Difference between revisions of "Darwinism"
Conservative (talk | contribs) |
m (rm general cat) |
||
| Line 9: | Line 9: | ||
*[[Evolutionism]] | *[[Evolutionism]] | ||
| − | + | [[category:evolution]] | |
Revision as of 21:14, December 1, 2008
Darwinism is a pejorative term for the "scientific" theory of Darwinian evolution. Named for the nineteenth-century English naturalist Charles Darwin, it holds that natural selection in combination with random mutation is the directive or creative force of evolution. [1]
The theory of natural selection is one of two major evolutionary theories advanced by Darwin, the other being the theory of descent with modification.[2]
The modern version of the theory of evolution, based on Darwin's original theory, is sometimes called "Neo-Darwinism". Some people argue the terms 'Darwinism' and 'Neo-Darwinism' are inaccurate and/or pointless, as 'Darwinists' or 'Neo-Darwinists' are, basically, everyone who accepts the Theory of Evolution (with 'Neo-Darwinists' accepting the modern version, more commonly referred to as the 'modern evolutionary synthesis'), so to say that these people are 'Darwinists' would be like saying those who accept Newton's Laws of Motion or Thermodynamics are 'Newtonists', or those that accept the General Theory of Relativity are 'Einsteinists'.