Many ambiguities in Patrick Matthew’s evolutionary ideas can be resolved upon rejecting the presumption that his mechanism was identical to Darwin’s. This presumption has led to two ingrained interpretations which we show are false. First, competitive natural selection plays no role in Matthew’s lineage splitting. On the contrary, it is absent during his comparably short phases of adaptive radiation occurring after catastrophes. Catastrophes eliminate competition, and the competitive vacuum pulls the surviving species apart and unleashes their indwelling variational force. Separate populations adapt to new circumstances through variation and non-competitive survival. Second, competitive natural selection does not drive Matthew’s lineage adaptation either. When it is active, during the comparably long phases of conformity that follow adaptive radiation, the environment directly leads the system towards adaptation. Lineages adapt to changing circumstances but do not split. Interpreting Matthew’s statements accordingly makes sense of his evolutionary thinking that seemed obscure for over a century, especially his statements about the fixity of species and the species problem.

中文翻译：

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似是而非的起源：对帕特里克·马修进化思想的误解

驳斥帕特里克·马修（Patrick Matthew）的进化论机制与达尔文（Darwin）的机制相同的假设，可以解决许多歧义。这种推论导致了两种根深蒂固的解释，我们证明它们是错误的。首先，竞争性自然选择在马修的血统分裂中不起作用。相反，在灾难后发生的适应性辐射相对较短的阶段中，这种现象就不存在了。灾难消除了竞争，竞争真空将幸存的物种拉开并释放了它们的内在变异力。分散的人群通过变异和非竞争性生存来适应新情况。其次，竞争性自然选择不会推动Matthew的血统适应要么。当它处于活动状态时，在适应辐射之后的相当长的一致性阶段中，环境直接将系统引导至适应状态。世系适应不断变化的情况，但不会分裂。因此，解释马修的陈述可以理解他一个多世纪以来一直模糊的进化思想，尤其是他关于物种固定性和物种问题的陈述。