orthogenesis: Meaning and Definition of

or•tho•gen•e•sis

1. Also calledorthoselection.evolution of a species proceeding by continuous structural changes in a single lineage without presenting a branching pattern of descent.
2. a theory that the evolution of a species in a continuous, nonbranching manner is due to a predetermined series of alterations intrinsic to the species and not subject to natural selection.
2. a hypothetical parallelism between the stages through which every culture necessarily passes, in spite of secondary conditioning factors.