My dear J.R.;-
    "Darwinism" will not be tossed into the dustbin of either history or science. Even if it is no longer accepted specifically as an explanation of "Wha' happen?", it has been around long enough to have become the generality for evolutionary mechanisms. Also, it's easier to say than "punctuated equalibrium".
    Funny thing---I'm finally reading the book. Like all of us, I have discussed it and posed as an expert on it for many years. But (also, like most of) I never read it. It's difficult reading. And (surprise) most of Darwins examples come from his back yard or walks in the country.
    I think we will keep the term (Darwinism). After all, he and Wallace did lead the way.
     Art
>
> From: ross mayhew <[log in to unmask]>
> Date: 2004/10/04 Mon AM 02:00:27 EDT
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: "Darwinism"
>
> It has been suggested that "politics and religion" not be discussed on
> the list.  I heartily agree: this is NOT the forum for these particular
> topics!!  That said, i do not see that a discussion regarding competing
> worldviews (represented in this case by the "creationist" and
> "evolutionist" factions) which present dramatically different
> perspectives regarding how the world we see around us has developed and
> changed over time, is out of place on a scientifically oriented
> discussion list (even though the "science" on one side of the fence is a
> bit thin - to be kind...). There are some who opine that we should
> slavishly stick to 100% mollusc-oriented topics, but i think that some
> "general science" threads should also be fair game from time to time.
>
> At any rate, the word "Darwinism" has been tossed around by individuals
> on both sides of the debate, in a manner that suggests it actually
> represents the prevailing paradigm of evolution-oriented science in the
> 21st century.  News flash: it doesn't!!!  The systemmatic, step-by-step,
> mutation-by-mutation, "survival of the fittest" over long periods of
> time approach to species differentiation and survival, although
> surprisingly often still taught to our society's children, has been
> replaced in the mainstream scientific community over the past few
> decades, by an extremely diverse range of opinions and approaches to
> speciation: "puctuated equillibrium", where rapidly changing
> environmental conditions on a local, regional or even global scale favor
> and promote the equally rapid development of new species, is a popular
> concept, as are various and sundry versions of the "hopeful monster"
> theory-set.  I'm sure most members of the list can think of **at least**
> a half-dozen proposed methods of speciation which enjoy some standing
> with and support from scientists of good reputation at the opening of
> the 21st century - and indeed, they are not mutually exclusive: the
> whole lot of them may be applicable in various ecological contexts,
> geological eras and time-frames!!  So, let us retire the concept and
> term "Darwinism" to the dust-bin of science: while it does indeed refer
> to a particular viewpoint regarding speciation, but does not accurately
> describe the theories and viewpoints prelevant within the general
> scientific community 150 years after Darwin's book "The Origin of
> Species" was published.
>
> With Regards from Damp ol' New Scotland,
> Joseph Ross Mayhew.
>
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