We observe randomness in mutations, with respect to fitness. This isn’t an ideology but an empirical, objective observation. It has basis in both rational and scientific analysis.
The two classic papers that contain both the observations and scientific analysis (including the original papers and few links to help with understanding):
Luria and Delbruck’s fluctuation assay:
S E Luria, M Delbrück; MUTATIONS OF BACTERIA FROM VIRUS SENSITIVITY TO VIRUS RESISTANCE, Genetics, Volume 28, Issue 6, 20 November 1943, Pages 491–511, htt
The Luria–Delbrück experiment (1943) (also called the Fluctuation Test) demonstrated that in bacteria, genetic mutations arise in the absence of selective pressure rather than being a response to it. Thus, it concluded Darwin's theory of natural selection acting on random mutations applies to bacteria as well as to more complex organisms. Max Delbrück and Salvador Luria won the 1969 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in part for this work.
Suppose a single bacterium is introduced to a growth ...
Lederbergs’ plate replica experiment:
Replica plating is a microbiological technique in which one or more secondary Petri plates containing different solid (agar-based) selective growth media (lacking nutrients or containing chemical growth inhibitors such as antibiotics) are inoculated with the same colonies of microorganisms from a primary plate (or master dish), reproducing the original spatial pattern of colonies. The technique involves pressing a velveteen-covered disk, and then imprinting secondary plates with cells in colonie...
https://evolution.berkeley.edu/the-lederberg-experiment/
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