HPS211H1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Ronald Fisher, Reductionism, Thomas Robert Malthus
11 Mar 2016
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The mechanisms of the living world possesses such a complex structure and purpose that it could only have been produced by a benevolent creator. For example, the human eye: it is perfectly suited for our environment so it must have been created specifically for that purpose. By compiling a detailed taxonomy, john ray set out to detail gods. Fit: the exquisite adaptation of one part to the whole, and to their conditions of existence : diversity: the sheer number and variety of different biological forms. Evolution occurs via the change in heritable traits of a population over time. In competition, individuals with certain variants of a trait may survive and reproduce more than individuals with other less successful traits. The variation of animals and plants under domestication (1868). The idea is that different parts of the body released gemmules (small copies of themselves) that are passed on to reproductive organs and transmitted to the offspring.
