English

Noun

adaptationism ‎(uncountable)

1. (evolutionary biology) The view that many traits of organisms are evolved adaptations.
2. (evolutionary biology) A set of methods for distinguishing traits resulting from adaptation from those arising through other processes.
   • 2006, Massimo Pigliucci, Jonathan Michael Kaplan, Making Sense of Evolution: The Conceptual Foundations of Evolutionary Biology, University of Chicago Press:

     Until one is clear about just what one means by adaptationism, what evidence one needs to accuse someone of being an "adaptationist" will remain vague; this rather diminishes the force of the accusation.

Related terms

• adaptationist

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