Everything about Evolutionism totally explained
In the
creation-evolution controversy, those who accept the
scientific theory of biological
evolution by
natural selection or
genetic drift are often called "evolutionists", and the theory of evolution itself is referred to as "evolutionism" by
creationists. This label is used to suggest that evolution is an
ideology such as creationism and other "
-isms". In this way, creationists bolster their claim that the scientific theory of evolution is in its basics a belief, dogma, ideology or even a religion, rather than a scientific theory. The terms "evolutionism" and "evolutionist" are rarely used in the
scientific community as self-descriptive terms.
"Evolutionism", is defined by the
OED as "
[t]he
theory of evolution, evolutionary assumptions or principles". Creationists tend to use the term evolutionism in order to suggest that
evolution and
creationism are equal in a philosophical debate.
Development of usage
Anthropologists and biologists refer to "evolutionists" in the 19th century as those who believed that the cultures or life forms being studied are evolving to a
particular form (see
Platonic form). Very few scientists today, if any, believe that evolution in culture or biology works that way, and serious discussions generally take caution to distance themselves from that perspective.
Evolutionary biology explains biotic changes in terms of internal processes and gradual development as a natural progression of previously existing lifeforms. Evolution neither denies nor requires a role for
divine intervention. Before the 19th century there were a number of hypotheses regarding the evolution of all material phenomena: suns, moons, planets, earth, life, civilization, and society. The number of hypotheses being propounded increased dramatically in the middle of the 19th century.
In modern times, the term
evolution is widely used, but the terms
evolutionism and
evolutionist are rarely used in scientific circles to refer to the biological discipline. The term evolution was popularised during the
19th century by
Herbert Spencer to mean
cultural evolution; for example the improvement of cultures (see
History of the theory of cultural evolution) — it was only later that it acquired its
biological meaning. Advocacy of such theory was called evolutionism.
Most scientists object to the terms
evolutionism and
evolutionist because the -ism and -ist suffixes accentuate
belief rather than scientific study. Conversely,
creationists use those same two terms partly because the terms accentuate belief, and partly perhaps because they provide a way to package their opposition into one group, seemingly atheist and materialist, designations which are considered to be irrelevant to
natural science.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Evolutionism'.
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