There, corrected it for you.
Everything in science is hypothesis or theory (given your usage of the latter, you should by the way read up on the definition of the word in scientific context). Nothing can be definitely “proved” through the scientific method.
However, things can be demonstrated to be probable beyond reasonable doubt. When something is labeled a “theory”, it is as close to “fact” as you can come - we are at that point far beyond reasonable doubt. Evolution is one such theory; rejecting it with the amount of evidence provided in its favor is either ignorant or irrational.
Additionally, there’s a distinction between evolution-as-fact and evolution-as-theory. The evolution of species is an observed fact - the theory of how this happens, however, can change. When one speaks of the Theory of Evolution, one means the latter, not the former. But even though it can change, a paradigm shift seems, at this point, very unprobable. As with any other theory, however, adjustments will happen as new disoveries occur.
Yes, but does evolution fall within the area of a ‘scientific theory’?
*Evolution, fact and theory[edit]
Evolution has been described as “fact and theory”, “fact not theory”, “only a theory, not a fact”, “multiple theories, not fact”, and “neither fact, nor theory”.[2] The disagreements among these statements, however, have more to do with the meaning of words than the substantial issues and these are discussed below.
However, in science, the meaning of theory is more rigorous. A scientific theory is “a well-substantiated explanation of some aspect of the natural world, based on a body of facts that have been repeatedly confirmed through observation and experiment.”[24] Theories are formed from hypotheses that have been subjected repeatedly to tests of evidence which attempt to disprove or falsify them. In the case of evolution through natural selection, Darwin conceived the hypothesis around 1839, and made a first draft of the concept three years later in 1842. He discussed this widely with many of his intellectual companions, and conducted further research in the background to his other writings and work. After years of development, he finally published his evidence and theory in On the Origin of Species in 1859.[25]
The “theory of evolution” is actually a network of theories that created the research program of biology. Charles Darwin, for example, proposed five separate theories in his original formulation, which included mechanistic explanations for:*
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolution_as_fact_and_theory
Is evolution far beyond reasonable doubt?
*By Darwin’s own requirements for his theory,the proof beyond reasonable doubt does not exist. Charles Darwin wrote “The Origin of Species” in 1859 and included two chapters concerning the missing evidence he would need in order to prove his theory to be truth. His suggestion was that the future would produce a fossil record with the “Innumerable” transitional species that were required by Darwin himself in order to prove the theory.
It has been over 150 years since Darwin wrote that book and thus birthed evolutionary theory and the Innumerable transitional fossils have never been found.*
