Innovation and Speciation: whale changes (Evolution)

by David Turell , Sunday, May 28, 2017, 18:33 (2518 days ago) @ dhw

DAVID: Of course they cohere. their separation is recognized.

dhw: If they cohere, there is a linked process of cause and effect, e.g. drive for improvement/complexity, triggered by environment change, leads to production of improvement/complexity. What’s the problem?

My further thought from yesterday: Sunday, May 28, 2017, 02:47 I don't think 'improvement' and 'complexity' carry the same theoretical implications.

dhw: The illogicalities and contradictions arise from your guesses at his motives and methods, not from your belief in evolution or from the choice between chance and design!

They are just guesses. My principal thoughts abut God's goals are firm.

DAVID: You misunderstand. No contradiction. I view 'initiate' to be approached as a word in its causative sense and also in its allowing opportunity sense. In the Cambrian the new oxygen level allowed a speciation process to create new ones, but did not demand it. I've never changed, Speciation was not required to happen.

dhw: So now your original “yes” apparently meant that environment both caused AND allowed speciation! And for the hundredth time, we know speciation was not REQUIRED to happen, and that is why we have said there must be a drive for improvement/complexity.

No. my Cambrian example is the correct interpretation. Environmental change offers an opportunity nothing more, and in that sense is an initiator.