Orthogenesis

Orthogenesis, orthogenetic evolution or autogenesis, is the hypothesis that life has an innate tendency to move in a unilinear fashion due to some internal or external "driving force". The hypothesis is based on Essentialism, finalism and cosmic teleology and proposes an intrinsic drive which slowly transforms species. George Gaylord Simpson (1953) in an attack on orthogenesis called this mechanism "the mysterious inner force". Classic proponents of orthogenesis have rejected the theory of natural selection as the organising mechanism in evolution, and theories of speciation for a rectilinear model of guided evolution acting on discrete species with "essences". The term orthogenesis was popularised by Theodor Eimer, though many of the ideas are much older (Bateson 1909).

Related Topics:
Hypothesis - Life - Essentialism - Finalism - Cosmic teleology - Species - George Gaylord Simpson - Natural selection - Evolution - Speciation - Essence - Theodor Eimer

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Many sources mix this heterodox view of evolution with another ~ that evolution is proceeding to some long term or ultimate goal; the result are definitions that state "orthogenesis proposes that evolution moves in a unilinear fashion towards a perfect goal". While it is true that early and famous examples of orthogenesis often conflated these two ideas (e.g. Lamarck's theory of evolution), and that these two ideas are buried just below the surface of Intelligent Design, it is important to recognize that these are in fact two separate ideas that are rejected by mainstream science: the latter idea of goal-oriented evolution is better understood as a form of teleology. The distinction can be seen when we recognize that orthogenesis is inherent in the theories of Haeckel and R. S. Lull. Both scientists proposed mechanisms whereby evolution proceeded in unilinear fashion, but neither saw goals (instead they made pseudo-scientific appeals to unknown genetic driving processes). Noticing this is important, because similar flaws recurrently resurface at the fringes of science (typically taking the form of new, mysterious molecular drives that supposedly are pushing phenotypic evolution in certain directions or forcing the formation of new species).

Related Topics:
Evolution - Lamarck - Intelligent Design - Teleology - Haeckel - R. S. Lull

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The orthogenesis hypothesis had a significant following in the 19th century when a number of evolutionary mechanisms, such as Lamarckism, were being proposed. Jean-Baptiste Lamarck himself accepted the idea, and it had a central role in his theory of inheritance of acquired characteristics, the hypothesised mechanism of which resembled the "mysterious inner force" of orthogenesis. Other proponents of orthogenesis included Leo Berg, philosopher Henri Bergson and, for a time, the paleontologist Henry Fairfield Osborn. Orthogenesis was particularly accepted by paleontologists who saw in their fossils a directional change, and in invertebrate paleontology thought there was a gradual and constant directional change. Those who accepted orthogenesis in this way, however, did not necessarily accept that the mechanism that drove orthogenesis was teleological.

Related Topics:
19th century - Lamarckism - Jean-Baptiste Lamarck - Leo Berg - Henri Bergson - Henry Fairfield Osborn - Invertebrate paleontology

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Autogenesis is a specific version of orthogenesis which also incorporates spontaneous generation, the refuted hypothesis that each species is created by its own abiogenesis or special creation event.

Related Topics:
Autogenesis - Spontaneous generation - Abiogenesis

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