A Spandrel in the Works

In 1979 Stephen Jay Gould and genetecist Richard C. Lewontin presented the paper “The Spandrels of San Marco and the Panglossian Paradigm: A Critique of the Adaptationist Programme”.  What do spandrels have to do with evolution and biology?  Sometimes, things are...

The Eclipse: A Watchmaker

In Part 4 of a 4 Part Series on “The Eclipse of Darwinism”, we take a look at William Paley’s watch analogy and how it evolved into another explanation for the abundance and intricacies of life around us.  Evolution Talk is also a book! You can find...

The Eclipse: Mutationism

In Part 3 of a 4 Part Series on “The Eclipse of Darwinism”, we take a look at “Mutationism”.  Can a new species evolve in a single step or is it a series of gradual, accumulated changes as Darwinian evolution suggests? Evolution Talk is also a...

The Eclipse: Neo-Lamarkism

In Part 2 of a 4 Part Series on “The Eclipse of Darwinism”, we take a look at “Neo-Lamarkism” as proposed by Jean-Baptiste Lamark.  Proponents hoped it would push Darwinian evolution aside as the principal force behind the evolution of species....

The Eclipse of Darwinism

After Charles Darwin’s death, the period from the 1880s to the 1920s is known as “The Eclipse of Darwinism”.  Coined by Julian Huxley, it was a time where alternative theories to explain evolution sought to push Natural Selection aside.  ...