A theory of organic evolution proposed by Jean Baptiste Pierre Antoine de Monet, Chevalier de Lamarck (1744-1829) that was ultimately discredited and replaced by Darwinism in the 19th century, but which is proved to be relevant for understanding cultural evolution. The theory is based on the principle that characteristics acquired by an organism during its lifetime are passed onto to its offspring (e.g., stretching by giraffes to reach leaves leads to offspring with longer necks). It also proposed that characteristics not used would progressively atrophy (the principle of use and disuse). Both Piaget and Waddington were accused of being a closet Lamarckians in their attempts to relate ontogenetic development to biological evolution as was even Darwin in his day. As Waddington pointed out, there is an aspect of Lamarck’s theory that should be taken in to account in theories about biological evolution. This is that animals have an act of will (‘besoin’). While it can be seen as expression of vitalism, Waddington pointed out that it amounts to the idea that animals can make a choice out of range of possible environments in which to live (i.e., an animal selects its environment before its environment selects it). Put this way, it runs counter to the depiction offered by the Modern synthesis that organisms are passive in the face of natural selection.
See Baldwin effect, Cultural evolution, Darwinism, Developmental hypothesis, Genetic assimilation, Meme, Modern synthesis, Polyneural to mononeural innervation, Theory of natural selection, Vitalism