| 释义 |
selectionist, n. and a.|sɪˈlɛkʃənɪst|
[f. selection + -ist.]
A. n.
a. One who believes in or supports the theory of natural selection.
†b. One who believes that evolution proceeds primarily by natural selection for small differences (Obs.); opp. mutationist.
c. One who holds a selectionist view of genetic variation (cf. sense B. b below).
1892Nation 6 Oct. 266/3 Extreme selectionists like Wallace and Weismann. 1899J. L. Tayler in Nat. Sci. Sept. 190 A pure or nearly pure selectionist hypothesis. 1909W. Bateson Mendel's Princ. Heredity i. 3 If species had really arisen by the natural selection for impalpable differences,..the limits between species should be..indefinite... The selectionists believe..that it represents the facts of nature. 1911[see mutationist]. 1959Encounter Sept. 62/2 The selectionist must assume..that consciousness is useful. 1979Sci. Amer. Nov. 96/3 Selectionists maintain that for a mutant allele to spread through a species it must have some selective advantage.
B. adj.
a. Pertaining to or connected with the theory of natural selection.
b. Of or pertaining to the belief that the majority of observed genetic variation is maintained by natural selection rather than by random effects.
1944J. S. Huxley On Living in Revolution vi. 69 By Darwinism..was meant the selectionist theory of the method of evolution. 1971Nature 13 Aug. 487/1 They maintain that a selectionist hypothesis would predict radical changes to be favoured over conservative changes. 1974Ibid. 1 Nov. 62/2 A selectionist interpretation of the more rapid rate of molecular evolution in a living fossil is possible. 1978Sci. Amer. Sept. 45/1 Selectionist evolution..is neither a chance phenomenon nor a deterministic phenomenon but a two-step tandem process combining the advantages of both. |