Evolutionism is a theory that defends the species evolution process of living beings, through slow and progressive changes consonant to the environment in which they live.
One of the biggest names in Evolutionism was the British naturalist Charles Darwin (1809 - 1882), who developed in the 19th century a set of studies that gave rise to the Darwinism, a theory considered synonymous with Evolutionism, establishing himself as the "father of the Theory of Evolution".
Learn more about the meaning of Darwinism.
However, before that the Frenchman Jean-Baptiste Lamarck had already presented some studies that opposed the traditional creationist model, indicating that contemporary living beings were an evolution of more primitives.
Lamark was on the right path, but he believed that the organs and functions of living beings that were used most developed, while those that were less used atrophied. These modifications, according to the Law of Inheritance of Acquired Characters, should be passed on to the descendants. However, organisms are not able to control their own development, as would be justifiable in Lamark's theory.
Another factor that favored Darwin's studies over Lamark's was the lack of scientific evidence presented. by French, while Darwin spent several years traveling and analyzing the various species to publish the work "The Origin of Species".
Darwinian doctrine says that environments "select" the most suitable organisms to inhabit a given place, which Darwin called "Natural selection".
The species that show more ease in surviving certain environments, multiply, evolve and their descendants will dominate that region. Organisms that are not able to adapt to the environment in which they live will be extinct.
According to Darwin's conclusions, there have always been variations between species that provide greater ease of survival compared to others. These factors aid in the propagation of these more adapted organisms, eliminating the weaker ones.
The call Neo-Darwinism it is an evolution of the studies presented by Darwin, with the discovery of new branches and sciences, such as Genetics and Mutation. These findings helped to explain some gaps left in Darwin's research.
The human beings (homo sapiens sapiens), according to Evolutionism, it would have emerged from a process of evolution of other species that have already been extinct, such as the homo erectus it's the homo habilis. Humans do not descend from apes, as many believe, but from the ancestors who gave rise to the human race and other primates today, for example.
See also the meaning of Evolution theory.
Evolutionism and Creationism
Evolutionism is the opposite theory to Creationism, as it does not admit the participation of an entity or divine being in the creation of the species of living beings that exist on Earth.
For Creationism, the life would be a work of a divine entity, while for evolutionism the multiplicity of existing organisms is the result of the slow and progressive modification of some species, through mutations and evolutions.
Learn more about the meaning of creationism.
social evolutionism
Social Evolutionism, also known as "Social Darwinism" or "Scientific Racism", is a current of thought anthropological that uses the principles of the theory of evolution of species to justify the development of societies.
According to Social Evolutionism, social groups start in an animalistic state and go on developing as they become more civilized.
Social Evolutionism, namely Social Darwinism, helped to propagate ideas of racism, such as imperialism, fascism and Nazism, generating a deplorable war between social and ethnic groups.
This theory believed that there were human societies superior to others, and that these should "dominate" the inferior ones in order to "civilize" them and help them in their "development".
Learn more about the meaning of social evolutionism.
