Evolution v Creationism: guided evolution? dhw? (Evolution)

by David Turell @, Wednesday, March 25, 2015, 17:24 (3291 days ago) @ dhw


> dhw: We don't know if God exists either. All these explanations are hypotheses. Tony would say that evolution is a hypothesis too, but since you and I believe in common descent, at least we can agree to use it as a theoretical premise. -Yes.
> 
> dhw: You are now making a basic assumption that we have not agreed on: namely, your God's purpose in starting evolution. I am thinking on two levels here: 1) the IM explains the course of evolution, whether God designed the mechanism or not; 2) if he designed it, he MAY have had the creation of humans in mind, or his purpose might simply have been to set it in motion and see where it led. That is a different subject. My point here is that once the mechanism is in place (whether God designed it or not), we can dispense with the theory of random mutations. The only chance element is changes in the environment. The rest is purpose-driven: to adapt or innovate, in accordance with those changes.-We know that animals and plants can use epigenetic mechanisms to adapt to changes in environment. We know there are a few random mutations that are beneficial, so 
I don't think we can rely on an IM to do the whole job. So I don't think your point really works in a complete sense. As for the first comment humans are such an unexpected unusual result, it certainly smells of purpose. 
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> dhw: This appears to be a period of stasis, and is peanuts in terms of geological time. It is understandable that with our superior consciousness, some people - especially the religious - might think we are the end product.-Exactly, and it only took 6 million years and 15 extraordinary changes in form and function.-> dhw: It is also perfectly feasible that one day we shall be wiped out, and other forms of life will become dominant. In the end, maybe evolution will come full circle, and there will be nothing left except bacteria. We have no idea what form life will have taken in a billion years‘ time!-Bacteria will never leave, and the sun explodes (under current theory) in 5 billion years, so we are always a limited lifetime group.


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