This article is about the term. For the field/s of study, see Evolutionary biology § Subfields.
Evolutionism is a term used (often derogatorily) to denote the theory of evolution. Its exact meaning has changed over time as the study of evolution has progressed. In the 19th century, it was used to describe the belief that organisms deliberately improved themselves through progressive inherited change (orthogenesis).[1][2] The teleological belief went on to include cultural evolution and social evolution.[1] In the 1970s, the term "Neo-Evolutionism" was used to describe the idea that "human beings sought to preserve a familiar style of life unless change was forced on them by factors that were beyond their control."[3]
The term is most often used by creationists to describe adherence to the scientific consensus on evolution as equivalent to a secular religion.[4] The term is very seldom used within the scientific community, since the scientific position on evolution is accepted by the overwhelming majority of scientists.[5] Because evolutionary biology is the default scientific position, it is assumed that "scientists" or "biologists" are "evolutionists" unless specifically noted otherwise.[6] In the creation–evolution controversy, creationists often call those who accept the validity of the modern evolutionary synthesis "evolutionists" and the theory itself "evolutionism".
^ abAllen, R. T.; Allen, Robert W. (1994). Chambers encyclopedic English dictionary. Edinburgh: Chambers. p. 438. ISBN 978-0-550-11000-8. a widely held 19c belief that organisms were intrinsically bound to improve themselves, that changes were progressive, and that acquired characters could be transmitted genetically. The belief was also extended to cultures and societies, and to living organisms.
^Carneiro, Robert, L. (2003). Evolutionism in cultural anthropology : a critical history. Cambridge, MA: Westview Press. pp. 2–3. ISBN 978-0-8133-3766-1.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^Trigger, Bruce (1986) A History of Archeological Thought Cambridge University Press pg 290
^Ruse, Michael (March 2003). "Perceptions in science: Is Evolution a Secular Religion? -- Ruse". Science: 299 (5612): 1523. Retrieved 2008-12-05. A major complaint of the Creationists, those who are committed to a Genesis-based story of origins, is that evolution--and Darwinism in particular--is more than just a scientific theory. They object that too often evolution operates as a kind of secular religion, pushing norms and proposals for proper (or, in their opinion, improper) action.
^"Nearly all scientists (97%) say humans and other living things have evolved over time", Public Praises Science; Scientists Fault Public, Media Archived 2009-11-08 at the Wayback Machine, Pew Research Center, 9 July 2009
^Gough, J. B. (1983). "The Supposed Dichotomy between Creationism and Evolution". National Center for Science Education. Retrieved 2009-09-24. "...to say a person is a scientist encompasses the fact that he or she is an evolutionist."
Evolutionism is a term used (often derogatorily) to denote the theory of evolution. Its exact meaning has changed over time as the study of evolution...
that evolution has goals, long-term plans, or an innate tendency for "progress", as expressed in beliefs such as orthogenesis and evolutionism; realistically...
Sociocultural evolution, sociocultural evolutionism or social evolution are theories of sociobiology and cultural evolution that describe how societies...
the ideas of unilinear evolutionism and universal evolutionism, and began to move towards the idea of multilinear evolutionism. This theory focused around...
Chemical evolution may refer to: Abiogenesis, the transition from nonliving elements to living systems Astrochemistry, the study of the abundance and...
Theistic evolution (also known as theistic evolutionism or God-guided evolution), alternatively called evolutionary creationism, is a view that God acts...
seemed dubious at best. Thus modern socio-cultural evolutionism rejects most of classical social evolutionism due to various theoretical problems: The theory...
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strengthened the "out of Africa" theory and weakened the views of multiregional evolutionism. Aligned in genetic tree differences were interpreted as supportive of...
Objections to evolution have been raised since evolutionary ideas came to prominence in the 19th century. When Charles Darwin published his 1859 book...
Convergent evolution is the independent evolution of similar features in species of different periods or epochs in time. Convergent evolution creates analogous...
professor of anthropology. Tylor's ideas typify 19th-century cultural evolutionism. In his works Primitive Culture (1871) and Anthropology (1881), he defined...
Creative evolution may refer to: Theistic evolution Creative Evolution (book), a book by Henri Bergson This disambiguation page lists articles associated...
evolution while discarding some dogmas of the previous theories of social evolutionism. Neoevolutionism is concerned with long-term, evolutionary social change...
EVolution is a research project funded by the European Commission under the 7th Framework Programme of the Green Cars initiative. It started on 1 October...
Recurring cultural, political, and theological rejection of evolution by religious groups exists regarding the origins of the Earth, of humanity, and...
In computer science, an evolution strategy (ES) is an optimization technique based on ideas of evolution. It belongs to the general class of evolutionary...
The Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, popularly referred to as the 'Evo', is a sports sedan and rally car based on the Lancer that was manufactured by Japanese...
behavior in terms of evolution Cultural evolution, an evolutionary theory of social change Evolution of eusociality, the evolution of highly cooperative...
GNOME Evolution (formerly Novell Evolution and Ximian Evolution, prior to Novell's 2003 acquisition of Ximian) is the official personal information manager...
The evolution of the wolf occurred over a geologic time scale of at least 300 thousand years. The grey wolf Canis lupus is a highly adaptable species...
"The role of symbiosis in eukaryotic evolution". In Gargaud M, López-Garcìa P, Martin H (eds.). Origins and Evolution of Life: An astrobiological perspective...
African great apes, which includes Homo sapiens. The origins and early evolution of primates is shrouded in mystery due to lack of fossil evidence. They...
Dragonball Evolution is a 2009 American science fantasy kung-fu action film directed by James Wong, produced by Stephen Chow, and written by Ben Ramsey...
Mosaic evolution (or modular evolution) is the concept, mainly from palaeontology, that evolutionary change takes place in some body parts or systems...
profits. Non-human animals are also an important cultural element of human evolution, having appeared in cave arts and totems since the earliest times, and...
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