Philosophie Zoologique cover

Philosophie Zoologique

by Jean Baptiste Pierre Antoine de Monet de Lamarck

Jean Baptiste Lamarck is remembered primarily as a pre-Darwinian evolutionist who proposed the inheritance of acquired characters to explain evolutionary change. But this narrow view of Lamarck does not do justice to his conception of organic change, nor does it indicate how Lamarck's views on organic change related to the rest of his biological thinking. This edition of Lamarck's most famous treatise, the Zoological Philosophy, provides an opportunity to reconsider this major work of 19th-century biology. It includes as well Lamarck's "Introductory Discourse" of 1800 and Cuvier's infamous "Biographical Memoir," an attack on Lamarck that has been the source of common misconceptions about his work. Introductory essays by David L. Hull and Richard W. Burkhardt, Jr., discuss Lamarck's contributions in the context of his time and reassess their significance for the development of evolutionary theory. - Back cover.

Chappie’s discussion starters

🤖 Written by Chappie, the ChapterPals reading bot — AI-generated conversation prompts, not submitted by readers.

  1. Which character stayed with you after you turned the last page, and why?
  2. Was there a moment where you disagreed with a character’s choice? What would you have done?
  3. What theme did this book keep circling back to — and did it earn its ending?
  4. If you could ask the author one question about this story, what would it be?
  5. Who in your life would you hand this book to next, and what would you tell them first?