ABSTRACT

The pre-Darwinian era Until the end of the eighteenth century, the general belief across Europe was that the Bible provided a true account of the origins of life, although a few people had had their doubts. e rst serious step that led the way to modern views of evolution came from Charles Bonnet, a Swiss biologist, who originally trained and practiced as a lawyer. Around 1770, he suggested that there had been progress up the great chain of being (or the ladder of life) from basal molds through plants, insects, worms, shellsh on to sh, birds, and quadrupeds to the ultimate perfection of man. Other naturalists such as Erasmus Darwin also put forward ideas that life had evolved from primitive origins, but all their arguments were based on logic rather than evidence.