Well, Lamark didn't have at his disposal knowledge of Gregor Mendel nor many other developments that came out long ago,
This is true and Mendel's discoveries were at the most rudimentary level that basically showed that there was a mechanism of inheritance but no details of what that mechanism was.
so a confirmation of raw-Lamark theory wouldn't exactly be expected.
What has been confirmed is the mechanisms of evolution. We have not seen characteristics acquired during the life of an organism being passed on to offspring except where there were events that exposed genes in germ cells to changes.
The theory of Erasmus Darwin? Lamark? Or any of the early founders pre-Charles Darwin?
I think there is a misunderstanding here. I am saying that the modern Theory of Evolution includes all the knowledge about biology we have today. It does not include theories that have been shown to be invalid and there have been
no observations that have been shown to be valid that refute the ToE. Not one.
Even I wouldn't go that far but I still predict Lamark will carry the day!
I know people like to root for the underdog, but what do you mean by "carry the day?" Do you mean that evolutionary theory is going to be shown to be invalid? All of it? Part of it? Based on the discovery of epigenetics?
The koala and its digestion ability is the extraordinary issue here I am interested in.
Good, maybe you will discover how it came to the state it is in now.
I have never studied koala and its digestion ability, but I predict that you will find that koala ancestral species were not as specialized as they are now and that its specialization developed over many, many generations.
I was under the impression that the discovery of epigenetics has been something of a revelation and an ongoing horizon of great scientific intrigue.
It was a very interesting discovery and I am sure it will be an ongoing subject for research in the future.
I may be wrong, but my understanding is that epigenetics refers to changes to the developmental genes of offspring caused by environmental exposure by the parent. I also understand that this is not a permanent change to the genes subsequently inherited by future descendants.
If we are going to equate Lamarkian inheritance with epigenetics, then maybe we have to say that it only lasts a generation or two.
In the meantime epigenetics is incorporated in the evolutionary explanation of life as short-term genetic changes (mutations) that do not affect the long-term phylogenetics of a lineage.
What if Eleanor Roosevelt had wings? -- Monty Python
One important characteristic of a theory is that is has survived repeated attempts to falsify it. Contrary to your understanding, all available evidence confirms it. --Subbie
If evolution is shown to be false, it will be at the hands of things that are true, not made up. --percy