Darwin’s Scientific Theory of Evolution Is An Oxymoron

An oxymoron exists when a phrase or a sentence contains contradictory wording. The phrase, "Darwin's Scientific Theory of Evolution," contains an oxymoron because the first 3.9 billion years of evolution occurred outside natural science and scientific theories. This may seem strange, but the definitions of natural science and a scientific theory exclude evolution.

In 2005 the definition of natural science was codified in Federal Court through the judicial decision of Judge John E. Jones III in Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District. Dr. Kenneth Miller, Professor of Biology at Brown University and Dr. Robert Pennock, Professor of Philosophy of Science at Michigan State University both testified in Federal Court, that:

   “Methodological naturalism is a ‘ground rule’ of [natural]                                 science which requires scientists to seek explanations in the                                 world around us based upon what we can observe, test,                                              replicate, and verify.”¹

The following are two definitions of a scientific theory:

                    According to The American Association for the Advancement of                                      Science:

                             A scientific theory is a well-substantiated explanation of an                                              aspect of the natural world, supported by a large body of facts                                          repeatedly confirmed through observation and experimentation.²

                   According to ck-12:

                             A scientific theory is a well-substantiated explanation of some                                          aspect of the natural world that is based on a body of evidence                                          and has been repeatedly tested and confirmed through                                                      observation and experimentation.³

       There is much similarity in wording between natural science and the scientific theories. The three are based on repeated observation, experimentation, and confirmation of findings. The fundamental difference is that a scientific theory requires the accumulation of a large body of evidence while natural science is satisfied with a smaller body of evidence. When natural science has accumulated a large body of evidence, scientists may begin to refer to the body of evidence as a scientific theory, and it is accepted as such over time and by general consensus.

        Evolution is an “historical science”. In the July 2000 issue of Scientific American, Prof. Ernst Mayr, Director, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University from 1961 to 1970 wrote:

                    “Evolutionary biology, in contrast with physics and chemistry, is a                                    historical science.”⁴ “Laws and experiments are inappropriate techniques                          for the explication of such events and processes.”⁵

 The historical science of evolutionary biology includes those past events in nature that cannot be observed, tested, replicated, and verified.⁶ The immediate conditions of an historic event are fixed, set in stone as it were, and they are generalized and will never be precisely known. Thus, the “historical narrative” is “a tentative construction of the particular scenario...”⁷ Since the historical narrative is tentative, it is also speculative. A revision of the historical narrative is always tentative and speculative.

Past events that cannot be observed, tested, replicated, and verified cannot infer causative agency, that is, they do not and cannot infer a natural cause.

An Historical Science does not conform to the definition of natural science or a scientific theory.

The final definition concerns “The Theory of Evolution” which refers to                         Macroevolution or the generation of Domains, Kingdoms, Phyla, Classes, Orders, Families, Genus, and Species.

                             This Theory has Two Elements:

                                       There are (1.) random mutations, genetic drift and gene                                                   flow which are followed by (2.) the natural selection of                                                    those organisms with beneficial mutations.

  In this theory, alterations in DNA occur by strictly natural processes such as copying errors and radiation. All events occur within a totally unplanned nature, and all events conform to methodological naturalism by definition.

Any and all activity of a supernatural intelligence is excluded by definition, but only by definition.

The following list contrasts the differences between natural science and historical evolution:

 Natural science and scientific theories require physical events that

lend themselves to repetition. In contrast, every step in an historical

evolution is unique, a one-time event.

                   Natural science requires natural events that can be observed, tested,                                 replicated and verified. Evolutionary events fall within an historical                                 science where events cannot be observed, tested, replicated and/or verified.

                   The scientific observation, testing, and replication of regularities requires                         known proximate conditions. In an historical science, proximate conditions                      leading to evolutionary changes are not known, and they are unknowable.

                   Natural science requires events that conform to methodological naturalism,                      that is, have  a natural cause. In an historical evolution, the causative agency            is always indeterminate.

                   Natural science requires events that are certain. The historical narrative of                        evolutionary events is always tentative and, thus, speculative. Each                                  revision of the historical narrative is also tentative. The narrative never                             becomes definitive.

                   Natural science requires events that are reasonably probable. The great                             majority of evolutionary events are exceedingly improbable.

         These differences can be displayed in the following table:

NATURAL SCIENCE	EVOLUTION—AN HISTORICAL SCIENCE
Regularities	Unique, Single Events
Observation Possible	Observation Impossible
Known Proximate Conditions	Unknown and Unknowable Proximate       Conditions
Experimental Manipulation Possible	Historically Fixed Conditions
Experimental Duplication	Experimentation is Inappropriate
Conclusions are Definitive	Conclusions are Tentative
Reasonably Probable	Exceedingly Improbable
Causative Agency is Natural Methodological Naturalism	Causative Agency is Indeterminate
Excludes Intelligent Agency by Definition	Allows for Intelligent Agency
Uses “Scientific” Language	Avoids “Scientific” Language
Scientific Hypothesis Scientific Theory Scientific Research	Hypothesis, Supposition, Proposal Theory, Postulate Research, Investigate, Analyze

          The terms─”scientific theory” and “evolution”─are mutually exclusive and combining them is an oxymoron. A scientific theory refers to natural science. Evolution refers to events that occurred within an historical science. Thus, Darwin’s Scientific Theory of Evolution is an oxymoron.

         Since evolution is an historical science and does not conform to the definition of natural science or methodological naturalism, it should be removed from all natural science courses.

         Move evolution into its own, unique category of study, "Biological Origins".

For the past one hundred and sixty-six years, evolution has been misclassified as natural science. Natural science requires that included physical events have a natural cause--the definition of methodological naturalism. In the conclusion of his Memorandum Opinion in Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District, Judge John E. Jones wrote, "Repeatedly in this trial, Plaintiff's scientific experts testified that the theory of evolution represents good science...."⁸ These scientific experts and most of the scientific community are wrong. The causative agency in evolution is always indeterminate and can only be inferred by an appeal to probability. The appeal to probability is not a scientific appeal, but an appeal to logic and sound reason. Such an appeal may be made by any and all interested individuals and is not under the governance of the scientific community.

The question is not, "Did evolution happen?" Yes, evolution did happen. The question is, "What is the primary causative agency for evolution? Was the causative agency an unplanned chemical evolution followed by an unplanned Darwinian evolution?"

The probability of an unplanned chemical evolution is covered in the post titled, "The Chemical Evolution of Cytochrome c Under Ideal Conditions."

The probability of an unplanned Darwinian evolution is covered in the following five posts:

1. From the First Functional Cells to the Cells of Common Ancestry.

2. From the Cells of Common Ancestry to Tyrannosaurus rex.

3. The Evolution of Whales from a Four Footed Land Animal.

4. The Evolution of Humans from a Common Ancestor with the Chimpanzee.

5. Does A Darwinian Evolution have the Potential to Generate Average-Sized Functional Enzymes.

An excellent resource on the foundational problems associated with an unplanned Darwinian evolution is the book:

EVOLUTION: A Theory in Crisis by Michael Dentin published in 1986 by Adler & Adler.

Little has changed in the forty years since the publication of this book. However, the book does not adequately cover the following five issues:

1. The oxymoron relationship of "Darwin's Scientific Theory of evolution",

2. The fact that 3.9 billion years of evolution is an historical science,

3. The probability of the scenarios covered in these posts,

4. The fact that in evolution causative agency is always indeterminate, or

5. The fact that supernatural agency remains on the table.

The following conclusions are reached:

   1.  Darwin’s Scientific Theory of Evolution is an oxymoron.

2. Some 3.9 billion years of evolution is an historical science.

  3. The study of evolution as an historical science exists outside of natural science                       and should be moved out of the natural sciences and into a free standing                           course, "Biological Origins", where supernatural agency remains on the                    table.

Endnotes:

1. Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District, 400 F. Supp. 2D 707 (M.D. Pa. 2005), p. 65.

   
   

2. google.com/searchq=American+Academy+for+the+Advancement+of+Science+definitions+scientific+theory&oq=

3. https://www.ck12.org/flexi/physical-science/scientific-theory/what-is-the-definition-of-a-scientific-theory/

4. E. Mayr, “Darwin’s Influence on Modern Thought,” Scientific  American, (July 2000), 80, see also 81.

5. Ibid, 80.

6. M. Dentin, EVOLUTION: A Theory in Crisis, (1986), Adler & Adler: Chevy Chase, pp. 55 & 75.

   
   

7. Mayr, 80.

8. Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District, p. 136.

                                                                                Fredric P. Nelson, MD   ©   2025