This document was was submitted by me as assignment for the coursera course Soul Beliefs and consequences
Assignment criteria #1; "In your own words, describe Darwin's theory of "Descent by Modification".";
Darwin’s theory of Descent by modification was based important observations on nature of species:
- Members of a population of the same species vary in their traits.
- Traits can be inherited, or passed from parents to offspring.
- Populations can produce more offspring than the environment can support.
- Due to a lack of food or other resources, many of the offspring do not survive.
In his theory of Descent by modification Darwin postulated that individuals with a trait more suited to the environment are better able to survive and reproduce. These individuals are the ones that pass on these traits more frequently to the next generation. Subsequently, their traits become more common in their descendants and in the population. So, over time, organisms better suited to the changing environment will thrive. Organisms not ideally suited would become extinct. Given enough time a species may change enough traits to eventually become a totally distinct species. They led him to the conclusion that all species derived from a common ancestor through the process of descent with modification which was later termed natural selection. In natural selection, fitness refers to the ability to survive and reproduce.
Natural selection leads to adaptive evolution. Adaptation is a trait that organism has that increases its chance of surviving and reproducing in a specific environment. The off springs of this organism with adaptation trait will inherit this trait and will be more suited to survive and reproduce in the environment and hence causing the population to have this favorable trait.
Assignment criteria #2; "Explain how "Natural Selection" contradicted the prevailing world-views of Darwin's time; and
Darwin's observations were to contradict the Biblical 'Genesis' version of the creation of life. Since many of his scientific peers believed that God created all animal and plant life, and these species remained unchanged since their creation, he repeatedly delayed publishing his ideas. It dealt a massive upset to the biblical account of creation as well as against the assumption of the unique status of Man.
However, there was a general acceptance of Darwin's ideas amongst the younger generations of scientists. And as they began to embrace his ideas and accumulation of fossil records intensified, the public became more prepared for the acceptance of earlier human species and of a world much older than 6000 years (which was the age of earth according biblical story of creation). It is also to be noted here that There were other evolutionary theorists at that time but their theories were consistent with the idea of Christian God’s work in progress; but Darwin’s theory was based on philosophical materialism of random variation and natural selection and contrasted with the biblical version of creationism.
Assignment criteria #3, I would like to take out the time of "150 years", how about we change it to "Providing evidence that resistance to the theory of evolution remains strong in some sectors of our society today, after Darwin's his seminal work was published."
There is no question that evolution has shaped us and the world we live in today, and it has major consequences for our daily lives. And yet 150 years after publication of The Origin, Darwin’s theory remains “controversial” in America and Christian societies. This is no longer a scientific controversy. Predictions generated by the theory of evolution have been repeatedly tested against scientific facts, and the theory has held fast. The clear majority of scientists accept the theory of evolution based upon multiple lines of overwhelming scientific evidence, just as they accept the Copernican theory that the earth revolves around the sun.
Americans face the social controversy of about how to reconcile the teaching of scientific fact with religious belief. And a recent Gallup poll on Darwin’s birthday showed that only 39 percent of the American public overall “believes” in the theory of evolution and would rather believe in creationism or Intelligent Design. Whereas 97% scientists believe some theory of evolution and 87% of them believe in the Darwin’s theory of Natural selection.
Some people see bleak implications for human society in the theory of evolution. If Darwin is right, does it mean that we are all engaged in a perpetual struggle for existence, in which only the fittest will prosper? Is selfish behavior always rewarded at the expense of the common good? This might be an overly simplistic view, especially when we take culture and learning into account. Modern evolutionary theory is beginning to show how natural selection can operate at multiple levels, and may favor groups with elevated levels of cooperation and altruism. This can be considered as survival of the fittest group rather than the fittest individual, as individuals require society for their survival and vice versa.
Another important concept from modern evolutionary theory: the idea of niche construction. In ecological jargon, an organism’s niche is the combination of environmental factors that define where it can live, grow, and reproduce. Human culture is a remarkable example of niche construction. Through tool-making, language, and the construction of society, humans have expanded the range of environments in which our species can live and grow. Without culture, natural selection would act on us very differently that it does today. But this very culture and tools not used optimally is threatening the world in terms detrimental climate changes and threat of Terminal nuclear war. One hopes that natural selection will throw up solution to the problem so that all humans and most species survive (as extinction of one specie means the probability of all species surviving goes down in the common ecosystem).
Buddhist Societies do not seem to have any objections to theory of evolution as they believe cosmos and time without beginning and end that is ever changing and is consistent with natural selection. Hindu societies who believe souls in all living entities and that souls may have millions of births before being perfected as human beings. With time scale of creation stretching to trillions of years and sole source, also do not have any serious problems with accepting natural selection not being different from God’s way.
I would like complete this write up with Top 10 scientific problems with Biological and chemical Evolution and the bonus problem of Human behavior (Read more about in reference -4). This list does not negate the scientific community’s acceptance of Darwin’s theory bur opens more areas for research to fill the gaps.
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can I use your photo plz
ReplyDeleteSure. However I do not claim ownership of the photo
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