Academic articles rarely have catchy titles. One that has - and that is also frequently cited - is Nothing in Biology Makes Sense Except in the Light of Evolution.
Its full citation is:
Dobzhansky, Th. (1973). Nothing in Biology Makes Sense Except in the Light of Evolution. The American Biology Teacher. 35 (3): 125–129.
A transcript of the article is on biologie-lernprogramme.de. An article about it is on Wikipedia.
The article was written by the eminent Ukrainian-born evolutionary biologist Theodosius Dobzhansky (1900-1975) when living and working in the USA. Significantly, it is an essay that argues that Christianity and evolutionary biology are compatible. Furthermore, it argues in support of theistic evolution. Irrespective of their personal religious beliefs, few biologists would advocate theistic evolution professionally. Most keep their scientific work and their religious views separate. That being the case, it is open to question how widely this essay has been read by those citing it.
The citations the article continues to receive could be more for its title than its content. What the essay title encapsulates is a statement of how evolution pervades and relates to every aspect of biology. The phrase states vividly and concisely something all informed biologists recognise - that evolution is at the very heart of all of the life sciences. It is in this sense that the article is sure to continue to be cited.
What is easy to overlook is what the essay title implies. The implication is that without evolution, biology, in fact, makes no sense.
In their book Evolution and Healing (published in the US as Why We Get Sick), Randy Nesse and George Williams modified the essay title to make specific reference to medicine. They proposed that nothing in medicine makes sense except in the light of evolution. Upon this notion, evolutionary (Darwinian) medicine rests.
Fun fact
I once set a multiple-choice exam question for a biology paper that read...
According to Theodosius Dobzhansky (1973), ‘Nothing in biology makes sense...’
(A) ...at all
(B) ...except in the light of evolution
(C) ...
(D) ... I have forgotten the other incorrect choices I offered.
How many students got it right, I do not remember (although it was the majority - if not all of them). I remember very clearly how relieved I was when I found that nobody had chosen (A), implying that nothing in biology makes sense... at all.
[Full citation for the above:
Nesse, R. and Williams, G. (1995). Evolution and Healing. London, Weidenfeld and Nicolson.]
