The Recipe for Nature

In the modern world, mankind is surrounding by a plethora of unique animals, plants, and other organism that have a certain natural design all their own. For instance, every organism appears to be best suited in their natural environment, as they are usually able thrive under unique conditions that may not optimal for every organism. Thus, it would appear as though divine intervention was necessary for this perfect design and placement of an organism into their environment. Consequently, this was the ideology for many centuries until Charles Darwin explained how these “illusions” fit into his theory of natural selection. Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection stated that the process by which forms of life having traits that better enable them to adapt to specific environmental pressures, such as predators, changes in climate, or competition for food or mates, will tend to survive and reproduce in greater numbers than others of their kind, thus ensuring the perpetuation of those favorable traits in succeeding generations (Cite). Although it is widely accepted that many of human’s physical traits are inherited from their parents, the notion that the mind has evolved and is designed to function is certain ways is still controversial (Cite). With that being said, the majority of theories that illustrate how the mind develops are still being debated. Moreover, the

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.

In topic 1, the introduction to human uniqueness and social coercion theory, we are introduced to some of the common misinterpretation behind Charles’ Darwin’s theory of evolution, specifically in regards to natural selection and survival of the fittest. One of the biggest contributors to this issue is the lack of exposure to the general public on the overall theory behind these two processes. Instead of a full detailed explanation about natural selection and survival of the fittest, we are just told that it is slow and that to be fit means a level of superiority among competition, respectively. Topic 1 revealed that this is not true, as well as stating that natural selection is about individual risk, benefit and cost is of the utmost importance(Bingham). Based on this newly found insight from the course, how does individual risk, benefit, and cost play such an important role in natural selection even though selection is seen in a population and not a

3. His approach to the issue of of “Design in Nature” is that there is no sufficient condition to guarantee the nature of the world we experience. James tells us that the arguments of the past for intelligent design are no longer supported by our experience and, therefore must be false under all probable possibilities. He then explains that theologians have now reinterpreted their systems under the effects of Darwin’s Theory of Evolution and found that there is no sufficient guarantee that the world was not, in fact, created. In other words, the world could very well have been created by God and evolution offers merely more information ot come to understand God’s creation.

In 1838 Charles Darwin wrote in his journal "Man in his arrogance thinks himself a great work worthy the interposition of a deity. More humble and I think truer to consider him created from animals". (Rachels, 1990) Daniel C. Dennett refers to Darwin's theory of evolution as a universal acid, a theory so powerful it seeps through every traditional concept and leaves behind a revolutionized world-view, resulting not only in a fundamental shift in the way in which we perceive ourselves as human beings, but more importantly, in the death of God. (Dennett, 1996) The moral implications of evolution are devastating: to reduce man to a by-product of an algorithmic process is to say that man is nothing

7. natural selection is NATURE at work and survival of the fittest is the RESULT of that adaptation

Variation in the fitness of organisms according to the state they have for a heritable character. In evolutionary theory, fitness means the average number of offspring left by an individual relative to the number of offspring left by an average member of the population. This condition therefore means that individuals in the population with some characters must be more likely to reproduce (i.e., have higher fitness) than others.

We first discussed the correspondence between Gray and Darwin and their gracious manner of debate, despite their fundamental disagreements on chance in natural selection. This led us to discuss chance’s disturbing nature and its relation to cause and effect. Most agreed that our fear lies in chance’s unknowingness. However, we use chance to assign meaning to our lives and the world. Moreover, we concluded that cause and effect is theological and reassuring. This guided our discussion to Poincaré’s statement that small changes cause great effects. We realized that isolated systems converge by fortuitous chance. Additionally, we compared cause and effect to Darwin’s architect metaphor. Darwin supporters believe that these systems were not designed,

Nature seems to be random in the way that there is no structure, no code of conduct, no virtual organization, but as much as it may seem that way, in the 1800’s naturalist and geologist Charles Darwin discovered there is much more happening in nature, which presented a new theory to the worlds view. Darwin’s research shows that species will go through great change for the survival of their kind.

Deep in the mountains in the southwest corner of North Carolina is a river unlike any other. Halfway through my perilous rafting journey, there was a moment when time stood still. I witnessed a natural phenomenon which displayed the beauty of nature at its finest. During that moment, I realized the insignificance of humanity, and why we should respect the overwhelming power of nature.

Understanding good design requires addressing the question of what units undergo natural selection, thereby becoming adapted (Shelton, 2014). There is a natural connection between the formal Darwinism project (which aims to connect population genetics with the evolution of design and fitness) and levels of selection issues, such as natural selection acting on individuals, or on populations (Shelton, 2014). Darwin offers contradictory ideas of thinking concerning these levels of selection (Shelton, 2014).

I was glad to see the day’s topic on irreducible complexity covered, since it’s a concept I’ve been aquainted with previously. Having read the book “Finding Darwin’s God,” I knew of the arguments about irreducible complexity, and was already introduced to the fossil records and empirical data sets that refuted this argument.

The atmosphere, biosphere, geosphere, and hydrosphere all bear witness to a Designer. Tradition bears witness, for even Epicurus himself is attributed with the following; ‘it is profane to apply to the gods the beliefs of the vulgar’ (Bacon, 2005). To be certain, Darwinian evolution is a vulgar belief. It leads to, as C.S. Lewis contended, The Abolition of Man. The Scriptures have spoken on the matter. Tradition has spoken through the examination of Earth Science, as well as certain histories of Christian and Hellenistic thought on the matter. May reason have a final say in the matter through application of understanding the history of the world, as well as continued enjoyment in the experiences of living for the fullest

Within “The Theory of Intelligent Design: A Briefing Packet for Educators” they claim that the process of mutation, which Darwin is associated with, is a random process that actually does more harm than good to organisms. The packet also claims that these random mutations are not capable of building new and complex systems or improving

Today I received a gift from nature while I was swimming in my backyard pool. At first I believed the buzzing I heard was a giant wasp. As I turned my head slowly, I came face to face with a delicate little humming bird. He flew under my neck and rose up to my nose to hover and stare at me before lighting on my arm for a few seconds. It was pure magic. I called him little darling and asked if there was something he wanted. He flew away, only to return to rest on the pool decking close to my hand. I was intrigued and delighted. Although brief, this encounter brought happiness to my day.