Evolutionism Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
Creation vs. evolution debate
- This page traces the origins and uses of the modern ideas of evolutionism, evolutionist, and evolution, particularly those uses that preceded and those uses unrelated to Charles Darwin's uses of evolutionist and evolution in Origin of Species.'' For other meanings, see evolutionism (disambiguation). For technical details of the origin of species, see evolution.
Since an evolutionism theory explains changes in terms of internal processes and the innate nature of atoms, generally an evolutionism theory has no role for divine intervention. Even before the 19th century, there were a few theories about the evolution of everything material: suns, moons, planets, earth, life, civilization, and society--all without divine intervention.
But by the middle of the 19th century, many scholars were developing evolutionism theories. There were evolutionism theories about geologic processes. There were evolutionism theories about how life sprang from inanimate matter. And there were evolutionism theories about how any one species could, over time, evolve into two species as different as humans and chimpanzees.
In modern times, the term evolution is widely used, but the terms evolutionism and evolutionist are rarely used in scientific circles. However, all three of these terms are commonly used by anthropologists, sociologists, and other scholars outside the physical and life sciences.
Scientists object to the terms evolutionism and evolutionist because the -ism and -ist suffixes accentuate belief rather than fact. Conversely, creationists use those same two terms precisely because the terms accentuate belief. Thereby the creationists deride the scientists' theories as mere belief that ignores divine intervention contrary to what creationists think is common sense.
As early as 400 BC the Greek atomists taught that the sun, earth, life, humans, civilization, and society emerged over eons from the eternal and uncreated atoms colliding and vibrating in the void--all without divine intervention.
Summary of the First Chapter of Robert Carneiro's Evolutionism in Cultural Anthropology: A Critical History (First chapter available as an "excerpt" at Amazon.com) [1]
Charles Darwin wrote his entire 1859 First Edition of Origin of Species without using the word evolution in it. [1] The word evolution in popular use in 1859 applied to a speculative explanation of how the world and life could be created from chance, probabilities, and the mere physical properties of atoms without ever an intervention of a Creator. For example in 1836, the month after Darwin returned from collecting his specimens and data on the Beagle, the The Times summarized "Buckland's Bridgewater Treatise: Geology And Mineralogy Considered With Reference To Natural Theology," and that 1836 review already contained the creationist argument that evolution was wrong because all variety of animals were found in the same geological strata: "The investigation of the newer transitionary strata assures us by their remains of the cotemporaneous existence of the four divisions of the animal kingdom, vertebrata, mollusca, articulata, and radiala--a fact which at once and for ever annihilates the doctrine of spontaneous and progressive evolution of life, and its impious corollary, chance." (London Times, Nov. 15, 1836, p. 3, col. E)
Though Darwin continued to exclude the word evolution from the first five editions of Origin of Species, Darwin's contemporaries, notably Herbert Spencer argued publicly that the theory of evolution explained how the universe, the world, animals, plants, civilization, ethics, laws, and art would result from the probabilities inherent in atoms that found themselves in favorable circumstances. For example, Spencer concerned himself with explaining how human culture and civilization would result from mere probabilities inherent in favorable circumstances even in the absence of a Creator's plan for how people should live. A Creator was not required to explain civilization, order, ethics, law, harmony, or beauty. Accordingly in 1851, eight years before Darwin's First Edition of Origin of Species, Spencer wrote: "[C]ivilization no longer appears to be a regular unfolding after a specific plan; but seems rather a development of man's latent capabilities under the action of favourable circumstances; which favourable circumstances, mark, were certain some time or other to occur. Those complex influences underlying the higher orders of natural phenomena, but more especially those underlying the organic world, work in subordination to the law of probabilities." [1]
Like Spencer, Thomas Huxley concerned himself with explaining how a world of sunlight, seas, rocks, gases, and trace minerals without a Creator could generate the full span of life, intelligence, and civilization. And according to Huxley, he argued often with Spencer about what mechanism could cause the "transmutation" from one type of animal to another, but Spencer could not provide a convincing mechanism. And in Huxley's words, "even my friend's rare dialectic skill and copiousness of illustration could not drive me from my agnostic position. I took my stand upon two grounds: firstly, that up to that time, the evidence in favor of transmutation was wholly insufficient; and, secondly, that no suggestion respecting the causes of the transmutation assumed, which had been made, was in any way adequate to explain the phenomena." [1]
According to Huxley, he could not believe the creationists, because they had no convincing evidence. "And, by way of being perfectly fair, I had exactly the same answer to give to the evolutionists of 1851-8." [1]
But according to Huxley, Darwin's 1859 Origin of Species provided the first explanation that was better than creation. "That which we were looking for and could not find, was a hypothesis respecting the origin of known organic forms, which assumed the operation of no causes but such as could be proved to be actually at work. We wanted, not to pin our faith to that or any other speculation, but to get hold of clear and definite conceptions which could be brought face to face with facts and have their validity tested. The 'Origin' provided us with the working hypothesis we sought." [1]
Not surprisingly, when Huxley tried to explain Darwin's working hypothesis to creationists, he encountered interesting resistance to examining reality. One observer noted the following event where Huxley in 1860 attempted to get the audience to deal with the empirical data on "Origins."
Early history of evolutionism
Evolutionism from 1836 to 1869
There are also other versions of this same event from other observers who claimed to have been there. [1]
In 1869, Thomas Huxley used the term evolutionism to refer to gradual geological processes when he wrote of the "three schools of geological speculation which I have termed Catastrophism, Uniformitarianism, and Evolutionism." (Scientific Opinion, Apr. 28, 1869, p. 487/1)
Evolutionism from 1869 to 1875
By 1872, in some scientific circles, the term evolutionism was used only to refer to life-form processes such as natural selection. Under this emerging usage, the term evolutionism specifically did not apply to either geological processes or to the origin of life as in abiogenesis. Thus, one reviewer wrote, "Evolutionism does not propose to explain the unfolding of life out of dead matter." (E. Fry, Spectator, Sep. 21, 1872, p. 1201)
Though Darwin had excluded the words evolution and evolutionist from the first five editions of Origin of Species, he imported both of the terms evolution and evolutionist into his Sixth Edition in 1872, as illustrated in the following examples.
- "If numerous species, belonging to the same genera or families, have really started into life at once, the fact would be fatal to the theory of evolution through natural selection."
- "It is admitted by most evolutionists that mammals are descended from a marsupial form; and if so, the mammary glands will have been at first developed within the marsupial sack." [1]
During this period, evolutionism was used to label scientific theories that explained the presence of humans on this earth without assistance from divine intervention. For example, one opponent of Darwin's theory of evolution said, "Evolutionism . . . excluded creation and theism." (Sir John W. Dawson, The Story of the Earth and Man (1873), p. 348)
Main article: Dialectical materialism
Today, the scientific community rarely uses either of the words evolutionist or evolutionism. However in America, the National Center for Science Education does use the related term "anti-evolutionism" to label the organized political and religious movement that opposes the teaching of evolution in public schools. For example, the National Center for Science Education website is dedicated to "defending the teaching of evolution in public schools," and that website offers the "resource" of a page about "Dealing with Anti-Evolutionism." [1]
In contrast, the words evolutionist and evolutionism are widely used by creationists and others in the United States who are opposed to the theory of evolution; they use those two words to imply that the scientific community's attachment to the theory of evolution is a matter of religious faith and is just another -ism, not a matter of scientific proof.
Furthermore, Young Earth creationists sometimes use the term evolutionism to attack the empirical methods of science generally, such as attacking geology and astronomy which have concluded that the Earth and the Universe are billions of years older than the young-earth creationists believe.
Opponents of evolutionary theory may also use the words evolutionist and evolutionism to characterize the philosophical systems that they attack, such as atheism, agnosticism, Secular Humanism, rationalism, and materialism. Also the opponents of evolution argue that the evolutionist faith in evolutionism entices men into extremist political ideologies such as fascism, communism, and Marxism. Additionally, the opponents argue that the evolutionist's belief in evolution leads to a selfish disregard for the value of life as manifested in eugenics, assisted suicide, and abortion. The pun "evil-utionism" provides a convenient insult to make fun of those who accept evolution as the origin of human life.
In 1994, John Peloza, a High school biology teacher in California, U.S.A, sued his school board in federal court, claiming that he was being forced to teach the "religion" of "evolutionism". The federal court dismissed the case, holding that Peloza's suit was "frivolous" and requiring Peloza to pay the school board's attorneys' fees and court costs. When Peloza appealed, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that 1) "evolution" and "evolutionism" were synonymous, 2) "evolution" and "evolutionism" say nothing about "how the universe was created" or "whether or not there is a divine Creator," 3) "evolution" and "evolutionism" are not religions so the state can teach them in public schools as long as "evolution" and "evolutionism" do not state the "belief that the universe came into existence without a Creator," 4) Peloza's suit was not frivolous so he did not have to pay the school board's attorneys' fees and court costs, but 5) the Court of Appeals agreed with the lower court in dismissing Peloza's case thus allowing the state school boards to continue requiring biology teachers to teach "evolution" and "evolutionism." [1]
This is an Article on Evolutionism. Page Contains Information, Facts Details or Explanation Guide About Evolutionism Evolutionism 1875 to the present
Cultural anthropology
Sociology
History of ideas
Marxist thought
Secular Judaism
Modern controversies
See also
References
External links