# Professor Weismann — The Origin of Species character guide

> Professor Weismann in The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin.

**Role:** minor

**Also known as:** Professor Weismann

**First appearance:** 0036-v-laws-of-variation

## Who they are

A biologist who developed the germ plasm theory of heredity.

## In the story

### [I: Variation Under Domestication](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_origin_of_species_se/chapters/i-variation-under-domestication)

Cited for his insistence on the two factors of variation: the nature of the organism and the nature of the conditions.

### [Causes of Variability](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_origin_of_species_se/chapters/causes-of-variability)

Cited for his insistence on the two factors of variation: the nature of the organism and the nature of the conditions.

### [Rudimentary, Atrophied, and Aborted Organs](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_origin_of_species_se/chapters/rudimentary-atrophied-and-aborted-organs)

Quoted questioning why rudimentary hind limbs and pelvis are retained in boa-constrictor but not in other snakes if only for symmetry.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_origin_of_species_se/characters/weismann
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_origin_of_species_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_origin_of_species_se/characters