The Pros And Cons Of Darwinism

According to Darwin and his theory on evolution, organisms are presented with nature’s challenge of environmental change. Those that possess the characteristics of adapting to such challenges are successful in leaving their genes behind and ensuring that their lineage will continue. It is natural selection, where nature can perform tiny to mass sporadic experiments on its organisms, and the results can be interesting from extinction to significant changes within a species.

In the first chapter, Coyne discusses the basic concept outline of evolution, and brings clarity to the common misconceptions thought and said about how the science works, and the large misuse of the word theory. The first chapter of this book also defines very carefully each of the main hypothesis of evolutionary theory. Which stands in dissimilarity to many other treatments of evolution, which all have a propensity to confuse some readers by integrating different meanings of the word. Coyne also divides Darwinism into six components. They are: evolution which means change over time, gradualism which is a policy of slower change rather than sudden change or a revolution, speciation which is the evolutionary process where a new biological species

One thing about natural selection that many people do not understand that natural selection does not increase the odds of survival for a species, but for individuals in that species. This makes sense when someone considers humans. Humans live in many social cultures, where for instance, the odds of survival in a group can be improved by the selection of certain traits that does not improve an individual’s odds of survival. Coyne states, one never sees the type of adaptations that benefit the group to the detriment of an individual (p.122).

For more than 150 years, a revolutionary idea has been spreading all over the world. It helped us discover our origins and revealed our place in nature. It led to the unification of once independent fields of scientific inquiry. And it is being used today to tackle some of the most pressing problems facing modern civilization. But its implications go far beyond science. It has shaped our culture, politics, philosophy and religion, and it has been used to justify war and genocide. That idea is Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection.

This tough old man-of-a-town is cradled in a stark and isolated depression between the Argus and Coso mountain ranges in eastern California. On first glance, it seems to be barely breathing. Some say it is just another desert ghost town waiting to happen, but don’t even think about saying that to one of the 40 or so residents.

The belief that various living organisms emerged from previous organisms throughout the history of the earth can be associated with the term evolution. One can therefore assume that there is a vast likelihood that prehistoric evolutionary processes have a significant impact on human behavior today. This paper hypothesizes that the human mind has information-processing mechanisms that are known as adaptions which have developed over time. It is believed that these adaptions were formed by natural selection in ancestral surroundings and have specialised functions that shape behaviour to allow one to solve specific adaptive challenges. Thus evolutionary psychologists suggest that individuals have what Jerome H. Barkow, Leda Cosmides, and John

In what he called the ‘survival of the fittest’, Darwin suggested that through the process of natural selection animals with particular characteristics, as a result of possessing advantageous alleles, will survive. However, those with maladaptive genes cannot adapt to changes in environmental conditions, so will die or become extinct. Dowling (1994) stated that this process depends on three principles: species diversity, interaction and the spread of a species as a result of differential amplification. Sexual selection is another component of Darwin’s research, which explains the best strategies adopted for passing on genes to offspring. Moreover, there are problems with Darwin’s theory such as his attempts to generalise animal behaviour to the way in which humans interact in their environment. However, he has presented compelling evidence which is very scientific in its approach and methodology. Furthermore, contrary to Darwin’s evolutionary idea of survival of an individual, Dawkins (1976) suggested that the survival of the genes is more important.

Space and time are linked, stars, worlds, and people are born, grow up, and die. Human beings live about 70-80 years, but the lifetime of the sun is 100 millions longer. Matter is older than life. Millions of years before the Earth was formed, atoms were synthesized inside the stars, and where thrown back out to space when they exploded. From this stellar remains appeared many planets; the Earth, and all living beings are formed from star’s dust, but from our human thinking, evolution has been really slow, from the molecules from the primitive oceans, up until the first bacteria. The reason why evolution is not the same for everyone is because is because it advances really slowly and lasts a long time. Why is it that if human beings who live 75

One organism in particular that has multiple imperfections is a human. The birth canal for females may happen to be one of the biggest imperfections in the female body. The canal overtime became smaller as the ancestors humans began to walk on 2 legs rather than on four. The smaller birth canal is great for walking however it can cause a high mortality rate in infants and complications during birth. Although the pros of the the smaller birth canal far outweigh the cons, it is still an evidence for imperfect evolution. As exhibited by the small birth canal many other organisms do not have a perfect design because it could result in the impairment of another task that is also important to the survival of the organism. Therefore due to descent of modification organisms are not perfect yet instead more suited to the

The formal “Theory of Evolution” thought to have come about by Charles Darwin, is built on the premise that all life is related and has descended from a common ancestor; meaning the birds and the bananas, the fishes and the flowers are all related (“Darwin’s Theory of Evolution”). In a nutshell, as random genetic mutations occur within an organism's genetic code, the beneficial mutations are preserved because they aid survival. This process is formally known as "natural selection." These beneficial mutations are passed on to the next generation. Over time, beneficial mutations accumulate and the result is an entirely different

“If no such variations exist, the population rapidly goes extinct because it cannot adapt to a changing environment” (O’Neil, 1998-2013). Scientists call this reproductive success. “Within a specific environment context, one genotype will be better than another genotype in survival or reproduction for certain reasons having to do with the way its particular features relate to the environment or relate to other organisms within the population” (Futuyma, 2000-2014). The theory of evolution is explicable through various kinds of scientific research.

The Darwinian view of life came into focus in 1859, when he published one of the most important books called “ On the Origin of Species by Mean of Natural Selection”. Back in Darwin’s time in the 19th century historians were being to think of evolutionary change as an explanation for patterns observed in the future. He did not invent this idea however he carried out the necessary research to document the idea. He made this book to make two valid points, “descent and modification” and “process natural selection”. Descent and modification described the evidence and support that he gathered about species. “It is an insightful phrase, as it captures the duality of life’s unity (descent) and diversity (modification).” Simon, Eric J., Jane Reece,

Charles Darwin's theory of evolution centres on the idea that species compete to survive, and favorable characteristics are passed on from one generation to the next. Darwin said that evolution took place by a process of natural selection or survival of the fittest. This meant that the animals and plants best suited to their surroundings survived and were able to pass on their genes to their offspring. The ones that weren't best suited died off and didn't get the chance to reproduce.

Many scientists believe variations are caused by environmental factors, such as food availability, weather and more; and that species evolve when environmental conditions change to increase the species survival. Darwin censures this idea; he believed that the main cause of variation is due to reproduction (Chapter I). Darwin suggested that parents pass down specific characteristics to their offspring, and those variations are continued on in the following generations. The problem with Darwin’s theory of reproduction is that Darwin did not comprehend how or why some characteristics are perennial and how others are not. Darwin’s inferences on variations also conflict with the idea that God created species independently, which was widely understood by many people in a time where religion was prominent (Chapter II).

Biological evolution is the name for the changes in gene frequency in a population of a species from generation to generation. Evolution offers explanation to why species genetically change over years and the diversity of life on Earth. Although it is generally accepted by the scientific community, Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution has been studied and debated for several decades. In 1859, Darwin published On The Origin of Species, which introduced the idea of evolutionary thought which he supported with evidence of one type of evolutionary mechanism, natural selection. Some of the main mechanisms of evolution are natural selection, mutation, and genetic drift. The idea that all life on Earth shares a common ancestor has been around for