Definitions of Evolution

[Mark Drake]

Following are some definitions of evolution copied from the talk.origins faq
titled "What is Evolution?", by Larry A. Moran
(lam...@gpu.utcs.utoronto.ca). I felt that even though this thread was
dying down, a little precision in definitions would be a good thing to
provide.

Mark
Mark...@aol.com

ps. If this comes out with the format destroyed, I'll repost it.
Hopefully it will come out legibly.

1.

One of the most respected evolutionary biologists has defined biological
evolution as follows,

"In the broadest sense, evolution is merely change, and so is
all-pervasive; galaxies, languages, and political systems all
evolve. Biological evolution ... is change in the properties
of populations of organisms that transcend the lifetime of a
single individual. The ontogeny of an individual is not considered
evolution; individual organisms do not evolve. The changes in
populations that are considered evolutionary are those that are
inheritable via the genetic material from one generation to the
next. Biological evolution may be slight or substantial; it embraces
everything from slight changes in the proportion of different
alleles within a population (such as those determining blood
types) to the successive alterations that led from the earliest
protoorganism to snails, bees, giraffes, and dandelions."

Douglas J. Futuyma in Evolutionary Biology, Sinauer Associates 1986

2.
Evolution is a process that results in heritable changes in a
population spread over many generations

3.
"In fact, evolution can be precisely defined as any change in the
frequency of alleles within a gene pool from one generation to
the next."

Helena Curtis and N. Sue Barnes BIOLOGY 5th ed. 1989
Worth Publishers, p.974

Following are some definitions that Mr. Moran considers _ wrong _, for
different reasons. (You can read the reasons yourself in his FAQ. If you
want to read it, I'll send you instructions on how to get it.)

4.
For example, in the Oxford Concise Science Dictionary
we find the following definition;

"evolution: The gradual process by which the present diversity
of plant and animal life arose from the earliest and most primitive
organisms, which is believed to have been continuing for the
past 3000 million years."

5.
Standard dictionaries are even worse.

"evolution: ...the doctrine according to which higher forms of
life have gradually arisen out of lower.." Chambers

"evolution: ...the development of a species, organism, or organ
from its original or primitive state to its present or
specialized state; phylogeny or ontogeny: Webster's

These definitions are simp
ly wrong

[Tom H Sathre]

Your definitions about evolution, which you posted today to CHRISTIA,
are, you say, "simply wrong". Please fill us in about what standard they
fail; after all, you are quite explicit about the respect of their
authors.