In biology, the theory that states that an animal's development from embryo to adult resembles the stages in the evolution of its ancestors is commonly expressed as what three word phrase?
Recapitulation theory Recapitulation theory The theory of recapitulation, also called the biogenetic law or embryological parallelism—often expressed using Ernst Haeckel's phrase "ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny"—is a historical hypothesis that the development of the embryo of an animal, from fertilization to gestation or hatching (ontogeny), goes through stages resembling or representing successive stages in the evolution of the animal's remote ancestors (phylogeny). It was formulated in the 1820s by Étienne Serres based on the work of Johann Friedrich Meckel, after whom it is also known as Meckel–Serres law. Since embryos also evolve in different ways, the shortcomings of the theory had been recognized by
Nothing in Biology Makes Sense Except in the Light of Evolution the "light of evolution" came originally from the vitalist Jesuit priest Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, whom Dobzhansky much admired. In the last paragraph of the article, Dobzhansky quotes from de Chardin's 1955 "The Phenomenon of Man": The phrase "nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution" has come into common use by those opposing creationism or its variant called intelligent design. While the essay argues (following de Chardin) that Christianity and evolutionary biology are compatible, a position described as "evolutionary creationism" or "theistic evolution", the phrase is also used by those who consider that "in biology" includes