2008 Woodie Awards
Express Yourself
Rebuttal to: Evolution is the Most Foolish Religion in History
Paul Goodell Contributing Writer
Issue date: 10/6/05 Section: Features
- Page 1 of 1
My name is Paul Goodell, and I am senior biology student here at SHU. I was alerted to this article by one of my biology professors, and after reading it, I found many of the points of argument to be heavily flawed.
First of all, your definition of evolution is incorrect. The theory of evolution is a biological theory and should be applied only in biology. The many complex laws of physics attempt to explain where the universe originated; evolution deals only with living organisms.
Evolution is a theory devised by Charles Darwin, which best explains the interactions of the natural living world around us. It attempts to explain how populations of species interact and how small minute changes over a large period of time can drastically change species. Evolution is incredibly complex, and there are many forces that interact to drive this process. Among this processes are natural selection, sexual selection, as well as many other important processes.
Natural selection is environmental stresses placed on individual organisms. They include predation and competition for resources between not only individuals of a species, but between other species. Sexual selection is also extremely important. The measure of how successful an individual is by how many offspring they successfully produce. Females of a species can be very selective with whom they mate, and can be very particular towards an individual trait. One example is peacocks
The evidence supporting evolution is very solid. Examining the fossil record we can see how organisms have dramatically changed throughout time. Critics will argue that the fossil record is imperfect, which is why embryonic and genetic evidence is proving to be extremely important. During embryonic development, many animals that differ significantly from each other will undergo very similar development. Without getting into complex details, it is almost impossible to tell a fetal pig, fish, salamander, chicken, cat, or human apart during the early stages of development
Genetic evidence is even more solid. Geneticists can compare the DNA of two species and by examining the differences between them, determine their relatedness. The DNA of a human and chimpanzee has significantly fewer differences than a human and a cat. Geneticists can even estimate when two species split just based on these differences. If genetics is strong enough to be used in the courts of law, then these findings should be accepted with the same gravity.
First of all, your definition of evolution is incorrect. The theory of evolution is a biological theory and should be applied only in biology. The many complex laws of physics attempt to explain where the universe originated; evolution deals only with living organisms.
Evolution is a theory devised by Charles Darwin, which best explains the interactions of the natural living world around us. It attempts to explain how populations of species interact and how small minute changes over a large period of time can drastically change species. Evolution is incredibly complex, and there are many forces that interact to drive this process. Among this processes are natural selection, sexual selection, as well as many other important processes.
Natural selection is environmental stresses placed on individual organisms. They include predation and competition for resources between not only individuals of a species, but between other species. Sexual selection is also extremely important. The measure of how successful an individual is by how many offspring they successfully produce. Females of a species can be very selective with whom they mate, and can be very particular towards an individual trait. One example is peacocks
The evidence supporting evolution is very solid. Examining the fossil record we can see how organisms have dramatically changed throughout time. Critics will argue that the fossil record is imperfect, which is why embryonic and genetic evidence is proving to be extremely important. During embryonic development, many animals that differ significantly from each other will undergo very similar development. Without getting into complex details, it is almost impossible to tell a fetal pig, fish, salamander, chicken, cat, or human apart during the early stages of development
Genetic evidence is even more solid. Geneticists can compare the DNA of two species and by examining the differences between them, determine their relatedness. The DNA of a human and chimpanzee has significantly fewer differences than a human and a cat. Geneticists can even estimate when two species split just based on these differences. If genetics is strong enough to be used in the courts of law, then these findings should be accepted with the same gravity.