Evolution as a Solution: Franco Andrea Bonelli, Lamarck, and the Origin of Man in Early-Nineteenth-Century Italy

Abstract

Franco Andrea Bonelli, a disciple of Lamarck, was one of the few naturalists who taught and disseminated transformism in Italy in the early nineteenth century. The explanation of the history of life on Earth offered by Lamarck’s theory was at odds with the Genesis narrative, while the issue of man’s place in nature raised heated debates. Bonelli sought to reconcile science and religion through his original interpretation of the variability of species, but he also focused on anthropological subjects. Following Blumenbach’s studies, he investigated the differences within the human species and explored the topic of humans’ alleged superiority over animals. The origin of human beings, their history, and their relationship with the rest of life were thus read in light of transformism. According to Bonelli, such questions would not do irreparable damage to the new theory. On the contrary, he considered evolution not only acceptable but even necessary to protect the Holy Texts from certain dangerous trends in anthropological and zoological research.

Favored Races in the Struggle for Life: Racism and the Speciation Concept

“…He particularly thought that the domesticated breeds (or races) illustrated this principle (Burkhardt 2013). However, Lamarckians in the main were monogenists, and held that the human races belonged to one species (Forgione 2020).…”

“…Thus, for Buffon, degeneration due to environmental conditions was the explanation for the existing human varieties. However, unlike the varieties of other species, Buffon thought the races of humans remained constant due to some hereditary mechanism (Forgione 2020). Naturalists such as Francois Bernier (France 1684), Gottfried W. von Leibniz (Germany 1690), and Johann Friedrich Blumenbach (Germany 1775, often referred to as "the Father of Anthropology") thought there was no objective ranking of human races, although they differed on whether racial traits were heritable.…”