Description:
<title>Abstract</title>
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<italic>Metaphors of competition and progress have played a key role in the scientific conception and public understanding of evolution. These scientific and public aspects have been in continual tension, however, since these metaphors have been broadly interpreted in the social realm despite scientists' attempts to isolate their meaning. To examine how this occurs, I conducted a Web survey of evolutionary biologists (Society for the Study of Evolution), evolutionary psychologists (Human Behavior and Evolution Society), biology teachers (National Association of Biology Teachers), and members of a Teilhardian spiritual organization (Foundation for Conscious Evolution) (</italic>N<italic>= 1892 respondents). Respondents were asked to evaluate the scientific and social dimensions of 18 evolutionary statements with metaphorical elements, including arms race, complexity, cooperation, drift, intelligent design, progress, selfish gene, sperm competition, and struggle for survival. The responses generally confirmed the demise of a progressive view of evolution, whereas competitive metaphors remained popular even though respondents indicated that they had a negative social resonance. The survey reveals how biological metaphors retain connections to everyday understanding, which has implications for teaching biology and for thinking about how biologists may unwittingly endorse particular social policies with their metaphors.</italic>
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