w1z4rd
Valued Senior Member
I hear the religious folk bandy these words around a lot, and because of the strangeness I decided to try find out more about them.
What makes me wonder about these words are the following:
- Why should evolution and the theory around it have and ism or an ist?
For instance I have never heard of someone who believes in the theory of gravity to be known as a Gravitationist, or that someone who believes in the germ theory of disease called a Germist.
If someone disagree`s with say a field of study in the histories such as the Holocaust, they are known as a holocaust denialist. Someone who doesn't believe in the HIV theory for AIDS is normally known as an AIDS denialists. People who agree with the theories are not known as holocaustists or hivists.
Why should this apply to the theory of evolution?
- Lets have a look at the dictionary definition on the word:
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/evolutionist
Now why is this word in the dictionary? Is it the correct usage of the word?
The wikipedia article on Evolutionism gives you a much deeper insight into the history's of the word and the current usage of the word:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolutionism
I just get the feeling that the dictionary definition is inaccurate.
What makes me wonder about these words are the following:
- Why should evolution and the theory around it have and ism or an ist?
For instance I have never heard of someone who believes in the theory of gravity to be known as a Gravitationist, or that someone who believes in the germ theory of disease called a Germist.
If someone disagree`s with say a field of study in the histories such as the Holocaust, they are known as a holocaust denialist. Someone who doesn't believe in the HIV theory for AIDS is normally known as an AIDS denialists. People who agree with the theories are not known as holocaustists or hivists.
Why should this apply to the theory of evolution?
- Lets have a look at the dictionary definition on the word:
View results from: Dictionary | Thesaurus | Encyclopedia | All Reference | the Web
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source
ev·o·lu·tion·ist /ˌɛvəˈluʃənɪst or, especially Brit., ˌivə-/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[ev-uh-loo-shuh-nist or, especially Brit., ee-vuh-] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun
1. a person who believes in or supports a theory of evolution, esp. in biology.
2. a person who supports a policy of gradual growth or development rather than sudden change or expansion.
–adjective Also, ev·o·lu·tion·is·tic.
3. of or pertaining to evolution or evolutionists.
4. believing in or supporting a theory of evolution, esp. in biology.
[Origin: 1855–60; evolution + -ist]
—Related forms
ev·o·lu·tion·ism, noun
ev·o·lu·tion·is·ti·cal·ly, adverb
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/evolutionist
Now why is this word in the dictionary? Is it the correct usage of the word?
The wikipedia article on Evolutionism gives you a much deeper insight into the history's of the word and the current usage of the word:
Evolutionism, from the Latin evolutio, unrolling, refers to theories that certain things develop or change as natural (unplanned) outgrowths of those that existed before, in contrast to beliefs that these things are fixed and immutable. An evolutionist is a proponent of such a theory. Theories of change have been developed across several fields of study.
In anthropology and biology, the term Evolutionism is nowadays used specifically for historical theories or beliefs of early sociocultural evolutionism developed in the 18th and 19th century that organisms are intrinsically bound to improve themselves through progressive changes that are heritable. This idea was applied to cultures and societies as well as to living organisms. The term evolutionist is still used more widely and can refer to proponents of the theory of evolution through natural selection which has superseded the earlier biological theories, but particularly in the U.S.A. this term is used by opponents of the theory to bolster their claim that evolution theory is a belief, or ideology (compared with other ideological "isms"), rather than a scientific theory. The term is rarely used in the scientific community, as evolution is overwhelmingly accepted there. The terms are still used for theories about the development of cultures and civilisations.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolutionism
I just get the feeling that the dictionary definition is inaccurate.