Natural Theology: "The Wisdom of God, Manifested in His Creation"
           Platonic 'Ideal' forms exist in Mind of Deity:
                  'Real' world created by God (Genesis 1:1)
           Study of nature a pious activity
            William Paley (1743 - 1805) "Natural Theology" (1802)
                    Argument from Design & Watchmaker Analogy
                        Counterargument: David Hume (1711 - 1776)
                             "Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion" (1779)

     Scala Naturae: the "Great Chain of Being"
                  Creation an infinitely graduated, progressive series
                  Time scale short (ca. 6,000 years)
                  Species static: no new forms, no change, no extinction

     Linnean Taxonomy (Carl von Linne [Carolus Linnæus] (1707-1778)
           "Systema Naturae" (1735)
                 10th ed.: January 1st, 1758 "Birthday of Taxonomy"
                  4,162 animals described in five Categories (KCOGS)
                                         Phylum & Family added later: KPCOFGS
           binomial nomenclature: genus + species names
                  "Ad majorem Dei gloriam": for greater glory of God
                    System is fixed: just needs to be filled in

       Joseph Banks (1743 - 1820)
            Voyage of HMS Niger to Newfoundland & Labrador (1766)
            Voyage of HMS Endeavour to South Seas with Captain Cook (1768 - 1771)
       Alexander Humboldt (1769 - 1859)
            Voyage of Pizzaro (1799 - 1804) to Latin America
            "Personal Narrative" great influence on young Charles Darwin   

       New forms discovered that don't fit Scala
       Extinctions evident: Scala imperfect
       Variation is real in Space: what about over Time?

Biology in early 19th century:
      Change has occurred: how to explain it?
     The Enlightenment favors rational explanation.

     Jean Baptiste de Lamarck (1744-1829): "Zoological Philosophy" (1809)
            New features arise due to persistent "besoin" (need / want)
                  (teleological: "Final Cause," goal-directed explanation)
            Use & disuse alter morphology:
            Altered morphology passed on to offspring
                  (Lamarckism: inheritance of acquired characteristics)
             Ex.: Giraffes stretch their necks to feed on leaves.
                           Successive generations gradually acquire longer necks.
                            [or, trees become taller to escape giraffes ?]
            Therefore, organisms change (evolve) over time

     Uniformitarianism replaces Catastrophism in geology
       James Hutton (1726 - 1797) observed geological discontinuities
                "No vestige of a beginning, no prospect of an end."
       Charles Lyell (1797-1875): "Principles of Geology" (1830)
             Frontispiece: The Temple of Serapis
             Observable, gradual processes + enormous time = world geology