The hormetic, biphasic dose response, is highly generalizable, being independent of biological model, level of biological organization, endpoint, inducing agent, and mechanisms. It plays a significant role in mediating both constitutive and adaptable responses in essentially all cells and organisms. The present paper provides both a historical overview of the origin of the hormetic concept in the biological and biomedical sciences, and its potential role in ecology, evolution, and development. These integrative findings provide a broad scientific framework to better understand complex evolutionary-based selection strategies, affecting survival, lifespan, fecundity, learning/memory, tissue repair, reproduction and cooperation, and developmental processes, and offering resilience in the presence of numerous challenges.