Is the theory of life evolution by selection by Darwin is correct?

Question

I need to know is it scientificallyb proven..or it is still just a theory.

Answer 1

Nothing is ever "proven" in science.

Is evolution a "fact" or a "theory"? That depends on whether you mean the *process* of evolution or the *theory* of evolution. The first is a fact, the second is (obviously) a theory.

The *process* of evolution is just th process of "slow change over generations". That is a *fact*. It is observed in nature. It can be induced by breeding. It can be induced in the laboratory by selective isolation. It can be documented to occur in the wild. And there is evidence of it occurring throughout time in fossils, through DNA evidence, etc.

The *theory* of evolution is the explanation of (a) *how* that process occurs in the wild (Darwin's theory of natural selection); and (b) how that same process explains ALL living species through common ancestry right back to the earliest life forms.

So evolution is both a fact AND a theory (again depending on which use of the word "evolution" you are referring to).

Incidentally, in science the word "theory" is such that the phrase "just a theory" is kinda silly. There is nothing diminishing about a "theory" ... it does not mean guess. It does not mean "unproven speculation". It does not mean some weaker form of truth than a "fact" or "law".

A theory is an *explanation* ... a set of statements that together *EXPLAIN* a set of phenomena. The more it explains (i.e. the more evidence it explains), the stronger the theory.

And in that light, evolution is one of the strongest theories in the history of science.

The theory of evolution *explains* a HUGE body of evidence ... from the fossil evidence, to DNA evidence, to embryology, morphology, biogeography (the location of species on the planet), right down to why you have a big toe and get goosebumps. Evolution explains *ALL* of that.

Answer 2

The process of evolution has been found to be a fact. You can see it in the natural world, you can simulate it in the lab, and it has been documented excessively in scientific journals.

The theory of evolution is a theory, with sound evidence, from various fields of study within science. The reason why it remains a theory is because not every alternative can be entirely ruled out. It is the same reason there is any other theory in science. Evidence supports the best theory, but can't rule out all others.

Darwin's theory has undergone some changes over the past 150 or so years. So the original theory is not necessarily prescribed to anymore. But his underlying assumptions (for example, natural selection, and traits being passed from parent to offspring providing variability) still hold up very well.

Edit: just noticed a lot of answerers seeming to believe that theories somehow "graduate" into laws. That's not the case. A theory will remain a theory until every aspect of every case that the theory applies to is known and falls within the explanatory power of the theory--in other words, when we know everything about everything. Since that's not going to happen, that does nothing to reduce from one of the strongest, most well-supported theories in all of science.

Answer 3

Evolution is proven through and through by every new observation of the natural world.

Calling something "just a theory" is a slap in the face for anyone with the least bit of a scientific background. In science, a Theory isn't some wild-assed guess -- it's something that satisfactorily explains observed evidence, and also makes predictions that are falsifiable. If anything, a scientific theory is MORE TRUE than fact.

The theory of evolution is one of the most well-supported theories in all of science. It has been around for 150 years, and no amount of creationist hogwash, threats, temper tantrums, and lies have been able to overthrow it. This proves even further how strong a theory it really is.

Answer 4

The theory of evolution will always be a theory and never a fact. In order for a theory to become a scientific fact, i.e. a law, it must be able to be reproduced within a lab. As evolution occurs over such vast amounts of time, thousands to millions to billions of years, experiments on evolution can therefore never be reproduced in a lab. That is not to say evolution, or any other widely accepted theory for that matter is not true, it is just the difference in the definitions of a scientific fact and a theory.

Also note, in order to even become a theory, as opposed to just a hypothesis, there needs to be overwhelming scientific evidence observed my multiple, independent scientific groups/individuals. Which in the case of evolution, there is.

Answer 5

A lot of work has gone into it since Darwin. Math theorems are proven. Scientific theories are never proven as skepticism allows for nature to have yet unseen details. It is a rock solid theory, that will undergo slight revisions as more data comes in, but the advent of molecular techniques is to strong to exclude evolution by natural selection. Gravity and electromagnetism are other theories which will never be proven.

Answer 6

When they say that evolution is "just a theory" it means that science has acknowledged that evolution happened, and a theory is nessessary to define how it happened.
Consider the Theory of gravity. Gravity existed even before Newton came up with a theory to define it. Science had to acknowledge that gravity was a fact before a theory was developed to define it.

The misconception is that the term Theory means something that we are uncertain about. In everyday speech this might be true, but in science the term "Theory" is an attempt to describe something that is already acknowledged by science as a fact.

Evolution has been observed in laboratories with fruit flies, and in nature with peppered moths in england.

Darwin himself was probably wrong about the specifics of evolution. He believed that evolution was a continual process. The fossil records are lacking in proof of this. However Stephen Jay Gould may have hit the nail on the head with his theory of graduated evolution. It seems things dont evolve gradually, but very rapidly and in response to specific changes in the enviroment.

Answer 7

In science, theory equals fact. That is one of the major misconceptions people have about science today. Average people regard theory are a flat out guess. Scientists regard a theory as an explanation. Theories can change over time as new information come along.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory
(I have given this link far more times than any other link in my answers. So many people regard scientific theories and wild guesses.)

If you want to learn about the theory of evolution, then go and read up on it. That is the best way. Go and find a biology book and get to reading. There are many people who claim evolution is a lie but from what I have seen, all of those people are doing so because their religion tells them so and not because they are scientists with a different theory (one that is backed up with evidence).

Answer 8

The theory of natural selection and the theory of common descent are considered proven, although they are a theory. Evolution is fact, it is the exact mechanism that is still researched.

Answer 9

A theory remains a theory until there is sufficient evidence gathered through rigorous experimentation to show there are no exceptions to the theory, and that the theory can explain each and every hypothesis against which it is tested. At that point it becomes a Law of science. The evolutionary theory, despite nothing of true scientific (not creation science, which is about as much science as reading tea leaves) nature to prove any other theory explains things as well, remains "unproven" so still a theory.

Answer 10

Evolution in populations by selection has been proven.

Macroevolution is a theory, because we can't go back in time and directly observe gradual changes which took place over millions of years. The fossil record provides a "beyond reasonable doubt" proof (good enough to win a civil lawsuit, LOL), but not a "beyond a shadow of a doubt."