Views on the origin of living things
The answers to how living things arose and why they are so diverse are not a single “theory of evolution”. This journey visits the views in the order they appeared; the order is not a ranking and no view is offered as the conclusion. Each stop has its own claims, evidence and counter-evidence.
This page delivers no verdict; it presents claims and evidence with their sources. No theory in science is absolute.
Stop 1BiologyQuestion
The first origin of life (abiogenesis)
How the first living thing arose from non-living matter is an open question; some building blocks have been made in the laboratory, but no living cell.
Claims, evidence and sources →Stop 21809BiologyIdea / theory / claim
Lamarck and the inheritance of acquired characteristics
Lamarck held that acquired characteristics are passed to offspring. Studies of epigenetics have reopened the question.
Claims, evidence and sources →Stop 3November 1859BiologyIdea / theory / claim
Darwin and Wallace, natural selection
Darwin and Wallace proposed that species change over time through heritable variation and natural selection.
Claims, evidence and sources →Stop 41961BiologyIdea / theory / claim
Creationism
Creationism holds that species were created directly and separately by God; its branches differ on the age of the Earth.
Claims, evidence and sources →Stop 51942BiologyIdea / theory / claim
The modern synthesis (neo-Darwinism)
The modern synthesis joined natural selection with Mendelian genetics and defined evolution as change in gene frequencies.
Claims, evidence and sources →Stop 61968BiologyIdea / theory / claim
The neutral theory
Kimura proposed that most change at the molecular level comes not from selection but from random drift.
Claims, evidence and sources →Stop 71972BiologyIdea / theory / claim
Punctuated equilibrium
Eldredge and Gould argued that species stay largely unchanged for long periods and that change is concentrated in short bursts.
Claims, evidence and sources →Stop 81996BiologyIdea / theory / claim
Intelligent design
Advocates of intelligent design argue that some structures are too complex to be explained by step-by-step processes.
Claims, evidence and sources →Stop 92006BiologyIdea / theory / claim
Theistic evolution (evolutionary creation)
Theistic evolution holds that God created living things through evolutionary processes.
Claims, evidence and sources →Stop 102015BiologyIdea / theory / claim
The extended evolutionary synthesis
Biologists calling for an extended synthesis want processes such as development and niche construction to play a more central part in the theory.
Claims, evidence and sources →Stop 112021BiologyIdea / theory / claim
Views on the origin of living things in Islamic thought
Islamic thought has no single view either; approaches range from the separate creation of species to evolution as a way of creation.
Claims, evidence and sources →
Other journeys
- The story of the atom · 7 stops
- From the night sky to the beginning of the universe · 11 stops
- The journey of medicine · 8 stops
- From counting to artificial intelligence · 11 stops
- Reason and revelation: a debate in Islamic thought · 9 stops
- From brain to mind · 9 stops