Monday, September 8, 2025
Science
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • SCIENCE NEWS
  • CONTACT US
  • HOME
  • SCIENCE NEWS
  • CONTACT US
No Result
View All Result
Scienmag
No Result
View All Result
Home Science News Biology

A unified account of Darwinism’s varieties

May 28, 2024
in Biology
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0
A unified account of Darwinism’s varieties
65
SHARES
595
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
ADVERTISEMENT

A new paper published in The Quarterly Review of Biology examines the question of what Darwinism is and how its nonscientific uses relate to the scientific theory of evolution.

A new paper published in The Quarterly Review of Biology examines the question of what Darwinism is and how its nonscientific uses relate to the scientific theory of evolution.

Charles Darwin published On the Origin of Species in 1859 as a work in biology. However, in the past century and a half, Darwin’s ideas have impacted a broad range of domains and stimulated scientists and scholars to advance “evolutionary approaches” in domains as diverse as economics, engineering, psychology, and history. The ideas have been used (and abused) to undermine religiously inspired ideas about the origin of humans and their status concerning other species, to support state-sponsored eugenicist policies, or to support laissez-faire economic policies.

In “The Varieties of Darwinism: Explanation, Logic, and Worldview,” authors Hugh Desmond, André Ariew, Philippe Huneman, and Thomas Reydon observe that while some people claim Darwinism’s meaning should be limited to scientific content, others call for its abolition altogether. The authors propose a unified account of these varieties of Darwinism. “We show how the theories introduced by Darwin have grounded a ‘logic’ or style of reasoning about phenomena, as well as various ethically and politically charged ‘worldviews.’” They posit that the full meaning of Darwinism and how this meaning has changed over time can only be understood through the interaction between these dimensions.

The authors point out that while it is not novel to ask the question “What is Darwinism?” novel sources of confusion warrant revisiting the question. They provide a framework to make sense of how the different significant uses of the term interrelate and what, if any, such ethical and political uses of the term Darwinism have to do with the underlying scientific dimension of Darwinism.

The authors argue against the view that “they have nothing to do with each other.” They advance a “thick” conception of Darwinism, where the scientific, ethical, and political dimensions are understood to be intertwined and constitute Darwinism’s full meaning. In their account of the thick conception of Darwinism, the authors rely on Darwinism as an explanatory scheme, Darwinism as logic or methodology, and Darwinism as a worldview or ideology.

The authors conclude that restricting Darwinism to a purely scientific context is not ideal, noting that theoretical elements play a methodological role in structuring scientific inquiry into natural phenomena. They conceded that while the thick conception complicates the analysis of Darwinism it is necessary to do justice to the richness of Darwinism and its influence in the past century and a half.


The premier review journal in biology, The Quarterly Review of Biology has presented insightful historical, philosophical, and technical treatments of important biological topics since 1926. The QRB publishes outstanding review articles of generous length that are guided by an expansive, inclusive, and often humanistic understanding of biology.



Journal

The Quarterly Review of Biology

DOI

10.1086/730667

Article Title

The Varieties of Darwinism: Explanation, Logic, and Worldview

Share26Tweet16
Previous Post

Marketers can manage ‘feature creep’

Next Post

The world’s strongest ionizing terahertz radiation

Related Posts

blank
Biology

Leaf Beetle Evolution Boosts Defense Against Shared Wasp

September 8, 2025
blank
Biology

Evaluating Impact of Environment on Kenyan Donkey Welfare

September 8, 2025
blank
Biology

Mountain Frogs’ Niche Adaptation to Climate Change

September 8, 2025
blank
Biology

Neon Signals: Flashlight Fish Communicate in Darkness

September 7, 2025
blank
Biology

ECG Insights on Stress in Scorpion Mud Turtle

September 7, 2025
blank
Biology

Refining Bat Species Identification with VGG16-CBAM

September 7, 2025
Next Post
Figure | Focused terahertz pulse ionizing a solid target.

The world's strongest ionizing terahertz radiation

  • Mothers who receive childcare support from maternal grandparents show more parental warmth, finds NTU Singapore study

    Mothers who receive childcare support from maternal grandparents show more parental warmth, finds NTU Singapore study

    27545 shares
    Share 11015 Tweet 6884
  • University of Seville Breaks 120-Year-Old Mystery, Revises a Key Einstein Concept

    961 shares
    Share 384 Tweet 240
  • Bee body mass, pathogens and local climate influence heat tolerance

    643 shares
    Share 257 Tweet 161
  • Researchers record first-ever images and data of a shark experiencing a boat strike

    510 shares
    Share 204 Tweet 128
  • Warm seawater speeding up melting of ‘Doomsday Glacier,’ scientists warn

    313 shares
    Share 125 Tweet 78
Science

Embark on a thrilling journey of discovery with Scienmag.com—your ultimate source for cutting-edge breakthroughs. Immerse yourself in a world where curiosity knows no limits and tomorrow’s possibilities become today’s reality!

RECENT NEWS

  • Boosting Preschool Vocabulary with Structured Reading Interventions
  • Leaf Beetle Evolution Boosts Defense Against Shared Wasp
  • Evaluating Impact of Environment on Kenyan Donkey Welfare
  • Protecting Youth from the Risks of Sports Betting Advertising in Canada

Categories

  • Agriculture
  • Anthropology
  • Archaeology
  • Athmospheric
  • Biology
  • Blog
  • Bussines
  • Cancer
  • Chemistry
  • Climate
  • Earth Science
  • Marine
  • Mathematics
  • Medicine
  • Pediatry
  • Policy
  • Psychology & Psychiatry
  • Science Education
  • Social Science
  • Space
  • Technology and Engineering

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 5,183 other subscribers

© 2025 Scienmag - Science Magazine

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • HOME
  • SCIENCE NEWS
  • CONTACT US

© 2025 Scienmag - Science Magazine

Discover more from Science

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading