Darwinian theory
Survival of fittest
Darwinian theory is the explanation of biological evolution through natural selection, as proposed by Charles Darwin.
Organisms with traits better suited to their environment survive and reproduce more successfully, passing those traits to offspring.
Over generations, this process produces new species and explains the diversity of life.
The theory extends metaphorically to any system where competition determines which variants persist: a Darwinian theory of market economics.
- uniformitarianismPast mimics present processes
- natural selectionDifferential reproductive success
- adaptationFitting to new conditions
- speciationFormation of distinct species
- gradual changeSlow, steady transformation
survival of the fittest · adapt or die · survival instinct · tree of life · common descent · evolutionary psychology · phylogenetics · artificial selection · mutation · genetic variation · Wallace · Galapagos · genetic drift · struggle · ancestry · origin · evolution · fitness
- natural historynatural history, natural history museum, naturalist, naturalists, natural philosophers
- geneticsDNA, allele, genotype, genes, gene
Darwinian theorycreationism
Divine origin doctrine
creation science · special creation · intelligent design · divine creation · spontaneous generation