Fundamentals of Evolution - Korzh O.P. - 2006

Part II. MACROEVOLUTION

Chapter 14. Progressive Evolution

Understanding the GENERAL PATTERNS OF the evolutionary process requires addressing the relationship between progressive evolution, regressive evolution, and specialization. Furthermore, the issue of progress—its definition, criteria, directions of development, and even its very existence in nature—sparks considerable debate. An unresolved dilemma remains: does the prolonged action of natural Selection necessarily lead to progressive evolution? As Charles Darwin himself believed, the operation of natural selection does not inherently drive the corresponding Progressive development of organisms; natural selection is about the survival of the fittest, not necessarily the most progressive. According to N.V. Timofeeff-Ressovsky, there is still no definition of progressive evolution that is rigorous or precise, let alone reasonably suitable or logical. Biologists have yet to formulate what progressive evolution actually entails. To the question of who is more progressive—the plague bacillus or a human—there is still no definitive answer.



Last update: 07/08/2026

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