Is evolution a fact?

Is there an evolution debate?

Evolution is a fact due to the abundance of data available for study. There really is no debate over evolution because of the preponderance of data to support it. The real debate is not in whether evolution is a fact or theory but in the semantics of the word theory that religious opponents to evolutionary theory use to confuse and create controversy where none exists. According to Gregory (2007):

the US National Academy of Science (NAS) (1998), one of the most prestigious scientific societies in the world, a scientific fact is “an observation that has been repeatedly confirmed, and for all practical purposes, is accepted as ‘true’.” Or, as Stephen Jay Gould (1981) put it in his inimitable style, “In science, ‘fact’ can only mean ‘confirmed to such a degree that it would be perverse to withhold provisional assent.’” It is this insistence on repeated confirmation by data — either through direct observation or reliable inference — that makes a claim to “fact” so much stronger in science.

Thus, the concept of evolution being a theory vs a fact is really a misconception based on the layman’s definition of theory being a guess or hypothesis. In reality, evolution is a fact based upon an abundance of provable and repeatable data.

References

Gregory, T. R. (2007, November 20). Evolution as Fact, Theory, and Path. Retrieved from Springer Science: http://download.springer.com/static/pdf/196/art%253A10.1007%252Fs12052-007-0001-z.pdf?auth66=1395456547_003513fdf10ecd3dc41aaf2e7e4af6c0&ext=.pdf