Adaptionism is one of the ways of viewing natural selection.
- Adaptation is the evolutionary process whereby an organism becomes better able to live in its habitat or habitats.
- Adaptedness is the state of being adapted: the degree to which an organism is able to live and reproduce in a given set of habitats.
- An adaptive trait is an aspect of the developmental pattern of the organism which enables or enhances the probability of that organism surviving and reproducing.
Like many theories, it can be taken to extremes and distorted.
The cartoon points out the importance in considering the effect of spandrels in evolution, and especially in evolutionary psychology.
