The author's presentation dwells upon two modern interpretations of the evolutionist theories: on the one hand, the recent research that tends to individuate finalistic processes in the development of human cultures; and, on the other hand, the confirmation of the random role of natural selection, even in the most recent modifications of Neo-Darwinism. The article concludes with a reference to the positions of the philosophers, heirs of the great European tradition and, above all, of the Germanic culture, in part mediators of the preceding contrast.