evolutionism
Gradual biological development
Evolutionism is belief in or advocacy for evolutionary theory, particularly Darwin's theory of biological evolution through natural selection.
The term often appears in debates between science and religion, where critics use it to frame evolution as an ideology or belief system rather than established science: Creationists dismiss evolutionism as just another faith.
Scientists generally avoid the term, preferring simply "evolution" or "evolutionary biology."
Differential reproductive success
- survival of the fittestAdaptive advantage perpetuates species
- origin of speciesText establishing evolutionary theory
- common descentAll organisms share forebears
- speciationFormation of distinct species
Charles Darwin · phylogeny · fossil record · comparative anatomy · embryology · biogeography · genetic drift · mutation
Testable proposed explanation
- theoryExplanatory set of principles
- evidenceFacts supporting truth
- paleontologyStudy of ancient organisms
- geneticsScience of hereditary transmission
molecular biology · cladistics · macroevolution · microevolution · radiometric dating · morphology · taxonomy · systematics
Natural selection theory
- social DarwinismMisapplied natural selection to society
- scientismOvervaluing empirical methods alone
- materialismPrioritizing goods over spirit
- naturalismWorldview excluding the supernatural
secularism · atheism · humanism · progressivism · Huxley · eugenics · creationism · intelligent design
Downward slope or lineage
- ancestryFamily line of descent
- common ancestorOrigin point of descendants
- genealogyStudy of family descent
- heritageInherited cultural legacy
bloodline · progenitors · divergence · branching · clade · hominid · missing link · primates
Progress toward maturity
- advancementForward movement or promotion
- transformationThorough change in form
- emergenceComing into existence
- diversificationExpanding into varied areas
radiation · differentiation · elaboration · complexity · directionality · progress · teleology · stages
natural selection
Differential reproductive success
- survival of the fittestAdaptive advantage perpetuates species
- origin of speciesText establishing evolutionary theory
- common descentAll organisms share forebears
Charles Darwin · speciation · phylogeny · fossil record · comparative anatomy · embryology · biogeography · genetic drift · mutation · adaptation
hypothesis
Testable proposed explanation
- theoryExplanatory set of principles
- evidenceFacts supporting truth
- paleontologyStudy of ancient organisms
genetics · molecular biology · cladistics · macroevolution · microevolution · radiometric dating · morphology · taxonomy · systematics · peer review
Darwinism
Natural selection theory
- social DarwinismMisapplied natural selection to society
- scientismOvervaluing empirical methods alone
- materialismPrioritizing goods over spirit
naturalism · secularism · atheism · humanism · progressivism · Huxley · eugenics · creationism · intelligent design · controversy
descent
Downward slope or lineage
- ancestryFamily line of descent
- common ancestorOrigin point of descendants
- genealogyStudy of family descent
heritage · bloodline · progenitors · divergence · branching · clade · hominid · missing link · primates · hominin
development
Progress toward maturity
- advancementForward movement or promotion
- transformationThorough change in form
- emergenceComing into existence
diversification · radiation · differentiation · elaboration · complexity · directionality · progress · teleology · stages · unfolding
- anthropologyanthropology, fieldwork, ethnography, social anthropology, cultural anthropology
- -ismsatomism, postmodernism, feminism, Marxism, Darwinism
- philosophyethics, logic, metaphysics, ontology, epistemology
- pseudosciencehomeopathy, astrology, phrenology, numerology, palmistry
- Metanarrativesprogress, modernity, Marxism, liberalism, Christianity
- Physicalismphysicalism, materialism, naturalism, monism, reductionism
evolutionismcreationism
Divine origin doctrine
creation science · intelligent design · special creation · divine creation · catastrophism