Darwinians
Natural selection adherents
Darwinians are people who accept or advocate Charles Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection.
The term appears in scientific, philosophical, and religious debates about human origins and development.
Darwinians argue that complex life emerged through gradual adaptation, not design.
The label sometimes carries dismissive overtones when used by critics of evolutionary theory.
Proponent of species transformation
- naturalistStudent of nature
- freethinkerRejects doctrine for reason
- secularistAdvocate for nonreligious governance
- empiricistKnowledge-from-experience advocate
rationalist · skeptic · humanist · materialist · positivist · agnostic · atheist · progressive
Species changing over generations
- natural selectionDifferential reproductive success
- GalapagosEcuadorian Pacific archipelago
- finchesSmall seed-eating birds
- Victorian eraBritain under its longest-reigning queen
HMS Beagle · transmutation · Thomas Malthus · scientific revolution · barnacles · earthworms · gradualism · tree of life
Differential reproductive success
- survival of the fittestAdaptive advantage perpetuates species
- adaptationFitting to new conditions
- speciationFormation of distinct species
- mutationPermanent DNA alteration
variation · fitness · common ancestor · descent · phylogeny · divergence · extinction · reproductive success
Organism's complete allele set
- phenotypeObservable characteristics of organism
- alleleGene variant at one locus
- gene poolSpecies' total genetic diversity
- inheritanceProperty received from ancestors
DNA · mutation · variation · heredity · chromosomes · dominant · recessive · Mendelian
Finest taxonomic rank
- classificationSystematic grouping by traits
- phylogenyEvolutionary relationships among organisms
- biodiversityRange of life forms
- taxonomyScience of categorical arrangement
morphology · homology · cladistics · kingdom · genus · family · order · class
evolutionist
Proponent of species transformation
- naturalistStudent of nature
- freethinkerRejects doctrine for reason
- secularistAdvocate for nonreligious governance
empiricist · rationalist · skeptic · humanist · materialist · positivist · agnostic · atheist · progressive · disciple
evolution
Species changing over generations
- natural selectionDifferential reproductive success
- GalapagosEcuadorian Pacific archipelago
- finchesSmall seed-eating birds
HMS Beagle · Victorian era · transmutation · Thomas Malthus · scientific revolution · barnacles · earthworms · gradualism · tree of life · naturalist
natural selection
Differential reproductive success
- survival of the fittestAdaptive advantage perpetuates species
- adaptationFitting to new conditions
- speciationFormation of distinct species
mutation · variation · fitness · common ancestor · descent · phylogeny · divergence · extinction · reproductive success · genetic drift
genotype
Organism's complete allele set
- phenotypeObservable characteristics of organism
- alleleGene variant at one locus
- gene poolSpecies' total genetic diversity
inheritance · DNA · mutation · variation · heredity · chromosomes · dominant · recessive · Mendelian · genetic variation
species
Finest taxonomic rank
- classificationSystematic grouping by traits
- phylogenyEvolutionary relationships among organisms
- biodiversityRange of life forms
taxonomy · morphology · homology · cladistics · kingdom · genus · family · order · class · systematics
Darwinianscreationists
Those believing in divine origin
fundamentalists · essentialists · supernaturalists · catastrophists · dogmatists
- Darwinian evolutionSpecies change through selection
- Darwinian theoryEvolution via natural selection