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'Neo-Darwinism'-- what the heck does this precisely mean?
Posted by: Yellow Bellied Sap Sucker on August 02, 1999 at 12:07:43:
What does "Neo-Darwinism" mean? I know what Social darwinism is, it is the mistaken belief that since natural selection occurrs in Nature, we should apply it to our own species. I know what evolution is, as well as natural selection (PLEASE do not reply just to explain what evolution is. I want whatever the distinction is between the theory of evolution and "Neo-Darwinism") Is "neo-darwinism" actually a name for neo-social-darwinism? Or is it the creation of some confused soul who is actually talking about evolution? None of the zoology professors I have talked to know what "neo-darwinism" is, meaning that the name has no scientific meaning (at least in biology). Why, also, is it "neo?" Is there an old-darwinism? Darwin's theory of evolution by means of natural selection has not been (scientifically) challenged in its entirety since the publication of _Origin..._, which indicates to me that whatever "neo-darwinism" is in the minds of those who invented the name, it is not the same as evolution. And hence my curiosity.
Oh yes, I also notice that this forum is "the debating room," indicating to me that perhaps some of you might like to chalenge my assertions. I would love to discuss such things, but do ask that anyone doing such please set straight the semantics involved... nothing is worse than agruing with somone just to discover that definitions or basic assumptions involved in the discussion do not correlate.
-Sap Sucker
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