der the threat of attack by wild animals, those that can run faster will
survive. Therefore, the deer herd will be comprised of faster and
stronger individuals. However, unquestionably, this mechanism
will not cause deer to evolve and transform themselves into anoth-
er living species, for instance, horses.
Therefore, the mechanism of natural selection has no evolu-
tionary power. Darwin was also aware of this fact and had to state
this in his book
The Origin of Species:
Natural selection can do nothing until favorable individual dif-
ferences or variations occur.
50
Lamarck's Impact
So, how could these “favorable variations” occur? Darwin tried
to answer this question from the standpoint of the primitive under-
standing of science at that time. According to the French biologist
Chevalier de Lamarck (1744-1829), who lived before Darwin, living
creatures passed on the traits they acquired during their lifetime to
the next generation. He asserted that these traits, which accumulat-
ed from one generation to another, caused new species to be formed.
For instance, he claimed that giraffes evolved from antelopes; as
they struggled to eat the leaves of high trees, their necks were ex-
tended from generation to generation.
Darwin also gave similar examples. In his book
The Origin of
Species
, for instance, he said that some bears going into water to find
food transformed themselves into whales over time.
51
However, the laws of inheritance discovered by Gregor Mendel
(1822-84) and verified by the science of genetics, which flourished in
the twentieth century, utterly demolished the legend that acquired
traits were passed on to subsequent generations. Thus, natural se-
lection fell out of favor as an evolutionary mechanism.
Introduction
129
