gradualism

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Related to gradualism: Phyletic gradualism

grad·u·al·ism

(grăj′o͞o-ə-lĭz′əm)

1. The belief in or the policy of advancing toward a goal by gradual, often slow stages.

2. Biology The view that evolution proceeds by imperceptibly small, cumulative steps over long periods of time rather than by abrupt, major changes.

grad′u·al·ist n.

grad′u·al·is′tic adj.

gradualism

(ˈɡrædjʊəˌlɪzəm)

1. the policy of seeking to change something or achieve a goal gradually rather than quickly or violently, esp in politics

2. (Geological Science) the theory that explains major changes in rock strata, fossils, etc in terms of gradual evolutionary processes rather than sudden violent catastrophes. Compare catastrophism

ˈgradualist n, adj

ˌgradualˈistic adj

grad•u•al•ism

(ˈgrædʒ u əˌlɪz əm)

n.

1. the principle or policy of achieving some goal by gradual steps rather than by drastic change.

2. a tenet of geology or evolutionary theory maintaining that change takes place gradually and continuously over long periods of geological time.

[1825–35]

grad′u•al•ist, n., adj.

grad`u•al•is′tic, adj.

grad·u·al·ism

(grăj′o͞o-ə-lĭz′əm)

The theory that new species evolve from existing species through gradual, often imperceptible changes rather than through abrupt, major changes. The small changes are believed to result in perceptible changes over long periods of time. Compare punctuated equilibrium.

gradualism

a theory maintaining that two seemingly conflicting notions are not radically opposed, but are part of a gradually altering continuity. — gradualist, n., adj. — gradualistic, adj.

gradualism

[ˈgrædjʊəlɪzəm] N → gradualismo m

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References in periodicals archive ?

The book's master narrative is anarchism's coming of age from the individualism, illegalism and blind terrorist violence of the 1890s to the organisation, gradualism and educationist endeavours of the 1900s.

The French Anarchists in London, 1880-1914: Exile and transnationalism in the first globalization

The minister assured that Pakistan is and would strictly adhere to the guiding principles of voluntarism and gradualism in repatriation of Afghan as embedded in the Tripartite Agreement, valid up to December 2012.

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Increasingly, Foner defends Lincoln from those who denigrate his commitment to equality because of his support for colonization, compensation, gradualism, and voluntary state action on emancipation.

The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery

In "Three lines of critique," chapter 4, Goodman addresses Darwin's insistence on gradualism: "My theory would absolutely break down," Darwin says, "if it could be demonstrated that any complex organ existed, which could not possibly have been formed by numerous, successive, slight modifications." The intelligent design movement takes up that challenge by the evidence of irreducible complexity as, for example, in the DNA molecule; "organic systems bespeak a prior plan." The argument of design, as Goodman notes, is as old as the Stoics and Aristotle.

Creation and Evolution

Young people steeped in misbegotten gradualism believe that they cannot choose something new "just because." They think that everything around them is determined already and that their actions and reactions are all inevitable.

Love affair with theory of evolution goes too far

Much of the work can be seen as a defense of gradualism versus dualism, as Chattopadhyaya rejects human/nature, value/fact, and other dichotomies, leading him to insist on recognition of the cultural and environmental rootedness of ethical, political, and social values.

Environment evolution and values

Generally, the Asian bishops have called for "gradualism," an approach to evangelization that starts with an acknowledgment of "Asian realities," including poverty, the need for "inculturation" of Catholicism so that the church of Asia bears the marks of Asian life and recognition of the status of Catholics as minority voices in most Asian nations.

Report faulted for neglecting Asian ideas

In response, Bank of Canada Governor Gerald Bouey announced in November of that year the policy which became known as gradualism: The Bank would target the growth rate of the narrowly defined monetary aggregate M1, made up of currency plus demand deposits at chartered banks.

Canada's money targeting experiment

This strategy of "gradualism" worked in the Cuban Missile Crisis, but was not appropriate for Vietnam.

Shadows of Vietnam: Lyndon Johnson's Wars

Gradualism remains a trademark of British historical development.

Marriage, Debt and the Estates System: English Landownership, 1650-1950

Indeed, the decision-making process was not dominated by the classical steps of rational decision-making but by the use of two analogies and their lessons: 1) Hussein was the equivalent of Hitler and appeasing tyrants was an ineffective means of control, and 2) the gradualism and military quagmire of Vietnam and Beirut had to be avoided by providing narrow, specified objectives backed up by the will and firepower to succeed.

Power Over Rationality: The Bush Administration and the Gulf Crisis

UNITA and some religious denominations defend the autarkic process throughout the national territory, but the MPLA and a part of the civil society cling to the geographical gradualism, claiming to be the best model taking into account the economic situation that the country is going through.