DARWIN UNIT
Terms
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- Theory
- Unproven concept that's experimented with in order to prove or disprove predictions. Darwin's theory of evolution remains topic of discussion because of science vs. religion debates over the origin of life, and even more controversially, man.
- Intelligent Design
- Belief in an intelligent creator of the universe and life, often referred to by the example of "God as the watchmaker & the watch is stumbled upon". Developed by American Creationists who reformulated their arguments in the creation/evolution debate to circumvent the court ruling involving separation of church and state
- Reproductive success
- Passage of genes onto next generation that increased the fitness and adaptation of individual. Darwin believed natural selection promoted variable traits in populations by mutations that increased reproductive success
- Mutations
- Changes to nucleotide sequencing of genes caused by copying errors that add variability in the gene pool. Darwin believed that mutations that were advantageous for an organism would be more likely to pass that successful characteristic on.
- Survival of the fittest
- Phrase coined by the father of Social Darwinism, who applied Charles Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection to society, describing the success of the organism which has a special quality that improves adaptation to environment and fitness that will be passed through genes because of success.
- Economic Social Darwinism
- A subset of Metaphysical Social Darwinism in which an American support of Herbert Spencer defends laissez faire capitalism because it promotes social progress by rewarding diligence and financial responsibility while punishing laziness and wastefulness.
- Atavism
- An ancestral (usually useless to organism how) characteristic that suddenly and inexplicably appears in a descendant. Legs on whale skeletons are an example of this phenomenon that prove evolution by linking the organism with a common ancestor by the expression of genes still present in the organism that are no longer expressed
- Synthetic philosophy
- Philosophy that takes one idea and applies it to many aspects of life. Herbert Spencer applied Darwin's theory of evolution that was built on a synthesis from many fields and applied it to society, seeking to apply laws of science to the interactions of humans.
- Wilberforce-Huxley Debate
- Debate in 1860 at Oxford between fierce advocate of Darwin and supporter of evolutionary theory, Thomas Huxley and Bishop Samuel Wilberforce, who rejected Darwin's theories, that created a splash of support for Darwin's theories that eventually faded.
- William Graham Sumner
- American supporter of Herbert Spencer that supported laissez-faire capitalism because it promotes social progress by rewarding diligence and financial responsibility while punishing laziness and wastefulness, applying Darwin's "survival of the fittest" attitude of evolution to economics
- Natural Selection
- Mechanism for evolution described by Darwin, in which the genotype associated with a favorable phenotype increases in a population over generations of organism resulting in specialized adaptations.
- Galapagos Islands
- An archipelago of islands off of South America with a variety of species studied by Charles Darwin during his voyage of the Beagle that contributed to Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection
- Racial Social Darwinism
- Theory that certain ethnic groups (ex. Germans and "Aryans") are genetically superior to, and have right to dominate others because of interpretation of evolutionary theory's slogan of "Survival of the Fittest" with "Victory over weak and inferior". Most drastic illustration of Racial Social Darwinism is the eugenics movement and Nazi Germany's attempted extermination of racial groups during the Holocaust because of their "undesirable" hereditable traits
- New Criticism
- A new attitude towards Scripture that arose during a period of time of Faith and Doubt in the claims of religion due to Darwin's groundbreaking theory of evolution. The movement characteristically paid more attention to history, culture, and language while seeing the Bible as a collection that includes parables, continuing the clash of constant scientific questioning and traditional religious views.
- Herbert Spencer
- Father of Social Darwinism, first to try to apply Darwin's theory of evolution to society. Coined term "Survival of the Fittest" to describe Darwin's theory of natural selection, though he extended this concept to sociology and ethics and applies scientific truths to establish social laws.
- Eugenics
- A social philosophy and movement of the first half of the 19th century in response to the new science of genetics that aimed to improve the humans through higher reproduction of people with desirable heritable traits and discouragement of undesirable reproduction using discrimination, sterilization, or extermination (Nazi Germany) against racial groups and the disabled or ill.
- Creationism
- The religious belief that life on Earth and the universe was originally created by a deity that rejects Darwin's theories of evolution and continues to spark controversy with evolutionary theory today.
- Cardinal Newman
- : Roman Catholic priest and cardinal of 1800s that wrote a number of influential books, including the "Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine" (1845) and reconciled Catholicism with evolution and the laws of science by suggesting God created matter and created laws that would guide the construction and gradual adaptation of life.
- Modern Synthesis
- Compilation and union of ideas from several subjects that give proof to the evolutionary theory. Social Darwinism and Darwin's mechanism of evolution called natural selection were reconciled by drawing ideas from several disciplines to form a synthesis for evolutionary theories.
- Stratification
- Layers in Earth's surface studied by scientist Lyell that explain principles of uniformitarianism (anything that happens in the past, like natural disasters and extinctions, are no greater than anything that can happen today) and support the Earth being older than the Church & refutes the Creationism that causes controversy with Darwin's evolutionary theory
- Natural Theology
- Branch of theology based on ordinary experiences and attempts to explain God(s) rationally. William Paley wrote a well known argument for God named this term that describes the watchmaker analogy often referenced by believers of Intelligent Design, an attempt to reconcile the beliefs of faith with the new scientific discoveries made by men like Charles Darwin
- Synthesis
- Collection of ideas from several subjects resulting in the creation of a new idea. Charles Darwin created a synthesis from many subjects and his own observations to establish his theory of evolution by natural selection
- Theism
- Term used for the belief in one deity, in constant conflict to an 18th century view of deism, which created the Earth and leaves it to be run on set laws. Theism is supported by creationists that debate Darwin's theory of evolution as the source of life's diversity on the planet
- Genetics
- Scientific study of heredity and variations of organisms fathered by monk Gregor Mendel, whose experimentation with pea plants allowed him to mathematically explain the simple rules and ratios by basic units of inheritance called genes. Since the founding of modern genetics, scientists have discovered many beneficial applications, but not without creating possible ethical issues.
- Fixity of Species
- Concept supported by Church that states the number of species is still the same as it was at Earth's beginning that was doubted by Darwin. Darwin's observations of the transmutation and discovery of extinction by Cuvier disproved religion's claims and supported the theory of evolution.
- Agnositicism
- Term coined by Darwin supporter Thomas Huxley to describe a view that neither denies nor accepts the existence of God. The term was first used in 1869, and likely was a response to the conflict presented between religion and science by Darwin's theory and conflicting new theories of development with the Book of Genesis and other doctrines.
- Laissez-faire capitalism
- Concept of economics strongly supported by Social Darwinism and American supporter of Herbert Spencer, William Sumner that promotes social progress by rewarding diligence and financial responsibility while punishing laziness and wastefulness
- Thomas Huxley
- An English biologist and fierce advocate known for his pivotal argument with Samuel Wilberforce in 1860 that was a key moment in the wider acceptance of evolution and coined the term "agnostic" to describe an uncertainty of the presence of God based on lack of proof.
- Variable traits
- Heritable traits among individuals that are passed on determined by impact on the fitness and reproductive success of the organism. Charles Darwin believed that through natural selection, variable traits are passed on through the differential reproductive success and gradually change the composition of the population
- Gregor Mendel
- Austrian monk and scientist of 1800s regarded as the father of genetics because of his study of inheritance using pea plants. The scientist showed heredity follows laws that would not be rediscovered until turn of the 20th century
- Thomas Malthus
- Economist and demographer that analyzed population growth and the dynamics regarding resources that influence evolutionary theory's (Darwin, Spencer) mechanism, for natural selection (fittest individuals more likely to reproduce)
- Catatrophicism
- Belief presented by authority at time of Darwin on extinct and living species, Cuvier. Concept that describes how God allows huge events to kill of species.
- Uniformitarianism
- Claim supported by Hutton and Lyell that states that anything that happens in the past, like natural disasters and extinctions, are no great than anything that can happen today.
- Naturalistic fallacy
- Logical fallacy committed by Social Darwinism that mistakes confusing facts and value by "saying how things are, and then assumes that's how it should be".
- HMS Beagle
- English boat on which Darwin traveled the world, recording observations (especially in the Galapagos Islands) that provided scientific evidence for Darwin's groundbreaking theory of evolution by natural selection
- Metaphysical Social Darwinism
- An interpretation of the theory of evolution that sees it as implying the inevitability of process that was supported by Herbert Spencer, the father of Social Darwinism. Spencer described evolution as the "survival of the fittest" and applied Darwin's theory to society in his work "Social Statics", which pointed out the two parts of our environment (natural and social) and claimed moral progress is necessary for humanity (aggression and violence should be dismissed for cooperation and peacefulness)
- Hypothesis
- A suggested explanation based on previous observations or on extensions of scientific theories. The element of the scientific method that the conclusion proves or disproves.