Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun Darwinism as modified by the findings of modern genetics.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun New or modified Darwinism; specifically, the doctrine or opinion that the survival of the fittest, in the struggle for existence, is an all-sufficient account of the origin of species, as contrasted with Darwin's opinion that natural selection is an important, but not the exclusive means of modification.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun The theory which holds natural selection, as explained by Darwin, to be the chief factor in the evolution of plants and animals, and denies the inheritance of acquired characters; -- esp. opposed to
Neo-Lamarckism . Weismannism is an example of extreme Neo-Darwinism.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a modern Darwinian theory that explains new species in terms of genetic mutations
Etymologies
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Examples
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For example, two of the founders of “Neo-Darwinism” – R.A. Fisher and Theodosious Dobzhansky – were devout Christians, and found no contradiction between their understanding of evolutionary biology and their religious beliefs.
Crossroads 2009
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This is an empirically testable hypothesis, one which contradicts a key assumption of Neo-Darwinism.
Crossroads 2009
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* Her criticisms of "Neo-Darwinism" are very specific and refer to certain out-dated attitudes which are no longer prevalent in Margulis 'field.
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This new theory, or New Synthesis — more commonly known as Neo-Darwinism — is the school that now dominates the scientific landscape.
Crossroads 2009
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Well not exactly, Neo-Darwinism sees random mutation as the main mechanism behind evolution.
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Well not exactly, Neo-Darwinism sees random mutation as the main mechanism behind evolution.
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"Did Neo-Darwinism predict co-option of a body part from one species to form an extremely similar-looking body part on another species but with an entirely different placement and function?"
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If by "Neo-Darwinism" you mean current evolutionary theory, the answer is "yes"; that's exactly what exaptation is all about.
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Did Neo-Darwinism predict co-option of a body part from one species to form an extremely similar-looking body part on another species but with an entirely different placement and function?
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This is an empirically testable hypothesis, one which contradicts a key assumption of Neo-Darwinism.
Crossroads 2009
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