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organic selection

organic selection Organic selection is a historical biological idea that evolution can take a directed course when natural selection is aided by the protective or screening effects of individuals’ own accommodations, even if the underlying variations are not themselves determinate.

Organic selection is a historical biological idea that evolution can take a directed course when natural selection is aided by the protective or screening effects of individuals’ own accommodations, even if the underlying variations are not themselves determinate. In this view, adjustment by organisms helps preserve certain lines of variation, making evolutionary change appear directed.

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Sources

Drafting source: Baldwin Dictionary of Philosophy and Psychology, 1901. 1901 New York Macmillan original; archive index checked 2026-10-18. “Determinate (in biology)” (Determinate (in biology)).
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PsychTerms (psychterms.org), CC BY 4.0, version 1. “organic selection.” Development preview.

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