Darwinism

This article is about concepts called Darwinism. For biological evolution in general, seeEvolution.For modern evolutionary theories, seeModern synthesis.For Wallace's defence of the theory of natural selection, seeDarwinism (book).

Charles Darwinin 1868

Darwinismis atheoryofbiologicalevolutiondeveloped by the English naturalistCharles Darwin(1809–1882) and others, stating that allspeciesof organisms arise and develop through thenatural selectionof small, inherited variations that increase the individual's ability to compete, survive, andreproduce.Also calledDarwinian theory,it originally included the broad concepts oftransmutation of speciesor of evolution which gained general scientific acceptance after Darwin publishedOn the Origin of Speciesin 1859, including concepts which predated Darwin's theories. English biologistThomas Henry Huxleycoined the termDarwinismin April 1860.

Terminology

Darwinism subsequently referred to the specific concepts of natural selection, theWeismann barrier,or thecentral dogma of molecular biology.Though the term usually refers strictly to biological evolution,creationistshave appropriated it to refer to theorigin of lifeor tocosmic evolution,that are distinct to biological evolution.It is therefore considered the belief and acceptance of Darwin's and of his predecessors' work, in place of other concepts, includingdivine designandextraterrestrial origins.

English biologistThomas Henry Huxleycoined the termDarwinismin April 1860.It was used to describe evolutionary concepts in general, including earlier concepts published by English philosopherHerbert Spencer.Many of the proponents of Darwinism at that time, including Huxley, had reservations about the significance of natural selection, and Darwin himself gave credence to what was later calledLamarckism.The strictneo-Darwinismof German evolutionary biologistAugust Weismanngained few supporters in the late 19th century. During the approximate period of the 1880s to about 1920, sometimes called "the eclipse of Darwinism",scientists proposed variousalternative evolutionary mechanismswhich eventually proved untenable. The development of themodern synthesisin the early 20th century, incorporating natural selection withpopulation geneticsandMendelian genetics,revived Darwinism in an updated form.

While the termDarwinismhas remained in use amongst the public when referring to modern evolutionary theory, it has increasingly been argued by science writers such asOlivia Judson,Eugenie Scott,andCarl Safinathat it is an inappropriate term for modern evolutionary theory.For example, Darwin was unfamiliar with the work of theMoravianscientist andAugustinianfriarGregor Mendel,and as a result had only a vague and inaccurate understanding ofheredity.He naturally had no inkling of later theoretical developments and, like Mendel himself, knew nothing ofgenetic drift,for example.

In the United States, creationists often use the term "Darwinism" as apejorativeterm in reference to beliefs such asscientific materialism.This is now also the case even in the United Kingdom.

Huxley

Asevolutionbecame widely accepted in the 1870s,caricatures of Charles Darwinwith the body of an ape or monkey symbolised evolution.

Huxley, upon first reading Darwin's theory in 1858, responded, "How extremely stupid not to have thought of that!"

While the termDarwinismhad been used previously to refer to the work ofErasmus Darwinin the late 18th century, the term as understood today was introduced when Charles Darwin's 1859 bookOn the Origin of Specieswas reviewed by Thomas Henry Huxley in the April 1860 issue of theWestminster Review.Having hailed the book as "a veritableWhitworth gunin the armoury of liberalism "promotingscientific naturalismovertheology,and praising the usefulness of Darwin's ideas while expressing professional reservations about Darwin'sgradualismand doubting if it could be proved that natural selection could form new species,Huxley compared Darwin's achievement to that ofNicolaus Copernicusin explaining planetary motion:

What if the orbit of Darwinism should be a little too circular? What if species should offer residual phenomena, here and there, not explicable by natural selection? Twenty years hence naturalists may be in a position to say whether this is, or is not, the case; but in either event they will owe the author of "The Origin of Species" an immense debt of gratitude.... And viewed as a whole, we do not believe that, since the publication of Von Baer's "Researches on Development," thirty years ago, any work has appeared calculated to exert so large an influence, not only on the future of Biology, but in extending the domination of Science over regions of thought into which she has, as yet, hardly penetrated.

These are the basic tenets of evolution by natural selection as defined by Darwin:

1. More individuals are produced each generation than can survive.
2. Phenotypic variation exists among individuals and the variation is heritable.
3. Those individuals with heritable traits better suited to the environment will survive.
4. When reproductive isolation occurs new species will form.

Other 19th-century usage

"Darwinism" soon came to stand for an entire range of evolutionary (and often revolutionary) philosophies about both biology and society. One of the more prominent approaches, summed in the 1864 phrase "survival of the fittest"by Herbert Spencer, later became emblematic of Darwinism even though Spencer's own understanding of evolution (as expressed in 1857) was more similar to that ofJean-Baptiste Lamarckthan to that of Darwin, and predated thepublication of Darwin's theoryin 1859. What is now called "Social Darwinism"was, in its day, synonymous with" Darwinism "—the application of Darwinian principles of" struggle "to society, usually in support of anti-philanthropicpolitical agenda. Another interpretation, one notably favoured by Darwin's half-cousinFrancis Galton,was that "Darwinism" implied that because natural selection was apparently no longer working on "civilized" people, it was possible for "inferior" strains of people (who would normally be filtered out of thegene pool) to overwhelm the "superior" strains, and voluntary corrective measures would be desirable—the foundation ofeugenics.

In Darwin's day there was no rigid definition of the term "Darwinism", and it was used by opponents and proponents of Darwin's biological theory alike to mean whatever they wanted it to in a larger context. The ideas had international influence, andErnst Haeckeldeveloped what was known asDarwinismusin Germany, although, like Spencer's "evolution", Haeckel's "Darwinism" had only a rough resemblance to the theory of Charles Darwin, and was not centred on natural selection.In 1886,Alfred Russel Wallacewent on a lecture tour across the United States, starting in New York and going via Boston, Washington, Kansas, Iowa and Nebraska to California, lecturing on what he called "Darwinism" without any problems.

In his bookDarwinism(1889), Wallace had used the termpure-Darwinismwhich proposed a "greater efficacy" fornatural selection.George Romanesdubbed this view as "Wallaceism", noting that in contrast to Darwin, this position was advocating a "pure theory of natural selection to the exclusion of any supplementary theory."Taking influence from Darwin, Romanes was a proponent of both natural selection and theinheritance of acquired characteristics.The latter was denied by Wallace who was a strict selectionist.Romanes' definition of Darwinism conformed directly with Darwin's views and was contrasted with Wallace's definition of the term.

Contemporary usage

The termDarwinismis often used in the United States by promoters ofcreationism,notably by leading members of theintelligent design movement,as an epithet to attack evolution as though it were an ideology (an "ism" ) based onphilosophical naturalism,atheism,or both.For example, in 1993,UC Berkeleylaw professor and authorPhillip E. Johnsonmade this accusation of atheism with reference toCharles Hodge's 1874 bookWhat Is Darwinism?.However, unlike Johnson, Hodge confined the term to exclude those like American botanistAsa Graywho combined Christian faith with support for Darwin's natural selection theory, before answering the question posed in the book's title by concluding: "It is Atheism."

Creationists use pejoratively the termDarwinismto imply that the theory has been held as true only by Darwin and a core group of his followers, whom they cast asdogmaticand inflexible in their belief.In the 2008 documentary filmExpelled: No Intelligence Allowed,which promotesintelligent design(ID), American writer and actorBen Steinrefers to scientists as Darwinists. Reviewing the film forScientific American,John Renniesays "The term is a curious throwback, because in modern biology almost no one relies solely on Darwin's original ideas... Yet the choice of terminology isn't random: Ben Stein wants you to stop thinking of evolution as an actual science supported by verifiable facts and logical arguments and to start thinking of it as a dogmatic, atheistic ideology akin toMarxism."

However,Darwinismis also used neutrally within the scientific community to distinguish themodern evolutionary synthesis,which is sometimes called "neo-Darwinism",from those first proposed by Darwin.Darwinismalso is used neutrally by historians to differentiate his theory from other evolutionary theories current around the same period. For example,Darwinismmay refer to Darwin's proposed mechanism of natural selection, in comparison to more recent mechanisms such as genetic drift andgene flow.It may also refer specifically to the role of Charles Darwin as opposed to others in thehistory of evolutionary thought—particularly contrasting Darwin's results with those of earlier theories such asLamarckismor later ones such as the modern evolutionary synthesis.

Inpolitical discussions in the United States,the term is mostly used by its enemies.BiologistE. O. WilsonatHarvard Universitydescribed the term as being "a rhetorical device to make evolution seem like a kind of faith, like 'Maoism[...] Scientists don't call it 'Darwinism'. "In theUnited Kingdom,the term often retains its positive sense as a reference to natural selection, and for example Britishethologistand evolutionary biologistRichard Dawkinswrote in his collection of essaysA Devil's Chaplain,published in 2003, that as a scientist he is a Darwinist.

In his 1995 bookDarwinian Fairytales,AustralianphilosopherDavid Stoveused the term "Darwinism" in a different sense than the above examples. Describing himself as non-religious and as accepting the concept of natural selection as a well-established fact, Stove nonetheless attacked what he described as flawed concepts proposed by some "Ultra-Darwinists." Stove alleged that by using weak or falsead hocreasoning, these Ultra-Darwinists used evolutionary concepts to offer explanations that were not valid: for example, Stove suggested that thesociobiologicalexplanation ofaltruismas an evolutionary feature was presented in such a way that the argument was effectively immune to any criticism. English philosopherSimon Blackburnwrote a rejoinder to Stove,though a subsequent essay by Stove's protégéJames Franklinsuggested that Blackburn's response actually "confirms Stove's central thesis that Darwinism can 'explain' anything."

In more recent times, the Australianmoral philosopherand professorPeter Singer,who serves as the Ira W. DeCamp Professor of Bioethics atPrinceton University,has proposed the development of a "Darwinianleft"based on the contemporary scientific understanding ofbiological anthropology,human evolution,andapplied ethicsin order to achieve the establishment of a moreequaland cooperative human society in accordance with the sociobiological explanation of altruism.

Esoteric usage

Inevolutionary aestheticstheory, there is evidence that perceptions of beauty are determined bynatural selectionand therefore Darwinian; that things, aspects of people and landscapes considered beautiful are typically found in situations likely to give enhanced survival of the perceiving human'sgenes.

See also

• Darwin Awards
• Evidence of common descent
• History of evolutionary thought
• Modern evolutionary synthesis
• Neural Darwinism
• Pangenesis—Charles Darwin's hypothetical mechanism for heredity
• Social Darwinism
• Speciation
• Universal Darwinism

Evolutionary biology portal

Sources

• Bowler, Peter J.(2003).Evolution: The History of an Idea(3rd completely rev. and expanded ed.). Berkeley, CA:University of California Press.ISBN0-520-23693-9.LCCN2002007569.OCLC49824702.
• Browne, Janet(2002).Charles Darwin: The Power of Place.Vol. 2. London:Jonathan Cape.ISBN0-679-42932-8.LCCN94006598.OCLC733100564.
• Hodge, Charles(1874).What is Darwinism?.New York: Scribner, Armstrong, and Company.LCCN06012878.OCLC11489956.Retrieved16 November2015.
• Huxley, Thomas Henry(1893).Darwiniana: Essays.Macmillan and Company.
• Petto, Andrew J.; Godfrey, Laurie R., eds. (2007) [Originally published 2007 asScientists Confront Intelligent Design and Creationism].Scientists Confront Creationism: Intelligent Design and Beyond.New York:W. W. Norton & Company.ISBN978-0-393-33073-1.LCCN2006039753.OCLC173480577.
• Stove, David(1995).Darwinian Fairytales.Avebury Series in Philosophy. Aldershot, Hants, England; Brookfield, VT: Avebury.ISBN1-85972-306-3.LCCN95083037.OCLC35145565.

Further reading

• Fiske, John.(1885).Darwinism, and Other Essays.Houghton Mifflin and Company.
• Mayr, Ernst.(1985).The Growth of Biological Thought: Diversity, Evolution, and Inheritance.Harvard University Press.
• Romanes, John George.(1906).Darwin and After Darwin: An Exposition of the Darwinian Theory and a Discussion of Post-Darwinian Questions.Volume 2: Heredity and Utility.The Open Court Publishing Company.
• Wallace, Alfred Russel.(1889).Darwinism: An Exposition of the Theory of Natural Selection, with Some of Its Applications.Macmillan and Company.
• Simon, C. (2019). Taking Darwinism seriously.Animal Sentience,3(23), 47.

External links

• Lennox, James(26 May 2015)."Darwinism".InZalta, Edward N.(ed.).Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy(Summer 2015 ed.). Stanford, CA: The Metaphysics Research Lab, Center for the Study of Language and Information (CSLI),Stanford University.Retrieved16 November2015.