orthogenesis means The hypothesis that evolution tends toward a certain goal, at least at some scales. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 89 out of 100.
Why this word is great
ORTHOGENESIS — [Noun] The now-discredited biological hypothesis that evolution proceeds along a predetermined, linear trajectory toward a specific, ideal form. From ortho- (Greek orthos, meaning "straight" or "correct") + -genesis (Greek genesis, meaning "origin" or "birth"), coined by Wilhelm Haacke in 1893. Unlike teleology (a broad philosophical scaffold of purpose) or contingency (which champions the revelatory swerve of chance), orthogenesis insisted on a fixed, fatalistic railway. It is the ghost of a lost faith: the imagined, majestic procession of the horse's foot from five toes to one perfect hoof; the silent, sure unfurling of the ammonite's spiral toward an inevitable extinction; the comforting but false narrative of life marching in lockstep toward a preordained perfection—a quiet monument to our deep, human longing for a story with a destined end.
noun
- The hypothesis that evolution tends toward a certain goal, at least at some scales.