ABSTRACT
A Darwinian theory of knowledge stands diametrically opposed to traditional empiricism, which has an assumption of learning by instruction from the environment through the build up of information. In contradiction to learning from external instruction, evolutionary epistemology holds that the adaptive process works through random mutations and selective retention: only the best adapted survive. Knowledge is generated by individuals without any transfer of information. 'The mind generates the information and the world selects that information which is suitable without causing that information by mechanical or spiritual transfer' (Munz, 1985, pp. 12-13). This view of knowledge without instruction finds a perfect match in Popper's earlier view that we do not learn by induction, but through a process of bold conjecture and refutation: for conjecture read mutation, and for refutation read selection.
