Quote:
Originally Posted by GratefulCitizen
Conjectures cannot be disproved.
Theories make testable, falsifiable predictions.
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If we are going to dwell on semantics then - theory: (noun) a supposition or a system of ideas intended to explain something, esp. one based on general principles independent of the thing to be explained. [synonyms: thesis, conjecture, supposition, speculation]
On the other hand a hypothesis in science is an explanation based upon a limited set of data. The desirable criteria of a good hypothesis are that it (1) be consistent with that which is already known, (2) makes a prediction that (3) can be experimentally testable.
The theory of evolution as proposed by Darwin is by definition a conjecture based upon Charles Darwin's observations. To fully appreciate the contribution that Darwin made to our understanding of the natural world we really need to look at it in the context of what was known at the time. Bare in mind that he was a contemporary of Gregor Mendel and I am not sure he was even aware of Mendel's work at the time that he wrote the Origin of Species.
Through painstaking observation and cataloging of those observations, Darwin provided a comprehensive explanation for the divergence of species that has guided the biological sciences ever since. No credible evidence has come forward since to seriously challenge his theory or even to call it into question its reasonableness. Quite the contrary, biological evidence and in particular the science of genetics are consistent with his suppositions. To dismiss Darwin's work as not scientific or as merely a conjecture or as not verifiable is to fail to understand it in the first place.