Evolution and the Cumulative Nature of Science

Abstract

One of the characteristics of science is its cumulative nature. As more discoveries are made and more is learned, we progressively come to a more and more complete understanding of the physical universe. Evolutionary biology serves as an excellent example of this progressive trend in knowledge, since we now understand significantly more about the mechanisms and details of the evolutionary process than we did in decades past. It is important to comprehend these progressive changes and communicate them effectively to students of evolutionary biology.