Note 189 — Chapter XVII · THE “PHILOSOPHIE ZOOLOGIQUE” (continued 2)

It is interesting to compare with this Darwin’s theory of the origin of the same animals, the flying squirrels and Galeopithecus (Origin of Species, 5th edition, New York, pp. 173–174), and see how he invokes the Lamarckian factors of change of “climate and vegetation” and “changing conditions of life,” to originate the variations before natural selection can act. His account is a mixture of Lamarckism with the added Darwinian factors of competition and natural selection. We agree with this view, that the change in environment and competition sets the ball in motion, the work being finished by the selective process. The act of springing and the first attempts at flying also involve strong emotions and mental efforts, and it can hardly be denied that these Lamarckian factors came into continual play during the process of evolution of these flying creatures.