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

See Examples For:

doctrine of descent

Until the doctrine of descent was accepted there was no way of explaining the presence of these fossil remains of extinct animals in the earth's crust.

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

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

But it is the doctrine of descent based upon natural selection that is Darwinism itself.

From Naturalism And Religion by Rudolf Otto

Then the doctrine of descent was struggling for existence against principalities and powers both temporal and spiritual, and then it was still relevant to pit it against the theory of special creations.

From Herbert Spencer by J. Arthur (John Arthur) Thomson

A quite new light was thrown on this, as on every other morphological question, as soon as Darwin in 1859 had once more put into our hands the torch of the doctrine of descent.

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