doctrine of descent

British  

noun

1. the theory that animals and plants arose by descent from previously existing organisms; theory of evolution

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Example Sentences

But it was made sufficiently plain, and the public laid hold of the point eagerly, that the doctrine of descent was not meant to exclude man from the field of its operation.

From Thomas Henry Huxley; A Sketch Of His Life And Work by Mitchell, P. Chalmers (Peter Chalmers)

On reading this statement, which seems extracted from the Berlin "Kreuz-Zeitung," or the Vienna "Vaterland," I ask myself in surprise, "What in the world has the doctrine of descent to do with socialism?"

From Freedom in Science and Teaching. from the German of Ernst Haeckel by Huxley, Thomas Henry

De Vries' theory in no way affects the doctrine of descent, nor does it take away from the importance of natural selection in fixing the variations.

From Sociology and Modern Social Problems by Ellwood, Charles A. (Charles Abram)

Obviously all these facts are formally explained by the doctrine of descent.

From Form and Function A Contribution to the History of Animal Morphology by E. S. (Edward Stuart) Russell

On the contrary, Virchow takes them quite easily, sets them aside, and declares that "certain proofs" of the doctrine of descent do not exist, but remain to be discovered.

From Freedom in Science and Teaching. from the German of Ernst Haeckel by Huxley, Thomas Henry