Question

Imagine that you are standing next to someone who believes in the inheritance of acquired characteristics. You both see an older, balding man with visible age spots on his skin. This man also appears to be a wounded soldier, whose left leg has been amputated. What might Aristotle say to you?

Answer 1

Answer:

Because that man is balding and has age spots, his children will likely go bald and will develop age spots.

Explanation:

Aristotle (384-322 BCE) was a Greek philosopher who is widely renowned as the creator of formal logic. Through the logical argumentation known as syllogism, where a series of general premises lead to a conclusion derived from said premises, one could say that because that a man is balding and has age spots (the premise) means that his children will likely go bald and will develop age spots (the conclusion).

However, this argument only holds on if one really believes in Lamarckian inheritance - that is, the inheritance of acquired characteristics. However, it has been scientifically proven that this theory is false, as traits are inherited through our genes. This is called genetics.