neo-Darwinism

[ nee-oh-dahr-wi-niz-uhm ]

noun

, Biology.

1. the theory of evolution as expounded by later students of Charles Darwin, especially Weismann, holding that natural selection accounts for evolution and denying the inheritance of acquired characters.
2. any modern theory of evolution holding that species evolve by natural selection acting on genetic variation.

Neo-Darwinism

/ ˌniːəʊˈdɑːwɪnˌɪzəm /

noun

1. the modern version of the Darwinian theory of evolution, which incorporates the principles of genetics to explain how inheritable variations can arise by mutation

Neo-Darwinism

/ nē′ō-där′wə-nĭz′əm /

1. Darwinism as modified by the findings of modern genetics, stating that mutations due to random copying errors in DNA cause variation within a population of individual organisms and that natural selection acts upon these variations.

Derived Forms

• ˌNeo-Darˈwinian, adjectivenoun

Other Words From

• neo-Dar·wini·an adjective noun
• neo-Darwin·ist noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of neo-Darwinism¹

First recorded in 1900–05

Example Sentences

We would emphasise that it is not Darwinism we are attacking, but that which is erroneously called Neo-Darwinism.

From Project Gutenberg

Neo-Darwinism is a pathological growth on Darwinism, which, we fear, can be removed only by a surgical operation.

From Project Gutenberg

This affords a striking instance of the pernicious influence which Neo-Darwinism is exercising on the minds of men to-day.

From Project Gutenberg

I had as yet no idea that a writer could attack Neo-Darwinism without attacking evolution.

From Project Gutenberg