Modern evolutionary synthesis

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"There is no canonical definition of neo-Darwinism, and surprisingly few writers on the subject seem to consider it necessary to spell out precisely what it is that they are discussing. This is especially curious in view of the controversy which dogs the theory, for one might have thought that a first step towards resolving the dispute over its status would be to decide upon a generally acceptable definition over it. ... Of course, the lack of firm definition does, as we shall see, make the theory much easier to defend." P.T. Saunders & M.W. Ho, "Is Neo-Darwinism Falsifiable? - And Does It Matter?", Nature and System (1982) 4:179-196, p. 179.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Modern_evolutionary_synthesis#Modern_synthesis_and_neo-darwinism_are_not_defined

Neo-Darwinism was first used as a term by George John Romanes in his 3-volume work Darwin, and after Darwin (1892–1897). It therefore precedes not only the synthesis, but also the rediscovery of Mendel. The evolutionary synthesis, on the other hand, was a complex and far-reaching series of publications lasting at least twenty years. It was of huge importance, but the awkward polysyllabic phrases used to describe it lead many to prefer Romanes' simpler phrase. And, the main contributors to this article are perfectly well aware of the relevant literature, and have given a fair selection in the references to the article. Macdonald-ross (talk) 09:44, 19 March 2009 (UTC)