Is Evolution a theory or a Fact, when did this change?

Question

“EVOLUTION is as much a fact as the heat of the sun,” asserts Professor Richard Dawkins, a prominent evolutionary scientist. Of course, experiments and direct observations prove that the sun is hot. But do experiments and direct observations provide the teaching of evolution with the same undisputed support?

Answer 1

It is BOTH.

Like the word 'gravity' ... the word 'evolution' is used in two ways ... to describe a *FACT* we see in nature ... and as the term for the *EXPLANATION* of that fact.

That is why we still refer BOTH to the "law of gravity" and to the "theory of gravity".   Gravity never "changed" from a theory to a fact.   The "law of gravity" is the fact ... one that is so universal that we call it a "law" ... it is a short description in the form of an equation of the acceleration of bodies of matter towards each other.   The "theory of gravity" is the *EXPLANATION* for that fact ... the concept that there is a "force" that causes that acceleration.

In exactly the same way we refer both to the *FACT* of evolution, and to the "theory of evolution" which is the *EXPLANATION* for that fact ... the theory of natural selection.   We don't call the fact of evolution a "law" only because we don't know yet if it occurs universally.   But it is absolutely an observed FACT that evolution occurs.

When Dawkins says that "evolution is as much a fact as the heat of the sun,” he is absolutely right ... and he is indeed speaking *scientifically*, not figuratively.   It is a common misperception about science that facts are "proven" to be true.  This is just wrong.   Scientific facts are not "proven" to be true, they are *OBSERVED* to be true.

Evolution is just as surely observed in nature as the heat of the sun.   We see it in the way that flu viruses become immune to our flu vaccines (which is why we need new flu shots every year) ... or adapt to antivirals, or how bacteria become resistant to antibiotics, or insects to pesticides.  We see it in the way that breeding programs with cows, racehorses, cocker spaniels, or roses and orchids all show that living species *change over time*.   We see it in the lab ... and in fact can measure it, clock it, establish just how much change, right down to the genetic level, occurs in a given amount of time.

So YES evolution is a *FACT*.

It is ALSO the name of a theory ... the theory that *EXPLAINS* that fact ... the theory of natural selection.   The word 'theory' does NOT mean "unproven fact".  A theory is an *EXPLANATION* for facts.   Thus a theory can never become a fact or vice versa ... they are two completely different *kinds* of statement.

If you don't understand that ... you don't understand science.

That is why we still refer to the theory of gravity, the cell theory of biology, the germ theory of disease, the atomic theory of matter, the photon theory of light, the theory of relativity, quantum theory, the plate tectonics theory of geology, the heliocentric theory of the solar system (that the earth goes around the sun) ... and on and on.   All are called theories, AND ALWAYS WILL BE CALLED THEORIES ... not because they are in doubt ... but because they are *EXPLANATIONS* of facts.

So a theory cannot "change" into a fact!

.. EVER.

Answer 2

i'm not qualified to answer this, but i'll pose a question: if evolution is not fact, where are all these new and resistant flu strains coming from?

Answer 3

This is you, isn't it?

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;...

http://au.answers.yahoo.com/question/ind...

http://au.answers.yahoo.com/question/ind...

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?...

Please tell me why would we want to waste more of our time in attempting to educate you. I feel more useful changing my baby's diapers. It's just as repetitive and unrewarding but at least *she* appreciates my efforts.

And now, if you excuse me, I'm going to go and do just that.

Answer 4

Its a theory thats been through 150 years of some of the most smartest people in the world trying to disprove it, and none of them have come even close.  Its a theory thats the basis for all of modern biology.  Its a theory that we witness everyday.

Answer 5

IT"S A THEORY!! Like swears. Please read the beginning of the Bible. Evolution is made by the stupid Darwin.

Answer 6

evolution is a fact, Darwin's ideas are a theory.  Stephen Jay Gould says it is both, but he means Darwin's version, not evolution itself.

http://www.stephenjaygould.org/library/g...

"In science, "fact" can only mean "confirmed to such a degree that it would be perverse to withhold provisional assent."

"Well, evolution is a theory. It is also a fact. And facts and theories are different things, not rungs in a hierarchy of increasing certainty. Facts are the world's data. Theories are structures of ideas that explain and interpret facts. Facts do not go away when scientists debate rival theories to explain them. Einstein's theory of gravitation replaced Newton's, but apples did not suspend themselves in mid-air, pending the outcome. And humans evolved from apelike ancestors whether they did so by Darwin's proposed mechanism or by some other, yet to be discovered."

Answer 7

its a theory

Answer 8

It is a fact.  The evidence is overwhelming.  It has been observed in a lab.

It is also a theory.  In science a theory is an extremely well supported hypothesis that explains a concept which can then be used to make testable predictions.

This is where the real support for evolution lies.  Its predictions produce very accurate experimental results.  For one, all of the science of genomics is based on it.

Answer 9

Evolution is a theory, because while there is much evidence to prove it, nothing can directly prove it. There are many ways to interpret evidence, which is why evolution is still a theory. Though to this day scientists have not found one piece of evidence contradicting evolution.

Answer 10

There's both a theory and a fact, just as there's a theory that the Earth orbits the Sun and the observable fact that's what happens.

The theory of evolution accounts for the diversity of organisms on Earth, and it explains that by natural selection of modified descent.  The descendants of organisms differ somewhat to their parent(s), and natural selection tends to reward the prize of more offspring to those descendants that are at least good enough.

The observed fact of evolution is that the genetic make up of populations change over time.

Theories, in science, never become facts.  This is because they remain permanently open to revision or refutation, should the evidence demand that.

Answer 11

Evolution has never been fact. Its just a theory and there are only assumptions to be made on the relationship of ape and man. Some fish have wing like fins, doesn't mean birds evolved from this fish.

Answer 12

It's actually both.  Facts are things that have been observed, and theories are explanations for facts.  Evolution has been directly observed, so it's a fact.  There is also a theory of evolution to explain HOW the fact of evolution occurs.

Read about Richard Lenski's long term evolution experiment.  After 20 years and 30,000 generations with E. coli, he has directly observed and documented the evolution of a new, beneficial trait which qualifies for speciation.  The last bastion of the creationists was the 'but mutations can't produce new or useful information, they only work with information already there.'  This experiment provides direct observational evidence that the creationists were wrong.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._coli_lon...

Think about gravity.  Gravity is also both a fact and a theory.  The fact of gravity is the observation, if your let go of a rock in mid air it will fall.  The theory of gravity explains WHY that happens.  If the theory of gravity were found to be completely wrong, it still wouldn't change the fact that the rock will fall.  Evolution is the same way.  Even if the theory of evolution was found to be completely wrong, it still wouldn't chance the direct, observational fact that things evolve.  It would only mean that we need to rethink HOW they evolve.

More about evolution as both a fact and a theory.

http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/evolutio...

Answer 13

You are confusing the colloquial and scientific uses of the terms "theory" and "fact".

Evolution is a theory.  This does not mean it is a guess, it means it is an overarching explanation for a wide variety of facts.  Evolution, as a theory, is proved by the evidence in its favor.

Dawkins' uses the term fact in that assertion to mean that evolution is real, proven science, that we know the origin of species lies in evolution.  He is using the term fact colloquially, not scientifically, in this instance.

Answer 14

One's perception changes when someone lacking a science education, perhaps a fundamentalist who wishes to believe evolution is just a hypothesis, discovers the scientific meaning of the word "theory".  It's not the same as the common usage, and is more like what non-scientists would call "proven fact".

The reality, of course, hasn't changed.  Evolution is still referred to as a theory, and has been proven as a fact for decades.  From Wikipedia and from the National Academy of Sciences attempt to explain this to laypeople:

In science a theory is a testable model of the manner of interaction of a set of natural phenomena, capable of predicting future occurrences or observations of the same kind, and capable of being tested through experiment or otherwise verified through empirical observation. For the scientist, "theory" is not in any way an antonym of "fact". For example, it is a fact that an apple dropped on earth has been observed to fall towards the center of the planet, and the theories commonly used to describe and explain this behavior are Newton's theory of universal gravitation (see also gravitation), and the general theory of relativity.

In common usage, the word theory is often used to signify a conjecture, an opinion, a speculation, or a hypothesis. In this usage, a theory is not necessarily based on facts; in other words, it is not required to be consistent with true descriptions of reality. True descriptions of reality are more reflectively understood as statements which would be true independently of what people think about them.

From the National Academy of Sciences:

Some scientific explanations are so well established that no new evidence is likely to alter them. The explanation becomes a scientific theory. In everyday language a theory means a hunch or speculation. Not so in science. In science, the word theory refers to a comprehensive explanation of an important feature of nature that is supported by many facts gathered over time. Theories also allow scientists to make predictions about as yet unobserved phenomena.

Answer 15

Evolution is a theory. That is not to say that is inferior to facts, quite the contrary. A theory binds a lot of facts together and tries to explain the relations between them.

Answer 16

Many of us in the biological fields consider it fact or a law.  It seems the arguments come from the religious community.  The evidence is overwhelming.  It is also complicated.  Perhaps why so many people choose to ignore it or take the easiest route.

I have a question for you luke.  Why are you hiding?