O’Neil, 2012)
European scientist Comte de Buffon, a European scientists, began to suggest that life forms are not fixed, and that in fact, they change over time, as a direct result of influence in their environment or even by chance. Buffon incorporated the Linnaean classification system, into his work. He believed that species could change over generations, however, he kept quite in the belief to avoid public criticism. “One of his most significant contributions to the biological sciences was his insistence that natural phenomena must be explained by natural laws rather than theological doctrine.” (O’Neil.