ultra-Darwinism

English

Alternative forms

• ultraDarwinism
• ultra-darwinism
• ultradarwinism

Etymology

From ultra- +‎ Darwinism. Coined by Stephen Jay Gould.

Noun

ultra-Darwinism (uncountable)

1. A belief system based heavily on Darwinism and evolutionism. Believers in it see Charles Darwin's work as vital, even all-encompassing, and usually see atheism as an implication of evolution.
   • 2011 June 24, Conor Cunningham, “Richard Dawkins the Neanderthal, and Darwin's pious idea”, in ABC News‎^[1]:

     "On the one hand, we can embrace restrictive naturalism, and ultra-Darwinism, the no-nonsense, hard-nosed stance that accepts the limits of naturalistic explanation no matter the consequences, even if they include incoherence, rabid scepticism and the undermining of science."

   • 2017 April 17, Phil Madgwick, “Totalitarian Genesmanship I: on Superman’s sperm-count”, in Medium‎^[2]:

     "Dawkins was a strong advocate of what became known as ultra-Darwinism, which (as a caricature at least) attempted to explain all of evolution with respect to genes."