What does evolutionism mean?
Evolutionism is the doctrine or body of theory holding that organisms — and sometimes societies — have developed through a process of gradual, cumulative change rather than having been created in their present form. In its primary sense, it refers to the scientific position that living things have descended with modification from common ancestors, a view established by Darwin's theory of natural selection. In a secondary sense, particularly within nineteenth-century anthropology and sociology, evolutionism describes the idea that human cultures progress through successive stages of increasing complexity. The word is chiefly encountered in historical, philosophical, and academic contexts: working scientists today tend to say simply 'evolution' rather than 'evolutionism', since the latter can imply an ideological commitment rather than an evidence-based conclusion. Its principal counterpart is creationism, which holds that species arose through acts of special creation. Understanding 'evolutionism' is useful for reading older scholarship on science, religion, and social theory.
nounThe theory or belief that species and organisms develop through a process of gradual evolution, especially as opposed to special creation. More broadly, the doctrine that change or development proceeds by gradual, continuous evolution.
- The scientific doctrine that living organisms have developed from earlier forms through evolution, especially by natural selection.
- (In social sciences) The view that human societies progress through stages of increasing complexity toward more advanced forms.
"Darwin's theory of natural selection became the cornerstone of modern evolutionism."
"Nineteenth-century evolutionism challenged traditional accounts of creation and provoked fierce debate in religious circles."
"Early anthropologists often embraced a form of cultural evolutionism, ranking societies along a single ladder of progress."
Rarely used in the plural, but occasionally found in academic writing to distinguish different schools or varieties of evolutionary thought.
"Historians of anthropology distinguish several distinct nineteenth-century evolutionisms."
Before Darwin, 'evolutionism' already existed — but it described an idea closer to embryology than to monkeys.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of evolutionism
Evolutionism derives from 'evolution', which comes from the Latin 'evolutio' meaning 'an unrolling' (from 'evolvere', 'to unroll'), via French and English usage. The suffix '-ism' was added in the nineteenth century to form a name for the doctrine associated with evolutionary ideas, at a time when theories of transmutation and organic development were being hotly debated. It shares its root with related words such as 'evolution', 'evolve', and 'evolutionary'.
How evolutionism is actually used
The word is largely historical and scholarly in register; modern biologists usually speak simply of 'evolution' or 'evolutionary biology' rather than 'evolutionism'. In discussions of religion and science, it can carry a slightly polemical tone when used to characterise evolutionary thought as an '-ism' or ideology.
Easily confused with evolutionism
'Evolution' refers to the actual biological or developmental process itself, while 'evolutionism' is the doctrine, ideology, or belief system built around that process.
'Darwinism' specifically denotes Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection, whereas 'evolutionism' is a broader term for evolutionary doctrines generally, including pre-Darwinian ones.