Unilinear Evolutionism

I. Acceptance of Creation is growing in spite of overwhelming evidence proving Evolution There is no easy resolution for whats true and evolution or creationism. It is a complex topic with profound scientific, religious, educational, and criticism. How can a student or parent come to grips with this issue? Evolution vs. Creationism provides a badly needed, comprehensive, and balanced introduction to the many facets of the current debates about what should be taught in a classroom or in reality itself. Evolution relies on scientific facts while creationism clings on biblical beliefs. But the legal and

Talks, T. (2013, March 30). Genetically Evolved Technology: Luke Bawazer at TEDxWarwick 2013. Retrieved November 17, 2014, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BljY3_i3gfw

Self-proclaimed Darwinist Lewis Morgan contended during the period of colonisation that there were three periods of civilisation; the Savage, Barbaric and the Civilised, the savage was characterised by simply existence and living off the land whereas the civilised used phonic alphabet systems, ownership of property and some sort of established state system (Morgan, 1877).

What is history? We look at these past civilizations, making assumptions and criticisms about their ways of life as if we know exactly what they were thinking. In reality, we have no idea how they justified the actions that we judge. Soon we will be the past and we will be looked upon from future civilizations that attempt to understand our cultures. This thought can be quite overwhelming when one thinks how we will be viewed. In Chuck Klosterman’s novel “But what if we’re Wrong,” he delves into the idea of what past cultures would think of our views towards them as well as future generations analyses of us. We tend to make vague assumptions of their actions rarely considering their thoughts during the time. Many of their actions were based on the time they lived in and the resources available to them, not always having a choice towards joining different culture norms. Before we judge these past civilizations we must first consider what people in the future will think of our current society.

No individual can arrive at the threshold of his potentialities without a culture in which he participates. Conversely, no civilization has in it any element that the last analysis is not the contribution of an individual. Where else could any trait come from except from the behaviour of a man or a woman or a child? (253)

The debate over Evolutionary theories and Creationism beliefs has been a major debate throughout our churches, education system, and even our homes. There have been countless scientists, theologians, journalists and Christians that have studied both sides of the spectrum, that argue how the world we live in was created. Many empty statements, with little to no facts, just assertions about this particular question have been stated in many debates all over the world. So on one side we have Creationism belief that essentially argues that God is the “intelligent designer” and on the other side Evolutionary theories that state the world has evolved over the centuries. In the Merriam- Webster dictionary, Creationism is defined as, “a doctrine or theory holding that matter, the various forms of life, and the world were created by God out of nothing and usually in the way described in Genesis “. Merriam- Webster dictionary also defines Evolution as, “a theory that the differences between modern plants and animals are because of changes that happened by a natural process over a very long time; the process by which changes in plants and animals happen over time; a process of slow change and development”. So is it possible to believe both of those definitions?

Through Biological Anthropology has shown how this process is done and the research from different geographical changes helps in the developmental change. By studying human beings within their living habit shows how the all of the different elements comes into account in the development of humans. By breaking down the different environmental differences along with the personal’s economic background with the combination with their genetic profile determines the development of the individuals. Biology Anthropology shows what all forces both internally and externally have a part in each and everyone’s development.

The Japanese attack on Darwin on the 19th February 1942, did not happen by chance but from the work of a major contributing factor leading to various consequences and eventually cementing the event as a significant one.

Morgan works focused on evolutionist thinking, “Morgan ventured to classify the entire spectrum of human experience into seven different subdivisions.” (Jacobson 146) These subdivisions are categorized by savagery, barbarism and civilization. Savagery involves simple knowledge and findings, Barbarism starts the building of small culture with more complex inventions, and finally civilization is reached where literacy can be found. Another topic to be considered is the subdivision of human development called Genes.

Although many of us have used the words culture and civilization interchangeably, Huntington spends a great deal of time differentiating between the two. Cultures have a commonality; ancestry, religion, language, history, values, customs, and institutions. These commonalities will define cultural groups; and the largest cultural group possible, at the broadest level, is a civilization. “Culture is the common theme in almost every definition of civilization”.

The subject of origins, or how we got here, is one of the most fundamental questions that can be asked. The important question of why we are here can’t be answered by science alone. How we answer these questions provides the basis for how we think about things, it defines our world-view. The Evolution vs. Creation debate is often referred to as the Great Debate. 20th century science has made the compelling discovery that, at some point, the universe began. Both sides of the debate Evolutionists and Creationists agree on one thing only, that the universe has not always existed. This is where their agreement ends. The why and how the universe began is where the division and dispute begins.

Every person would like to think that they have free will as if we did not than our existence would be pointless. Expanding on the idea of free will is the core of a naturalist argument against that of an intelligent creator in a traditional Abrahamic sense that is omniscient. Taliaferro outlines this situation aptly stating that “If God knows what you will do tomorrow, you cannot do otherwise. But if the future is fixed how can you be free?” to outline the structure of the naturalist’s point of view (Taliaferro, 34). For instance, if a God who was omniscient knew you were going to eat at the Reitz tomorrow is it really your choice to eat at the Reitz if this God knew you would eat there, and not at Chick-fil-a?” The objection seems to be

Adaptationism is the belief that the traits seen in organisms are the results of evolution by natural selection. There are different forms of adaptationism and many different definitions as to what an adaptation is, with some believing it is impossible to test a hypothesis about an adaptation at all. This essay will look at a) how to define adaptation b) different forms of adaptationism and c) consider the different methods of testing whether a phenotype is an adaptation.

Darwinism is a theory of evolution developed by Charles Darwin also called Darwinian Theory. Darwin utilizes Thomas Malthus’ principle of exponential population growth to debate the possibility of infinite growth of population sizes which is tested by the limitations of geography and natural resources that makes it impossible for an infinite number of beings to survive. The limitation in resources results in species experience a “struggle for existence,” creating a survival competition. In this theory, Darwin stated that all species of organisms arise and develop through the natural selection of small, inherited variations that increase the individual 's ability to compete, survive, and reproduce. Charles Darwin published The Origin of Species in 1859 which argued that species evolved to get better all the time. Some people used his theory to argue that members of the elite or height of the social ladder were superior to the working class and impoverished due Darwin 's "survival of the fittest", which is considered Social Darwinism. In one of the earliest examples of science fiction, The Time Machine, H.G. Wells’ introduces Social Darwinism along with the theory of evolution.

It may be argued that the Boasian example is not indicative of a paradigm shift, as anthropology itself was too new a field to have a consensus. Whether or not the data gathered resulted from anomalies in his working paradigm is a consideration. Boas does appear to have stepped outside the bounds of the paradigm from the start, never attempting to fit his data into the existing evolutionary