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

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doctrine of descent

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 P. Chalmers (Peter Chalmers) Mitchell

These differences occur even with reference to the fundamental doctrine generally adhered to, the doctrine of descent.

From Naturalism And Religion by Rudolf Otto

It was he who discovered the vestigial teeth of the baleen whale and those of embryo birds, and the bearing of this on the doctrine of descent must have been obvious to him.

From Lamarck, the Founder of Evolution His Life and Work by A. S. (Alpheus Spring) Packard

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

The immense importance of this conclusion becomes plain, and the conclusion itself seems obvious, when seen in the light of the doctrine of descent.

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