Fixity of Species

[noun]

An idea popular among 16th and 17th century European zoologists and botanists that reflected Western religion and the story of creation as laid out in the Bible. A key feature of the argument for "fixity" was the notion that the structure of each species was based on a model, ideal form and never changed. With the publication of Darwin's and other scientists' work on evolution, the idea is no longer considered by scientists. For more information, see our module Charles Darwin I.