Revista Chilena de Historia Natural 83 (4): 497-500, 2010
Neutral illusions, selective nightmares and autopoietic madness
Until now, there are three evolutionary models: I) The Synthetic Theory of Evolution (STE)
also named as the Neo- Darwinian model; II) The Neutral Theory of Evolution (NTE) with its daughter the Nearly-Neutral Theory of
Evolution (NNTE); III) The Theory of Evolution by means of Natural Drift (NDTE) (Valenzuela 2007, 2009). All these theories accept that
variation of genomes of living beings emerges by mutation. They disagree in relation of the causes of the acquisition and maintenance
of the living being organization. STE proposes that the main factor for the acquisition and maintenance of fixated organization is
selection and a marginal role of genetic drift. NTE proposed that the acquisition and maintenance of fixated organization is drift with a
marginal role of selection, its daughter the NNTE includes besides selection with coefficients similar to the mutation rates. NDTE is
derived from the conception of living beings as autopoietic processes, thus the acquisition and maintenance of organization occur by
natural drift and living beings are always adapted. The extreme importance given to the factors of evolution, within each theory, has
lead to absurd exaggerations that seems now illusions, nightmares or simply madness.
Key words:
Synthetic Theory of
Evolution, Neutral Theory of Evolution, Natural Drift
