Philosophy Dictionary of ArgumentsHome
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| Darwinism: Darwinism is a theory of evolution developed by English naturalist Charles Darwin (1809–1882) and others, stating that all species of organisms arise and develop through the natural selection of small, inherited variations that increase the individual's ability to compete, survive, and reproduce. See also Evolution, Selection, Fitness, Survival, Species._____________Annotation: The above characterizations of concepts are neither definitions nor exhausting presentations of problems related to them. Instead, they are intended to give a short introduction to the contributions below. – Lexicon of Arguments. | |||
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Stephen Jay Gould on Darwinism - Dictionary of Arguments
I 70 Darwin/Gould: Darwin's theory of selection represents a creative transfer of Adam Smiths' fundamental thesis of a rational economy to biology: equilibrium and order are not created by a higher, external (divine) power or by the existence of laws that directly affect the whole, but by the struggle between individuals for their own advantage. (modern variant: to transfer their genes to future generations through a particular success in reproduction). - - - II 9 Darwinism/adaptation/Gould: Darwin's disciples later designed a version of his theory that was much narrower than Darwin himself would ever have allowed: this "adaptionist program" referred evolution to every single part of the body, ignoring the fact that organisms are integrated entities whose development potential is limited by inheritance (GouldVs.) II 11 This exaggerated strict Darwinism emphasizes the numerous, small random variations and implies that macroevolution is a summation of the countless small steps. This "extrapolationist" theory denied macroevolution every independence. It would thus also deny the other levels, both below (e. g. genes) and above (species) any direct causal significance. II 171 Definition Strict Darwinism/Gould: thesis: all characteristics are adaptations, and evolution as a whole is a struggle for survival at the lowest level between all individuals. >Evolution._____________Explanation of symbols: Roman numerals indicate the source, arabic numerals indicate the page number. The corresponding books are indicated on the right hand side. ((s)…): Comment by the sender of the contribution. Translations: Dictionary of Arguments The note [Concept/Author], [Author1]Vs[Author2] or [Author]Vs[term] resp. "problem:"/"solution:", "old:"/"new:" and "thesis:" is an addition from the Dictionary of Arguments. If a German edition is specified, the page numbers refer to this edition. |
Gould I Stephen Jay Gould The Panda’s Thumb. More Reflections in Natural History, New York 1980 German Edition: Der Daumen des Panda Frankfurt 2009 Gould II Stephen Jay Gould Hen’s Teeth and Horse’s Toes. Further Reflections in Natural History, New York 1983 German Edition: Wie das Zebra zu seinen Streifen kommt Frankfurt 1991 Gould III Stephen Jay Gould Full House. The Spread of Excellence from Plato to Darwin, New York 1996 German Edition: Illusion Fortschritt Frankfurt 2004 Gould IV Stephen Jay Gould The Flamingo’s Smile. Reflections in Natural History, New York 1985 German Edition: Das Lächeln des Flamingos Basel 1989 |
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Ed. Martin Schulz, access date 2024-04-27