Evolution and Philosophy Have a Relationship as Old as the Idea of Evolution Itself

This is partly due to the fact that science and philosophy only separated about the time evolutionary theories were being first proposed, but also because - especially in the Darwinian context - evolution was opposed to many cherished philosophical doctrines.
The first main criticisms of evolution lay in the idea that species were eternal types, and so by definition species could not change. More recently, criticisms have rested on the notion of science itself, that evolution fails to meet the standards of true science, views that also were expressed at the time of Darwin and earlier. …