Orthogenesis was a school of evolutionary thought that "taught that evolution progressed in a straight line from ancestors to descendants with no side branches".[1]
Creation scientist Dr. Jerry Bergman wrote concering orthogenesis:
“ | The term orthogenesis was coined in 1893 by biologist Wilhelm Haacke, and was popularized by various researchers, including German biologist Theodor Eimer, professor of zoology and comparative anatomy at Tübingen University, Germany. His popular 1890 book, Organic Evolution as
the Result of the Inheritance of Acquired Characters According to the Laws of Organic Growth, became a leading text of the movement. The supporters orthogenesis concluded that evolution occurs due to the influence of internal organismic forces that drive organisms to perfection — a theory similar to vitalism. Evolution thus follows a predetermined path that eventually will lead to humans, and natural selection does not significantly regulate this predetermined path because evolution does not result from external factors, such as taught by Lamarckianism or natural selection theories. The orthogenesis concept also taught that evolution would continue until a maximized developed structure evolved.[2] |
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