Darwinism, also known as the THEORY of evolution, is a scientific THEORY proposed by Charles Darwin in his 1859 book On the Origin of Species. It states that all species of organisms arise and develop through the natural selection of small, inherited variations that increase the individual's ability to compete, survive, and reproduce. This process of natural selection is driven by the accumulation of genetic mutations over time, leading to the emergence of new species. Darwinism has been widely accepted by the scientific community and is the basis for modern evolutionary biology.