Anagenesis, also known as "phyletic change," is the evolution of species involving an entire population rather than a branching event, as in cladogenesis. When enough mutations have occurred and become stable in a population so that it is significantly differentiated from an ancestral population, a new species name may be assigned. A key point is that the entire population is different from the ancestral population such that the ancestral population can be considered extinct.
It is easy to see from the preceding definition how controversy can arise among taxonomists when the differences are significant enough to warrant a new species classification. Anagenesis may also be referred to as "gradual evolution".
Regarding social evolution, it has been suggested that social anagenesis/aromorphosis be viewed as universal or widely diffused social innovation that raises social systems' complexity, adaptability, integrity, and interconnectedness.[1]
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   | Diagram contrasting Anagenesis and Cladogenesis from the University of Newfoundland - Cladogenesis, Anagenesis, & Extinction |
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